Paul Di'Anno's Battlezone - Killers In The Battlezone 1986-2000 Paul Di'Anno's Battlezone

Three classic albums from NWOBHM stalwart and former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno. Includes his two mid-80s albums as Battlezone where he was joined by Tokyo Blade’s John Wiggins. Plus his later band Killers, caught live in 2000.

Paul Di’Anno’s name is inextricably linked to that of Iron Maiden, the world-conquering metal band he fronted from 1978-1981, recording their first two ground-breaking albums, ‘Iron Maiden’ in 1980 and ‘Killers’ in 1981. Di’Anno then fronted a series of bands in the early 1980s, including Lonewolf, Di’Anno and the NWOBHM super-group, Gogmagog, before forming Battlezone in 1985 when he joined forces with Tokyo Blade’s John Wiggins plus John Hurley from Deep Machine, both on lead guitar, the line-up completed by Peter West on bass and Bob Falck on drums. Signing to Powerstation Records, they released ‘Fighting Back’ in 1986, produced with Ian Richardson.

By the time Battlezone came to record 1987’s ‘Children Of Madness’, for Raw Power, Hurley and Falck had been replaced by guitarist Graham Bath and drummer Steve Hopgood, both from Persian Risk.

Joining forces with Battlezone’s Graham Bath and Steve Hopgood, Paul Di’Anno’s new band, Killers, was completed by Cliff Evans on bass and Gavin Cooper on guitar, that line up is featured on CD3 recorded live at Los Angeles’ Whisky A Go Go in 2000.

‘Rising Star’, a track which originally appeared on the ‘Warchild’ compilation is included as a bonus track on CD1, and ‘To The Limit’, originally only a Japanese exclusive, plus ‘Drawn Under’ from the 1989 ‘Elementals: UK HM’ compilation, are added as bonus tracks on CD2. This set is completed with an essay from NWOBHM expert, John Tucker.