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Killers is the only Iron Maiden album to feature two instrumentals. It was written almost exclusively by Steve Harris;^[11] only “Twilight Zone” and the title track are cowritten.

Bar “Murders in the Rue Morgue” (based on the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe)^[12] and “Prodigal Son”, the songs were written in the years prior to the recording of their debut album.^[13] No songs were recorded professionally until the Killers sessions, with the exception of “Wrathchild” (a version recorded in 1979 was featured on the Metal for Muthas compilation).^[13]

“The Ides of March” is nearly identical to “Thunderburst”, by fellow British NWOBHM band Samson, who featured a pre-Maiden Bruce Dickinson on vocals; however, “The Ides of March” was written during the brief time in 1977 in which future Samson drummer Thunderstick was a member of Iron Maiden. While Harris took sole credit for “The Ides of March”, “Thunderburst” is credited to Harris and all four members of Samson’s Head On line-up, Bruce Bruce, aka Bruce Dickinson, Chris Aylmer, Paul Samson, and Thunderstick, aka Barry Purkis.

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