10 Most Underrated Iron Maiden Songs

Any band that has been in existence for five decades will have built up an arsenal of classic songs. No artist continues at what they do for that amount of time without crafting at least some works that are widely known and loved. Beyond that, there are the select few greats that have accrued such a body of work that they possess excellence to spare, of which Iron Maiden are a shining example.

The band have achieved enormous success across the globe, aided by their consistent dedication to putting out ambitious, quality records. There are a few albums that don’t work quite as well, but overall, their legacy can be best summed up by paraphrasing Roger Ebert's description of director Werner Herzog; “even their failures are spectacular”.

Their music is bombastic, melodramatic and littered with inspirations from history, literature and philosophy. This commitment to a classical, wholly un-ironic mode of musical storytelling has left them outliers in the postmodern, quick-fix modern culture. Yet somehow, over the last two decades, they have managed to maintain a longer run of consistent quality than they did during their widely-acclaimed classic years of 1980-1988.

Because of this longevity, some songs have have inevitably gotten lost in the extensive annals of musical history. Besides the tracks that have become household names, Maiden have accrued a varied and intriguing body of work that contains many songs that deserve to be as lauded as the widely-recognised classics. These are the ten lesser-known Maiden tracks that deserve special recognition within their extraordinary canon.

The layered and metaphysical centerpiece of 2000’s 'Brave New World' (more on which later), 'Dream Of Mirrors' uses eerie acoustic guitars and a signature galloping middle eight to dramatically evoke the sensations of a trippy, disturbed sleep.

Pompous and confident, here Maiden show off one of their greatest tricks; making a ridiculously long song feel an enthralling breeze.