Before Steve Harris formed arguably the biggest heavy metal band on the planet, Iron Maiden existed as a completely different band. Formed in Basildon,Essex, these chaps were inspired by the likes of Cream, until Led Zeppelin caught their eye that is. Immediately embarking on a heavier direction that resulted in the release of their one and only single (which included the tracks Falling and Ned Kelly – released in 1970) the story was prematurely cut short for one reason or another. Roll on into 2012 and Rise Above Relics in their genius wisdom have dusted off some old demo tapes and re-released these prized recordings along with the said two tracks from their single. I say prized recordings as with this style of music there is very little guitar distortion, each note can be clearly audible, each intricate riff and band jam is captured perfectly and it also makes you realise how talented these guys were way back when. They certainly cannot hide their fretboard travels behind massive amounts of distortion and feedback like some bands do and have done for years.

In these early days of music, much inspiration was drawn from many quarters that would seem obtuse, even absurd in modern hard rock, prog and even heavy metal. Jazz was quite a major influence, listen to the bass run during opener ‘God of Darkness’ and mark the similarity to that of Sabbath’s debut release. Influence continues from many quarters, Maiden’s sound on the rockier elements is akin to Leafhound (as most people would know who that is – a lazy comparison!), whilst the occult nature of the recording would also do justice to some Black Widow fans. If you ignore the production, the music will still stand up on its own against some of the music of the current decade, it’s timeless. It has been said that these musicians were the first “proto-doom metal” band, with the aforementioned ‘God of Darkness’ being recorded one year before the seminal heavy metal blueprint of ‘Black Sabbath’ as we know and love was recorded.

This release itself has some epic tracks, at over 12 minutes long ‘Liar’ grooves and moves and shakes into action without too much repetition but possessing the lost art of jams and improvisation. The vocals sound American; I cannot really pick out a classic singer for reference, they sound more of a folk style actually, as for British vocalists, maybe similar to that of Lindisfarne’s Alan Hull in minor places, usually when holding notes. ‘Plague’ is a big jazz/blues fusion jam, this highlights the ability and importance of a drummer in those days, there is a bit more inclusion in the overall sound of the “jam”, the harmonies drive the sound towards a simulated dance with the witches; dreamy and stereotypically occult.

Looking beyond the throwaway attitude in certain parts of today’s musical world, ‘Maiden Voyage’ documents a band that were extremely talented, the recordings come across as thoughtful, expressive and even innovative (think about when/what year these were actually recorded), the more avid musician and proto-doom/prog/folk connoisseurs amongst you will really rejoice with these recordings, I for one am rekindled to this remarkable collection of music, for me it comes across as refreshing and inspiring, hopefully you will also feel the same way. ‘Maiden Voyage’ maybe a trip down memory lane for a band long past, but I can say that it is a crime not to let music fans hear the majesty, the inspirational musical journey that was and is The (Original) Iron Maiden’s ‘Maiden Voyage’.

(7/10  Paul Maddison)

http://www.riseaboverecords.com