Other Di'Anno Projects

of We Will Rock You/Smoke On The Water. Much controversy surrounds this album. Originally a bootleg, Magnetic Air Productions signed the album and released it in stores. The album is under the moniker of Paul Di'Anno & Killers (Killers is Di'Anno's most recent project, which he formed in 1992 with Battlezone drummer Steve Hopgood), and the liner says that it was recorded live during the summer of 1993 in Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela. This is odd since it's hard to believe that Killers would only play old Di'Anno songs and not work with their newly written stuff which they would soon record on their first album 'Murder One'. Also, there is speculation that Killers never went on tour in South America in 1993. Many believe that this album was actually recorded live in the studio over a fake audience. I have recently been notified by serveral different sources that, although Di'Anno was indeed scheduled to appear in South America in 1989 *AND* 1993, due to contractual problems he never made it either time. So with this information I can only assume that this album is indeed a dubbed in fake audience. Anyway, here are the tracks:

1. Overloaded (Battlezone)
2. Murders In The Rue Morgue (Iron Maiden)
3. Wrathchild (Iron Maiden)
4. Remember Tomorrow (Iron Maiden)
5. Children Of Madness (Battlezone)
6. Phantom Of The Opera (Iron Maiden)
7. Metal Tears (Battlezone)
8. Strange World (Iron Maiden)
9. Sanctuary (Iron Maiden)
10. Running Free (Iron Maiden)
11. The Promise (Battlezone)
12. We Will Rock You/Smoke On The Water (Queen/Deep Purple)

Iron Maiden:
Paul Di'Anno was the first recording lead singer of Iron Maiden. With Di'Anno they released two classic albums, "Iron Maiden", and "Killers". Both albums are great, but the first self-titled album is one of my all time favorites. It is pure, raw, hard driving original heavy metal. Paul's voice, although not as mature as in the Battlezone albums, is still great because of his youthful enthusiasm. Some incredible

tracks off that album are Phantom Of The Opera, Remember Tomorrow, Prowler, and Running Free. Those are just a few, however, since I think the whole album rules (one of my top five albums of all time). "Killers" saw the sound of Iron Maiden begin to progress to the style that would make them so popular later on with Bruce Dickinson as their vocalist. There are still some great songs on this album though (especially the first three tracks!), and many people consider "Killers" to be better than the first one. My only advice is to get them both! There were also many singles released from that era, as well as a terrific live EP titled "Maiden Japan". Hmm . . . I wonder what Iron Maiden would have been like had Paul stayed? But then again, Battlezone would have never existed had that happened :). For more info on Iron Maiden, check out my links page.

DiAnno: DiAnno was the first project by Paul DiAnno after he left Iron Maiden. I have heard rumors that this group was originally called Lonewolf but after certain disagreements with a group already called Lone Wolf, they changed their name, and ended up recording only one album under the simple moniker of DiAnno. Like the Battlezone stuff, this album is extremely rare. To my knowledge it has never been released on CD or cassette, and the vinyl is nearly impossible to locate anymore. The album sound is more rock than metal, with lots of keyboard. Apparantly in their concerts, Paul refused to play any Iron Maiden songs (much to the dismay of the crowd), playing only their own songs and a few other covers. In fact, read this review of one of their concerts in England. After minimal sucess, the six piece band disbanded shortly after they were done touring. I've never found out why DiAnno broke up after recording only one album, but I'm guessing that Paul was unhappy with the record label support. Whatever the reason, this rare album, a 7" single of "Heartuser", a 7" single Japanese release of Flaming Heart), and some compilations are the only pieces of memorabilia to even show of the bands existance.

