With this pick I draft, Iron Maiden.
I probably could have gotten them later but since they’re one of my all time favorite bands, I didn’t want to take the chance that anyone else here might be a fan too. I was wavering between drafting bands I thought had a higher chance of being taken early vs. bands that it would hurt the most to lose. I think I’ve decided to go with the latter approach.
Iron Maiden have been one of my favorite bands since I was about 13 or 14. In fact, they were one of the bands along with Metallica and a few others that made a music lover out of me in the first place.
In the 80s they were the one metal band who was on par with Metallica and in some ways, they were even better. Great musicianship combined with stellar songwriting, ambitious progressive influenced arrangements, and the golden throated Bruce Dickinson gave them a sophisticated, powerful and melodic sound that set them apart from most of their peers.
They had a great run in the 80s with a long string of classic albums full of wonderful songs. Even the first two albums with Paul Di'Anno on vocals are great in their own right. The band didn’t really soar though until they axed Di'Anno and replaced him with the far superior Dickinson. They fell off a bit in the 90s but have returned pretty strong in the 2000s with a solid string of new albums.