Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast

Wow, I didn't know Spinal Tap was a real band.

In all honesty, I don't see how it's possible to take these guys seriously. The first I ever heard them was when we were playing music in a class and this guy put them on and said, "Hey, check this out, it's really bad 80's hair metal," and he put on Run To The Hills. "Run to the hills, run for your lives!" declared in fantastic high register harmonies blared out at me, along with predictable metal riffs (and they have three guitarists now, I hear!), and incessant drumming. To add to that, I asked him for the album afterwards and I literally laughed out loud when I saw the cover. Come on people! Have you looked at that cover? It's like.... it's like everything that's wrong with pretentious metal embodied, without any music even!

And I'm not a metal hater, either. I own my fair share of Black Sabbath, Led Zep, Metallica, Nirvana, etc. But, for the most part, those bands managed to trim the bombastic excesses down to a minimum, a feat that Iron Maiden (they have three guitarists!) apparently can't manage. I've seen footage of their concerts, and they even do the Spinal Tap thing with all of the guitarists going up to the center of the stage and making those stupid faces that Jack Black joked about in School of Rock. Now, I don't care if you go down and click the "No" down there, or if you comment and say "You have no idea what you're talking about, Iron Maiden is the greatest metal band in existence." Obviously, given the wealth of five-star reviews here, these pages are patrolled by die-hard Maiden fans waiting to strike down any naysayers. But for the love of metal, read both negative and positive reviews before buying something that has the introductory (spoken word, people!) passage that says:

"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."

Spinal Tap couldn't have said it better themselves. July 15, 2008

One of their best

This song features a number of strong songs - Children of the Damned, The Prisoner, Number of the Beast, Hallowed be thy Name, Run to the Hills and a few fillers such as Invaders, 22 Acacia Avenue, Gangland. In general I think the title track is pretty special, it has a raw energy to it very rarely replicated. Hallowed be thy name is special for the opposite reason, its a complex, long brooding song.

This also introduced Iron Maiden to the true metal scene, before this they were part of the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" a lot of which was also influenced by punk and also by what was happening in the US (Iggy Pop, MC5 etc). In fact Paul Dianno their first singer really had more in common with a non-metal scene. For those interested in checking out other early Bruce Dickinson, you might want to try to get a copy of some Sampson, although most of it is pretty crap (from memory there is a song called "Hard Times" and another song called "Vice Versa" which were ok). July 2, 2008

PLEASE BUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the best, no not best, the PERFECT album ever made! Even though the album is called "number of the beast", it is not satanic in anyway. the songs are very well written and will kick your *** all the way to the next couple of decades. so, if you love metal, then buy this album. If your worried about your religion and the title track, dont! there is nothing satanic about this item.

let me clear this up. the song "Number of the Beast" is about a guy that sees a stanc ritual and what happens after words. once more BUT THIS ALBUM! July 1, 2008

Timeless

Even if you aren't a Satan worshiper, this album just rocks plain and simple. So play it LOUD for fanatically religious friends. and watch them squirm. Hours of fun for the whole family.

Seriously... April 25, 2008

One Of The Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Ever Made

I can't even begin to express myself about how amazing this album is! This is a heavy metal classic, one of the finest ever of the genre. If you have even the slightest interest in hard rock or heavy metal pick this up right away, you won't regret it. The Number Of The Beast is one of the most exciting, melodic and endlessly listenable albums you will ever hear. A certifiable classic this album has withstood the test of time with other greats from the golden age of metal, the 1980's. April 15, 2008

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