IN THE GROOVE: METAL MADNESS

🤘🏽 ☠️ 🤘🏽

During the late 1960s and early 1970s a new musical genre was developed. It kicked in the door of the music world and turned into a phenomenon that is still going strong some 50 years later. There are no obvious signs of it slowing down any time soon. In case you didn’t get the hint from my new header image, I’m talking about heavy metal!

Can I play with madness? I think after today you will have to agree that I definitely can.

Say “hello” to my little friend.
This is Eddie, the official mascot for our next group.
Eddie is a perennial fixture of the group’s artwork,
appearing on all their album covers and merchandise,
which includes T-shirts, posters and action figures.
Eddie, AKA Eddie the Head, made his debut February 8, 1980.
Eddie says
“Happy Halloween!! You want a trick or a treat??”
☠️

Welcome back, my brave friends, to the final installment of In The Groove: Metal Madness! Let me see a show of hands; how many of you have stayed with me all month? Ah, I see quite a few metal heads out there! Excellent!

Now I’m sure you’ve been asking yourself all week “I wonder what Nancy has up her Sicilian sleeve for today? Who could she possibly have in mind for the final day of Metal Madness?”

That, my lovely metal heads, is an excellent question and I took my responsibility to you very seriously. I promise, no Sicilian Curveballs will be thrown today. There’s only one metal group I can think of who deserves to be included in this final countdown (that was not a clue) and that group is

English heavy metal band Iron Maiden was formed in Leyton, East London, on Christmas Day in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most of the band’s history has consisted of Harris, lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson, drummer Nicko McBrain and guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers.

As pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal, Iron Maiden released a series of UK and US Platinum and Gold albums, including 1980’s debut album, 1981’s Killers and 1982’s The Number of the Beast – its first album with Bruce Dickinson as lead vocalist (replacing Paul Di’Anno). The addition of Dickinson was a turning point in their career, establishing them as one of heavy metal’s most important bands. The Number of the Beast is among the most popular heavy metal albums of all time, having sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

Iron Maiden is an institution. Over the course of 48 years they have come to embody a spirit of fearless creative independence, ferocious dedication to their fans, and a cheerful indifference to their critics that’s won them a following that spans every culture, generation, and time-zone. A story of gritty determination and courageous defiance of the naysayers, theirs has been an adventure like no other. Every one of their songs is a story and that for me, as a storyteller, is one of the key ingredients to their success. They are unique and different from every other heavy metal band with song lyrics covering such topics as history, literature, war, mythology, society and religion.

Iron Maiden has released 41 albums, including 17 studio albums, 13 live albums, four EPs and seven compilations. They have also released 47 singles and 20 video albums, and two video games. The band has played some 2,500 live shows and is still touring today. Iron Maiden has become one of the most influential and revered rock bands of all time.

On the evening of October 2, 1982, Bill and I hired a babysitter for our boys and drove into Manhattan for one of our final rock concerts. It had been a while. Now that we had kids, who knew when we would be able to have this experience again. We were all grown up with a different set of priorities but this was one event we could not miss. Performing that night at Madison Square Garden were two British groups Bill and I didn’t have a chance to see B.K. (Before Kids).

The concert tour was called Beast On the Road and the two groups were Judas Priest (remember them from last week?) and Iron Maiden. It was incredible and this is how it went down:

Here now are some classic Iron Maiden tunes. As I’ve been saying since week one, listen to one or listen to them all – it’s totally your call here In The Groove.

You might want to settle in and get comfy for this last one; it’s a bit lengthy. It’s my personal favorite and it’s called “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” based on the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge written in 1834. If you’re unfamiliar with the poem, I hope you’ll read it some time. Here is a link:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43997/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner-text-of-1834

That’s the way it is with heavy metal and groups like Iron Maiden; you can’t stop at just one!

Farewell to October and to a month of Metal Madness. I can’t tell you how much this site means to me; it’s a labor of love and each week I try to leave a little piece of myself on the page. It’s hard work coming up with something new and exciting week after week; I love it and I hope that love shows in what I do.

Thanks for hanging with me; you’re one of the reasons I do these posts. The other reason is me; I do this because it brings me joy. And what better reason could I possibly have?

The month-long heavy metal party is over, kids, and you have shown that you can indeed play with madness! 🤘🏽

Join me next Tuesday for a new month and the start of something completely different.

See you on the flip side.

I’m The Sicilian Storyteller

NAR © 2023