(shown here in 2008)
Killers is the only Iron Maiden album to feature two instrumentals. It was written almost exclusively by
Steve Harris; only "Twilight Zone" and the title track are cowritten. Except for "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (based on the
story of the same name by
Edgar Allan Poe) and "Prodigal Son", the songs were written in the years prior to the recording of their debut album. "Wrathchild" and "Strange World" appear to be written as far back as 1976 and original singer
Paul Mario Day later claimed he had co-written "Strange World". No songs were recorded professionally until the
Killers sessions, with the exception of "Wrathchild" (a version recorded in 1979 was featured on the
Metal for Muthas compilation). "The Ides of March" is nearly identical to "Thunderburst", by fellow British
NWOBHM band
Samson, who featured a pre-Maiden
Bruce Dickinson on vocals; however, "The Ides of March" was written during the brief time in 1977 in which future Samson drummer
Thunderstick was a member of Iron Maiden. While Harris took sole credit for "The Ides of March", "Thunderburst" is credited to Harris and all four members of Samson's
Head On line-up, Bruce Bruce, aka Bruce Dickinson,
Chris Aylmer,
Paul Samson, and Thunderstick, aka Barry Purkis.
Killers spent eight weeks on the UK chart. The North American edition, which came out a few months later, was initially released on
Harvest Records/
Capitol Records and subsequently on
Sanctuary Records/
Columbia Records. The song "
Twilight Zone" was added to the album. In Australia, the
Skyhooks cover "
Women in Uniform" was added instead as a bonus track. The
Killer World Tour featured the band's first US shows, beginning at
The Aladdin, Las Vegas, in support of
Judas Priest. Subsequently, "Wrathchild" is the only regularly played track from the album, appearing in almost all their tours. ==Track listing==