Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden are the standard-bearers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and one of the most successful and enduring bands in heavy music history. Steve Harris's galloping bass lines — a rhythmic signature as distinctive as any in rock — drive compositions of unusual complexity and narrative ambition. The twin-guitar harmonies of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith (later joined by Janick Gers) weave intricate melodic lines that owe as much to classical music as to blues-rock. Bruce Dickinson's soaring, theatrical tenor gives the band an operatic grandeur that matches their literary and historical lyrical themes. From the relentless energy of The Number of the Beast through the progressive epic Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and the sprawling ambition of Brave New World, Maiden have maintained an artistic standard that few bands in any genre can match across four decades. Their live shows — marathon performances of athletic intensity — remain the gold standard for metal concert experiences.