The Number of the Beast

March of 1982 marks a turning point for Iron Maiden with the release of the album The Number of the Beast featuring their new vocalist Bruce Dickinson, formerly of the NWOBHM group Samson, and the last album to feature Clive Burr on the drums.
The success of the first two albums from the band featuring vocalist Paul Di’Anno set the band up for becoming one of heavy metal’s premier acts. The Number of the Beast would propel the band front and center with the likes of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest & Motörhead and influencing future heavy metal kings Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, Testament & Exodus. In the early 80’s heavy metal began to evolve into sub genres with glam metal, hair metal a dividing line had been drawn Iron Maiden while still sporting spandex mixed with the leather and studs, looked to take NWOBHM in a far different direction than the fore mentioned glam and hair metal genres. The Number of the Beast remains one of the most influential metal albums more than 40 years later.

1. Invaders- While nearly all bands open their albums with what they, or the record company consider to be the strongest track of the album, that is not the case with this album, while this track may not be the best track on the album it certainly kicks the album off with a bang and sets the pace for the rest of this opus. Steve Harris provides the signature bass sound established with the first two Iron Maiden albums, the vocal give a slight glimpse of what the following songs have to offer, leaving the listener ready to hear more.

2. Children of the Damned- Known for the machine gun guitar attack of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, they show their ability to deliver clean tones with soulful vocals of Bruce Dickinson over the top, and a catchy chorus that gives this song its magic and appeal.

3. The Prisoner- Inspired by the British tv show of the same name this track features dialogue from the show, this was something new bands were using to enhance the song’s intro, as cool as the intro is, the song itself was and still is good enough to stand on its own, Clive Burr opens the music with a simple yet powerful drum fill with the rest of the band following in. The track clocks in at over 6 minutes which was something Iron Maiden became known for, epic length tracks and yet it’s not the longest track on the album, you can feel the passion of Bruce’s vocals believing he IS the prisoner and on the verge of breaking loose. Dave and Adrian’s guitar work prove over and over their title as one of the greatest two guitar bands in heavy metal, that still rings true today even though Jannick Gers is now a part of that team making them the “Lynyrd Skynyrd triple threat of metal”, which provides a full sound of the live concerts as Iron Maiden frequently utilizes guitar harmonies adding the proverbial “cherry on top.”

4. 22 Acacia Avenue- This track is considered the second song in the Charlotte the Harlot saga, from the first Iron Maiden (1981), clearly the song is about a prostitute and the perspective client, advising them to let her know they know the band and may get in for free, while heavy metal was always raunchy when it came to sex, Iron Maiden classes it up a bit, as the song turns from the listener in search of a good time to advising Charlotte to think about the path she has chosen, once again the guitars are at the forefront, with Steve Harris and his galloping technique that he would be known for, still not the strongest song on the album, but with songs like The Number of the Beast, Run to the Hills and Hallowed be thy Name, 22 Acacia Avenue complements them very well.

5. The Number of the Beast- The song is written by bassist Steve Harris, inspired by the movie, Damien: Omen II and the poem Tam o’ Shanter by Robert Burns, This track opens with “Woe to you, oh earth and sea, For the Devil sends the beast with wrath, Because he knows the time is short, Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast, For it is a human number, Its number is 666” spoken by Barry Clayton well known British actor as he quotes from Revelation 12:12 and Revelation 13:18, originally the band wanted Vincent Price to do the spoken part but fell through as Price wanted nothing less than £25,000 to do the voice over. Guitars and bass open the music with precise picking on the guitars accompanied by Harris’ unrelenting bass line as Bruce begins to tell his tale of his warped mind staring back at him leading to one of heavy metal’s greatest screams, and yet it will be topped by Hallowed Be Thy Name later on the album. The rhythm builds to the signature sound of Dave Murray’s lead guitar work and then with a short breakdown Adrian Smith puts his stamp on it with a solo that complements Murray’s without mimicking Murray’s.

6. Run to the Hills- This track received plenty of airtime on the still young MTV, it is also the first single off the album, the song tells the tales of the battle between the white man and the indigenous people of the young American west it also shows the intelligence of the writing where so many bands wrote songs about girls, cars & partying, Iron Maiden injected history into their music giving it more substance for the listener in investigate further as to what the song is about. Harris provides his signature galloping bass line which perfectly gives the feeling of galloping on horseback through the American plains. Dave Murray once again provides the mistakeable sound of his solo’s, once more he and the band understand the concept of “serving” the song not the ego which makes it a great track.

7. Gangland- This song narrowly missed being cut from the album as Iron Maiden had written more than enough material, though it’s not the strongest song on the album and is certainly not a filler track, it doesn’t pack the punch of Run to The Hills, The Number of Beast or Hallowed Be Thy Name it does however deliver straight to the point without any flashy solos or lengthy screams with its driving rhythm provided by Harris and Burr.. still NOT a filler track by any stretch of the imagination.

8. Total Eclipse- Originally left off the album’s initial release due to space constraints, it was however on the Japanese release sandwiched between Run to the Hills and Gangland on side two, in 1998 reissued release its placed between Gangland and Hallowed Be Thy Name, hearing it in the context of the album shows why it should be on the album complete and Hallowed be Thy Name remains the grand closing number that it is.

9. Hallowed Be Thy Name- ABSOLUTLEY EPIC! what more can be said about this track, it’s the longest track on the album and runs the gambit to form the perfect Iron Maiden song. This song is arguably the greatest Iron Maiden song ever written, the tolling of the bell accompanied by Harris, Burr, Murray and Smith, the dual guitar attack of Murray and Smith, the unrelentless attack of Steve Harris’ bass and finally Bruce Dickinson’s epic vocals.

In my opinion this record marks a new chapter of Iron Maiden’s songwriting, leading to Piece of Mind, Powerslave, Somewhere in Time & Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, all top shelf albums. Any young listener looking to discover the magic of Iron Maiden should start with the first album Iron Maiden and Killers to fully appreciate the true artistry of the next 5 albums.