Legendary former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno passed away on October 21st, 2024. Paul had been plagued by a series of health issues resulting in a comprimised immune system. Not one to ever give up (they didn’t call him The Beast for nothing), Paul went through extensive medical treatments that left Paul virtually penniless. In true family style, his former band mates even covered his medical expenses towards the end. Many tributes came out from bands all over the world and recently, Opeth lead man Mikael Akerfedlt paid tribute to the fallen vocalist.
PAUL DI’ANNO 1958-2024. REST IN PEACE
I know this eulogy arrives quite a bit too ”late”, but there you go. I have been thinking of paying tribute to Paul since the day he passed away. His influence on metal music and on Opeth cannot be understated. I remember a vivid conversation with my buddy Jonas Renkse where we almost fought about who’s the better singer for Iron Maiden. All credit and respect to Blaze Bayley, but we’re talking about the older albums that we both grew up listening to.
Jonas was adamant that the best singer was Paul and not Bruce. ”Why?” I asked. Based on the track record Bruce has done way more great albums when Di’anno ”only” did 2. However great they are, Bruce has simply had a longer career with Maiden. Jonas reply was ”his soft voice!”. I got it! Where Bruce is the ”air-raid siren” Paul had a more sensitive side to his voice when needed. Songs like ”Prodigal son” and ”Remember tomorrow” (which we did a rather terrible cover of) are great showcases of this beautiful side to the otherwise snarling and confident voice of Paul.
On top of that ”Killers” is one of the best ”fist-on-face” heavy metal records ever released! I’ve yet to deepen my knowledge of his solo band as well as other projects, like Battlezone. I never met Paul but he stood in front of me in line at an airport once and I got too starstruck (of course) to say hi. Our late, but deepest condolences go out to his family, friends and fans. – Mikael
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