Perhaps the quintessential heavy metal band, Iron Maiden has sold more than forty-five million records worldwide, remaining the object of a faithful international fan base since the early 1980s. Numerous hit singles and platinum albums have also attested to the consistence of the listening habits of metal fans long after the much-maligned genre had ceased to make headlines in the music press. Ditching the more bluesy grooves of hard rock bands from the 1970s such as Deep Purple and UFO, Iron Maiden came up with a faster, riff-laden, yet melodious song structure which set the standards for what most listeners came to understand to be heavy metal. A marked preference for lyrics grounded on horror, mythology, wars, and history became another of the genre's key reference points, not to mention Gargantuan onstage production values and globe-trotting concert tours.

Iron Maiden was formed in London in 1976 by...