Iron Maiden Discography

Iron Maiden Discography

The discography of Iron Maiden, a British heavy metal band founded in 1975 by bassist and only original member, Steve Harris. The band have released fifteen studio albums, as well as numerous live albums, compilations, EPs, singles, video albums, music videos, and box sets. After several auditions and lineup changes, they settled on vocalist Paul Di'Anno, guitarists Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton and drummer Clive Burr. They released their self-titled debut album in 1980; quickly becoming one of the leading proponents of the NWOBHM movement.

Guitarist Adrian Smith replaced Stratton, and a "consistent highlight", Killers, was released in 1981. Later that year, vocalist Bruce Dickinson replaced Paul Di'Anno, marking the beginning of a series of top-ten high-impact releases. They issued "the 1982 masterpiece", The Number of the Beast, becoming the band's first release to top the UK charts, and received a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. Drummer Nicko McBrain replaced Clive Burr, and the band released Piece of Mind in 1983, followed by a "true heavy metal achievement", 1984's Powerslave. Iron Maiden broadened their sound with the use of guitar synthesizers in 1986's Somewhere in Time. Their following concept album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, was released in 1988, and also topped the UK charts.

The lineup remained unchanged until Adrian Smith left the band during the pre-production stage of their last gold-certified album in the US, 1990's No Prayer for the Dying; he was replaced by Janick Gers. Their next UK No. 1 album, Fear of the Dark, was released in 1992, after which Dickinson left the band in the following year. His replacement, Blaze Bayley, debuted in 1995 with The X Factor, "a lackluster" album that marked a decline in the band's career. The diminished fan interest in 1998 with Virtual XI prompted Bayley's departure.

Dickinson and Smith returned to the band in 1999, and a new album, Brave New World, was issued in 2000. Three years later, Dance of Death was released, which marked "a triumphant return to form". In 2006 they released "a more elaborate and meandering" album, A Matter of Life and Death, which received, along with their two previous studio releases, a gold certification by the BPI. Iron Maiden's latest studio album is 2010's The Final Frontier, which was positively received by critics, and debuted at No. 1 in over twenty-eight countries, including the United Kingdom. Overall, the band have reputedly sold between 80 and 100 million units worldwide.