| The Number of the Beast | |
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| Released | March 22nd, 1982 |
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| Recorded | January – February 1982 at Battery Studios |
| Genre | Heavy metal |
| Length | 39:11 |
| Label | EMI |
| Producer | Martin Birch |
| Singles | "Run to the Hills" "The Number of the Beast" |
| Previous | Next |
The Number of the Beast is the third studio album by Iron Maiden. The album was released on March 22, 1982 through EMI and on its sister label Capitol on the Harvest imprint in the US originally before it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia in the US. This was the debut of vocalist Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden. It has been cited as one of the most influential heavy metal albums of all time, and is widely acknowledged as one of the best and most iconic albums of the genre.
The Number of the Beast also cemented Iron Maiden as one of "the biggest metal bands on the planet".
Of all the songs in the album, "The Number of the Beast", "Run to the Hills" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" remain on the set lists of nearly all of the band's concert tours, with the latter two often used to close a show. All three songs have been released as singles in various forms. The album is also Iron Maiden's highest selling album worldwide with over 14 million sales estimated.
The Beast on the Road was the tour supporting the album.
Track Listing[]
Original Release[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Invaders" | Steve Harris | 3:20 |
| 2. | "Children of the Damned" | Harris | 4:34 |
| 3. | "The Prisoner" | Adrian Smith, Harris | 5:34 |
| 4. | "22 Acacia Avenue" | Harris, Smith | 6:34 |
| 5. | "The Number of the Beast" | Harris | 4:25 |
| 6. | "Run to the Hills" | Harris, Bruce Dickinson (uncredited) | 3:50 |
| 7. | "Gangland" | Harris, Clive Burr | 3:46 |
| 8. | "Hallowed Be Thy Name" | Harris | 7:08 |
| 1995 Reissue Bonus Disc | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 9. | "Total Eclipse" | Harris, Dave Murray, Burr | 4:25 | ||||||
| 10. | "Remember Tomorrow" (live) | Harris, Paul Di'Anno | 5:29 | ||||||
History[]
The Number of the Beast marked Bruce Dickinson's debut with the band. Since this album (and its tour, Beast on the Road), "The Beast" has become something of a nickname for the band and possibly Eddie, as suggested by albums such as Best of the Beast (which featured a 'best of Eddie' mural on the cover), Beast over Hammersmith, and the DVD Visions of the Beast.
This album is the only one to feature songwriting by drummer Clive Burr. This is one of several reasons why the album was so different from previous ones other than the obvious change in lead singer. It was the first album with writing by Adrian Smith (see below track listing for details), and the first to feature writing by the 'new' Steve Harris (his older style had been written for different musicians, and in a different time) - the entire writing system was different. However, it is one of the few albums not to feature a Dave Murray song, and the first album not to feature an instrumental.
Reception[]
It was widely panned by mainstream media upon its release, including Rolling Stone, who claimed that it "blusters along aimlessly, proving again that bad music is hell."
It was also panned by social conservatives, especially in America. Due to its title, Iron Maiden was called a "Satanic band" in the US. Their Beast on the Road tour was marred by boycotts and protests. However, it was well received by Iron Maiden fans and is considered to be one of their best albums.
All Music Guide, in its official review of the album -written by Steve Huey-, stated: "The Number of the Beast is quite simply one of the best heavy metal albums ever released". The album was ranked number 17 on Guitar World's list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time. In 2000 Q magazine placed the album at number 100 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever, and a year later the same magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time. In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at #40 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s".[ The BBC made a documentary of this album in their Classic Albums series.
IGN named it the third greatest heavy metal album of all time.
Metal-Rules.com named this the second greatest heavy metal album of all time.
The album is also a part of EMI's "Albums That Shaped Rock History" series.
Album artwork[]
The album was also the centre of controversy, particularly in America, due to the lyrics of the title track and the cover art depicting Satan being controlled by Eddie. This cover art was originally intended for an earlier single, "Purgatory", but the band felt the cover was too high of caliber for just a single and a less complex image was used for the single instead. The title track, "The Number of the Beast", was said not be a satanic song but was actually instead inspired by bass player Steve Harris's nightmare about being trapped in Hell, triggered after watching Damien: Omen II. The album's cover art has been parodied several times - by crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death for the cover art of their 1999 album Bigger Than the Devil, and on a T-shirt by underground New York Hip Hop Label Uncle Howie Records. Streetwear brand Diamond Supply Co. parodied the album cover for a shirt in their line. Nick Tershay, founder of Diamond is reported as having had to pay $50,000 due to the parody being too close to the original art work.
The original 1982 artwork includes a light blue sky in the background; this was a mistake by the printers of the album cover, and was later rectified and became black when the album was remastered for compact disc in 1998.
