With Killers, Maiden's sound vastly improved. Martin Birch was to sit in the producers chair, and Adrian Smith filled in the vacant second guitar spot. With the arrival of these two figures, the Maiden sound was complete and they were well on their way to world domination.
The songs themselves didn't really change, although the lyrical themes got a little darker. However, given that several of the songs here had been written some years ago, Killers was, in some way, the songs that didn't make teh debut plus a few new ones to fill up the album.
Taken at a glance that doesn't sound too promising, despite the presence of Adrian and Birch. However, the songwriting on Killers is just as good as it is on the debut, and in some places even better.
The album is very bass-driven. It features Steve best performance, and features several moemnts of extreme grove (such as the intro to Innocent Exile, or the mid-section of Drifter) that would never be seen in Maiden again. Add to this Clive Burr's brilliant drumming and you simply have the foundtatins of a masterpiece. In some cases, Steve even plays lead bass.
The albums also features some of Maiden's best instrumental moments, such as the last minute of the grove-ridden Innocent Exile, pretty much all of Genghis Khan and the stunning solo section of the title track. Indeed, with Killers Maiden's soloing really came alive, with Dave and Adrian trading some of the best solos of their careers.
The albums opens with a short instrumental (interestingly, Killers is the only album to feature an 'intro' track) which introduces us to the new guitarist, as Adrian shows off over some militaristic drumming. As the final note fades out, we scream into a Maiden classic with Wrathchild, and then into the quite brilliant Murders in the Rue Morgue. The title track is one of the best things Steve has ever written, and soon after that Prodigal Son brings a welcome change of pace.
Often forgotten (as so many Maiden songs tend to be; this is the problem with such a large back catalogue) is the track Purgatory, which shows Steve at his absolute hungriest. It's three and a half minutes of pure energy, with Di'Anno spitting out the subtle lyrics like his life depended on it and riffs galore. Fantastic.
Martin Birch managed to get an absolutely mindblowing production for his first effort with the band, and he never topped it (though he certainly came close). The sound of Killers is so crisp and in-your-face it's quite ridiculous. The bass is mixed very loudly, yet never loud enough to take away from the brilliant dueling guitars, which are perfectly seperated in the mix. The snare, pedals, toms are all crystal clear and the symbols both crash down with a earth-shattering smash or whisper silently in the background. There is absolutely no doubt that Birch played as much part as anyone is putting Maiden where they are today.
Killers remains one of the bands best albums, and with its release, Maiden proved - as if there were any doubt - that they had what it takes to battle with the giants; indeed, they did their best to upstage Priest when Halford and co. took them out as support. With Steve's genius songwriting and manical bassplaying, the next best thing to Tipton and Downing (though not to take anything away from Adrian and Dave - at this point in the bands history, Priest > them), Clive's rhythmic drumming and Paul's rough yet emotional vocals, Maiden were on a collision course with global success.
What a shame then, that it all went wrong. Kind of.