Iron Maiden with 'Somewhere in Time'. Yet Iron Maiden, with substantially less media attention than Judas Priest & with substantially fewer hits are unquestionably the more successful & enduring band. I base this statement on the fact that Iron Maiden have vastly outsold Judas Priest, at least count 80M vs 30M albums sold worldwide. In Edmonton, Iron Maiden have played the Coliseum since 2008 with relatively healthy attendance figures right up until 2016. Judas Priest by contrast, have been relegated to the Shaw Conference centre since 2008.
I contend that there are a number of factors here. 1st, even though Iron Maiden released some mediocre material from 1986 - 1998, their live shows remained consistently powerful. Priest, however, appeared at times - especially on the 'Fuel For Life' tour in 1986 - to be going through the motions. Yes, they rebounded with 'Painkiller' in 1990 but the damage had been done. 2nd, Iron Maiden have generally been perceived as having greater depth, both musically & lyrically, than Priest. Maiden have 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. What do Priest have,' Loch Ness' off 'Nostradamus'? Sure, there's 'Painkiller' but even that lacks the grandiosity, complexity, & nuance of 'Mariner'. 3rd, Maiden are far more lively on stage. Bruce is still jumping around like a young man half his age. Halford, however, is markedly more restrained in his physicality.
Don't get me wrong, I love both bands. Both have something unique that they bring to the table. But Maiden, despite substantially less media support, enjoy a markedly more robust fanbase worldwide. This does not mean that Maiden are better than Priest, but it does mean that they are more popular. In the interests of brevity I'll leave it at that.
Comments?