Iron Maiden have been steadily reissuing their remastered studio collections in different formats and the latest (part 3) is the collection of Fear Of The Dark, The X factor, Virtual XI and Brave New World Get it here.
These physical format products have made us stop and reflect on the intricacies of the artwork and so we decided to look back at every Maiden release and rank them, which will no doubt cause debate amongst fans! That's OK, we like to hear your opinions so please let us know your thoughts on our Facebook page.
You are probably wondering, why only eight covers? Iron Maiden have 16 studio albums and 12 live albums! Well, we have chosen the best of the lot, then there’s the fact that some just aren’t anywhere near as good as these. Like The X Factor, Virtual XI, and Dance Of Death (sorry, they don't cut it).
Honourable mentions must go to A Real Live Dead One, and Live In Rio, two excellent album covers, but not quite ready for this list.
Anyway, UP THE IRONS! Listen to our I Like: Iron Maiden playlist while you peruse these fine artworks.
8: Brave New World (2000)
The return of Bruce Dickinson, the return of Derek Riggs as the artist. Amazing detail in this album cover, which you can completely get lost in trying to find hidden meanings and ‘easter eggs’. But as far as I know, it’s a future image of London, as you can see London Bridge in the foreground with an ominous Eddie formed in the clouds as if he is the one controlling us all. A beautiful cover, but for me, just lacking that real traditional sinister Maiden magic.
7. Live After Death (1985)
A great cover with throwbacks and hints to a bigger picture. Great to see the tombstone of “Edward T” and the rest of his name “Edward The Head” obscured. Chains bound his wrists as a throwback to the Powerslave tour posters, the screw in his forehead from his lobotomy that’s being struck by lightning. This theme also continues onto the back cover where we see other things like a cat with a halo, that according to Derek Riggs, the artist “didn’t really mean anything, it was just added to get attention”. Riggs knows his audience well.
Get Iron Maiden on CD or Vinyl here.
6: Killers (1981)
Probably the most literal Iron Maiden album ever. Eddie has a hatchet in his hand with blood dripping off it and some poor shmuck (the victim) clutches at his shirt. And despite the lights being on in the buildings behind him, we see no witnesses, except maybe someone peering from behind the green curtain, it’s hard to tell. I really like the expression on Eddie's face on this cover, he’s taking great pleasure in his work.
5: Fear Of The Dark (1992)
No cityscape here, just a frightening reminder that Eddie can, and will, appear out of just about anything. Growing up, stories and movies that included someone walking through dark wooded areas never ended well, so you can imagine having Eddie tap you on the shoulder as you walked past one cold dark evening. I love the detail in this cover, the elongated fingers, and the depiction that Eddie is indeed some sort of tree monster that can follow you anywhere. Creepy AF. Great cover.
Sidenote: this was the first cover NOT to be designed by Riggs, this one is the work of Melvyn Grant.
4: Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988)
A supremely clean and powerful cover. Something about Eddie holding an in utero baby whilst seemingly floating above a cold watery polar landscape, buoyed only by icebergs is awfully disturbing, don’t ya think? Artist Derek Riggs is an absolute genius. Love this Maiden cover.
3: The Number Of The Beast (1982)
This top three, let’s face it, could all really be interchangeable depending on personal preference. Imagine, if you will, a young boy of not even 8 years old, finding this album in his much older brother's collection. Picking it up and seeing what looks to be a man without skin, controlling the devil himself like a marionette. What must the boy think, if he believes the devil is the worst kind of evil, and there’s something controlling the devil, how evil is that puppet master? Truly scary in 1982, and simply brilliant.
2: Powerslave (1984)
A killer album deserves an iconic cover, and this is it. Clearly not as intricate in throwback details as our chosen #1, but as for bold, instantly recognisable, and iconic album covers, this has it all in spades. If you took the writing off the cover, people would know that it belongs to Iron Maiden. Staunch, powerful, clean, and bloody excellent.
1: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Such a rad album cover (and back) that utilises so many throwbacks to other Iron Maiden albums, songs titles, lyrics and places. It took artist Derek Riggs months to complete, such is the detail in this album cover. There are websites dedicated to all the hints and reasons behind all the detail too, search and ye shall find, but this is the best Maiden cover of all time. No question.