Gogmagog: Gogmagog was a rock opera project formed by Jonathan King. King brought in Di'Anno fresh from his '84 self-named album. The idea of Gogmagog had tremendous potential, and after going through numerous lineup changes the final recording lineup was very formidable (including Clive Burr, Janick Gers, and Di'Anno. All of Iron Maiden fame at one time or another). Once the group was together, and Russ Ballard was brought in for songwriting, they recorded a three song demo. This demo ended up being released as an EP called "I Will Be There". Even though Di'Anno's performance is terrific, two of the three songs (both written by J. King), are horribly absurd. If fact, the only song I like is the title track. An interesting point about the EP is that is wasn't released until after the group had disbanded. The three songs are only demo's to be part of an album in which many more songs were written but never recorded. After Gogmagog broke up, Jonathan King released "I Will Be There" as a collectors item. It was after Gogmagog that Di'Anno began Battlezone.

Praying Mantis: After leaving Battlezone, Di'Anno was spending some vacation time in Japan around 1990. At the same time, the famed NWOBHM group Praying Mantis was having their 10th year reunion tour in Japan, and Di'Anno, along with old buddy Dennis Stratton, decided to help out. They did a few concerts together and the result was a Praying Mantis live album titled "Live At Last". The album consists of Lionheart songs (Stratton's former group), Mantis songs, and some Di'Anno era Iron Maiden songs. Di'Anno sings about eight or so tracks on the album. These concerts, and the live album, are the only connection Di'Anno ever had with Praying Mantis. For more information on Praying Mantis and "Live At Last", check out Jon's Hinchliffe's Praying Mantis Page, a very nice page.

Killers: Killers was(is?) Di'Anno's project after Battlezone. The first album, "Murder One" is traditional Di'Anno-style metal, and is overall a good effort. However, Killers made a drastic style change with their second album "Menace To Society", sounding like (some say) Pantera. Apparantly this album is the result of Paul trying to rid himself of the Iron Maiden shadow, but it's not very enjoyable for people who are into older Di'Anno. A live album has also been released, simply called "Live". Most people seem to enjoy this album, and it's a worth addition to the Di'Anno collection. Recent reports from various people have suggested that Killers are still together, and when I get more information I will post it. To find out more about Killers go to my links page.

Di'Anno and Stratton: This project came at the perfect time for me, and I'll tell you why. I was really beginning to get tired of the Killers sound, and all I wanted was some good 'ol classic metal with Di'Anno that was original. And when Di'Anno and Stratton released "Original Iron Men", I was pleased. The project was formed and produced by Lea Hart (ex-Fastway), and the album is really just ten of many demo's recorded during the project. The lineup consists of Di'Anno, Stratton (who along with Di'Anno took part in one of the greatest metal albums ever in the first Iron Maiden album), and about a thousand others. Di'Anno sings lead voc's on six tracks, and Stratton(!) sings lead voc's on four tracks. The songs aren't real complicated, but it's just good hard rock/metal with some great tracks like Let Him Rock (one of my all time Di'Anno favs) and Lucky To Lose. The thing that surprised me the most was Stratton can actually sing (he rules in I've Had Enough), and although I would rather have Di'Anno on full time voc's, he does well for himself. True, the album does have faults. At times it sounds very electronic (thank keyboard happy Lea Hart for that). Also, although drummers are credited, I suspect drum programming. The album gets repetitive at times, and it would have also been nice if Di'Anno and Stratton would have actually written some songs instead of just doing Lea's old Fastway songs. But all in all, a pleasant experience. On the contrary, "Original Iron Men Vol. II" was not a pleasent experience. The songwriting, heaviness, and performence are all weaker. No standout tracks or solos. The only way I would recommend this album is if you are a die-hard Di'Anno fan who like him singing to *ANY* kind of music.

Paul Dianno: Di'Anno has also recorded an album called "The Worlds First Iron Man". I don't know a lot about this album other than it was (I believe) recorded at the same time as the Original Iron Man series. Apparently Paul himself does not particularly like this album, but I would say it's definitely better than O.I.M. Vol. II. Too many covers though, and as Peter Dahlqvist says, ". . . fans of the old Dianno just have to face it, he's softened up in his older days." (sigh) Sad but true.

Back to my Battlezone Homepage.

Again, if you have any questions, comments, info, corrections, or anything else e-mail me at defender@frontiernet.net.

Other Di'Anno Projects

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