Iron Maiden
Maiden Voyage

1966.

The "Iron Maiden", (not to be confused with the eponymous metal band that exploded in the '80s) who at the time played blues pieces and covers of the "Rolling Stones", formed in the town of Basildon, near London, taking their name from the iron maiden, a medieval torture device.

1967. The group underwent a major change due to the departure of the two guitarists (one Rose and Tom Loates) and the drummer (Stan Gillem). Despite the defection, Steve Drewett (vocals) and Barry Skeels (bass) continued to play blues under the name "Stevenson's Blues Department". That same year, Trevor Thoms (guitar) and Paul Reynolds (drums) joined them, and together they formed "Bum".

1968. Under this name, they released a single containing two tracks that later appeared on "Maiden Voyage": "God of Darkness" and "Ballad of Martha Kent".

1969. After a series of concerts, even abroad, they resumed the name "Iron Maiden".

1970. After recording a new single (also featured on the album) containing the two tracks "Falling" and "Ned Kelly", drummer Paul Reynolds left the group, replaced by Steve Chapman. That same year, they recorded the album "Maiden Voyage", which, due to the bankruptcy of the record label (Gemini), never saw the light until 1998. After that, the band disbanded.

The original track order is:

1. Falling
2. Ned Kelly
3. Liar
4. Ritual
5. CC Ryder
6. Plague
7. Ballad Of Martha Kent
8. God Of Darkness

The "Iron Maiden" were thus a group of hard-rock and blues, who along with the "Black Sabbath" laid the foundations for rock and metal for years to come. In particular, the track "God Of Darkness", especially for its "strong" lyrics praising the black God of darkness and the guitar riff, is considered alongside "Hand Of Doom" (Paranoid, 1970, Black Sabbath) as one of the first songs that eventually gave birth to the genre called doom metal. The similarities with the English group do not stop there, as the style of guitarist Trevor Thoms closely resembles that of Tony Iommi, particularly in the always very fast solos.

The tracks on the album all turn out to be more or less interesting (despite the recording quality not being the best), especially "Falling", with verses that immediately stick in your head thanks to the choruses, and a middle section rich in solos (almost three minutes), "Liar", an interesting riff similar to "Deep Purple", interminable bass and guitar solos, "Ballad Of Martha Kent", a song with melancholic tones, and finally the diabolical "God Of Darkness". In particular, there's a certain similarity to the early albums of "Black Sabbath", although in terms of sonic impact, "Iron Maiden" are decidedly more stripped-down, despite the excellent guitar (which is absolutely worth listening to), always very sharp.