Lyrical themes[]
While the title track was thought by many to mean that Iron Maiden were Satanists, in fact the song was inspired by a nightmare bassist Steve Harris had, triggered by watching the film Damien: Omen II late at night. While he was quite scared of the Satanic images he saw in his nightmare, he also felt them amusing, and after that, he obtained the idea for the song, and also for the title of the album.
"Children of the Damned" is based on the films Village of the Damned and Children of the Damned, which in turn were adapted from the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. On a recent "Bruce Dickinson Rock Show" on BBC Radio 6, Dickinson told Ronnie James Dio that Children of the Damned was inspired by Black Sabbath's "Children of the Sea".
"The Prisoner" was inspired by the British TV show of the same name, and features dialogue from its title sequence. Rod Smallwood had to telephone Patrick McGoohan to ask permission to use the dialogue for the song. According to witnesses the usually calm Smallwood was completely star struck during the conversation. McGoohan was reported to have said "What did you say the name was? Iron Maiden? Do it." Iron Maiden later made another song based on the series, "Back in the Village" from Powerslave.
"22 Acacia Avenue" is the second song in the "Charlotte the Harlot" saga.
The title track opens with a spoken introduction which draws heavily from the King James Version of Revelation 13:18, and is apparently inspired by Tam o' Shanter by Robert Burns. Barry Clayton is the name of the actor who speaks those opening lines on the album.
Classic Albums[]
The cover for DVD, Classic Albums: The Number of the Beast.The making of the album was released as a video on December 4, 2001 through Eagle Visions, as part of the documentary series, Classic Albums.
The video was directed by Tim Kirkby and featured cuts from the title track, "Children of the Damned", "Run to the Hills", and "The Prisoner". In addition, extended interviews and live footage of "Hallowed Be Thy Name" — recorded during the band's performance at the Rock in Rio festival in 2001— were included.
The video reached number 9 on the Norwegian DVD Charts, and was certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
It was released in DVD, VHS and UMD formats, and featured subtitles in six different languages, Dutch, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and French.
Appearance in media[]
On October 24, 2002, progressive metal outfit Dream Theater played the original album in its entirety at La Mutualite in Paris, France. The performance was recorded and has been released through the band's YtseJam Records label.
"Run To The Hills" was covered on the all-star tribute album Numbers From The Beast, featuring vocalist Robin McAuley, guitarists Michael Schenker and Pete Fletcher, bassist Tony Franklin, and drummer Brian Tichy. The version slightly varied from the original, in terms of guitars, when Schenker added small solos.
"Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "The Number of the Beast" was covered by Iced Earth on their album, Tribute To The Gods. Machine Head also covered it on the Maiden Heaven: A Tribute To Iron Maiden tribute album released by Kerrang! magazine in 2008. It was also covered by Cradle of Filth.
The album has also been used in several video games - "Run to the Hills" is featured on SSX On Tour as the opening theme, and a cover version is a track in Rock Band in which it is the only song on the disk listed as an 'Impossible' song for all the instruments. In addition, the master tracks of the songs "The Number of the Beast", "Run to the Hills" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (the latter being a live recording found on Flight 666) were made downloadable to Rock Band as part of a 12 pack on June 8, 2009, and "The Prisoner" was made downloadable as part of the "Maiden Epics" pack on May 22, 2012. In Guitar Hero III, the hit song "The Number of the Beast" was featured. "The Number of the Beast" and "Run to the Hills" were also made downloadable to Rocksmith 2014 on November 5, 2013.
Reissues[]
The album was reissued in 1995 with bonus tracks, "Total Eclipse" and a live version of "Remember Tomorrow", which had been previously released as the b-sides of the album's two singles. The album reissue incorrectly includes Paul Di'Anno in the song-writing credits for "Total Eclipse", which had actually been written by Harris, Murray, and Burr. In addition, the liner notes claim this version of "Remember Tomorrow" was recorded live in Milan, Italy, during Bruce Dickinson's first performances with the band in 1981. However, it is the same recording included on Maiden Japan except that with Dickinson's vocals overdubbed over Di'Anno's original performance.
It was also released as an enhanced CD version in 1998 which included photos, band history and the music videos for the songs "The Number of the Beast" and "Run to the Hills".
Chart performance[]
The Number of the Beast was released on March 29, 1982, and quickly became a commercial success around the world. It was the band's first effort to top the UK charts, and enter the Billboard 200—at number 150. The album reached the top 10 in Austria and Sweden, and hit number 11 and 13 in Canada and Norway respectively. It was awarded platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 4, 1983. Although the album failed to chart in Germany, it was certified gold ten years later, and received a 3× platinum award in Canada for sales exceeding 300,000 units. Two songs were released as singles, "Run to the Hills" and the title track, which debuted in the United Kingdom at number 7—their highest chart position at the time— and number 18 respectively. Both songs entered the singles chart in Ireland in the same order —at number 16 and 19.
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