10 Best Hard Rock Bands Of The 1980s
7. Iron Maiden
When it comes to describing metal in the 80's, the decade is almost synonymous with Iron Maiden. As the band made their debut with vocalist Paul Dianno, they delivered an aggressive update to metal's original heavy sound. After their brilliant album Killers, Dianno parted ways with the group leaving their future uncertain.
However, once the band acquired vocal maniac Bruce Dickinson, the band went through a string of albums in the 80's that has not been matched by any metal band since, from the instant classic The Number of the Beast to later masterpieces like Somewhere in Time.
The tunes that Maiden were able to create at this stage became anthems for legions of hard rock fans from "The Number of the Beast" to "Wasted Years" to "2 Minutes to Midnight." After the 80's, the band lost Dickinson and continued on with Blaze Bayley to mixed results. Once Dickinson returned to the fold in the mid-90's, the band came roaring back to life once more with the modern classic Brave New World. In just under a decade, Iron Maiden's output turned them from a great underground metal band into a god-tier metal juggernaut who's power few can hope to master.