Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast - guest review
Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast - guest review
Tracklist
Disc I01. Invaders
02. Children Of The Damned
03. The Prisoner
04. 22 Acacia Avenue
05. The Number Of The Beast
06. Run To The Hills
07. Gangland
08. Total Eclipse [1998 remastered bonus]
09. Hallowed Be Thy Name
Disc II [1995 remastered release]
01. Total Eclipse
02. Remember Tomorrow [live]
Guest review by
HS September 18, 2003
The number Of The Beast is one of the best Iron Maiden albums and one of the best creations in the heavy metal history. It consists of nine memorable songs based on a wide variety of melodic riffs performed by guitarists Adrian Smith/Dave Murray. The bass parts prove for another time that Steve Harris is one of the best bassists and Clive Burr's drumming couldn't have worked better. In the end, Bruce Dickinson's operatic vocals send every song to the limit. Notice that some people find his vocals annoying while some others consider him as one of the greatest vocalists ever.
The song themes are usually taken from history or generally they are about situations taking place in past. Each song has a story to tell and the lyrics, which are full of imagination, are emotional and melodramatic. From time to time they can be dark or even indicate the presence of an evil entity. My favorite quote is: "When you know that your time is close at hand, maybe then you'll begin to understand, life down here is just a strange illusion".
As far as song highlights are concerned, this album contains the emotionally loaded song 'Children of the Damned" with Dickinson being very persuasive. Also, there is the totally classic song 'The Number of the Beast', which is about evil powers overtaking the world. Additionally, it contains 'Run to the Hills', which is an anthem/song written about the Indians. The intro is one of the most unforgettable riffs ever and the solo is one of the best [if not the best] in this album. In the end, you'll find the seven minutes long song 'Hallowed be thy Name', which describes the last moments of a man who's going to be executed.
The Number Of The Beast is an album with excellent artwork and the booklet contains liner notes and info, lyrics for all the songs and a very interesting collection of pictures [notice that we are talking about the 1998 remasters]. The CD is enhanced, which means that you can play it from your CD-rom drive. Also you will be able to view the interactive content including the two video clips 'The Number of the Beast' and 'Run to the Hills'! Also, There are photos, bios, album information, samples from other Iron Maiden albums and even an Iron Maiden Family tree!
In conclusion, this album certainly worth your money and it's a must for every true heavy metal fan.
Written by HS | September 18, 2003
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
9.5
9.5
|
Rating:
9.5 |
The year is 1982, and metal is still a young and developing genre of music. The new wave of British heavy metal is beginning to take its toll on the American populace. We had already had a taste of Priest's British Steel and nine entire studio albums by Black Sabbath. Now it's Maiden's turn to hit the spotlight, and let me tell you, this release did it for them. Read more ›› |
Rating:
7.0
7.0
|
Rating:
7.0 |
Regularly vaunted as one of the best metal albums ever, The Number of The Beast stands tall in history. When you look at the album on closer inspection, it's a case of the classic songs being so strong they overshadow the weak points that come to the fore. Is it a bad album? Far from it, but is it one of their strongest releases? Probably not. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments:
24
Visited by
255 users
|
Posts: 825  |
Posts: 825
This album deserves the classic tag, even though isn't perfect nor deserves a 10.
---- My account on other musical pages: http://www.last.fm/user/Pozito/ http://rateyourmusic.com/~Talvi
Loading...
|
| homas
Account deleted |
|
| HeathenBlood
Account deleted |
|
| Jupiter
Account deleted |
|
|
Posts: 1353  |
Posts: 1353
The best Iron Maiden album. Maybe it doesn't deserve the 10, but a 9.5 would be fair enough.
Loading...
|
| ThrashMetal_Rulz
Account deleted |
|
 Posts: 9726 |
Posts: 9726
This album is immortal. The first metal album I ever bought, I got it years before I even showed the faintest interest in metal. Definitly deserves the high score
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
Loading...
|
| PowerMetal
Account deleted |
|
 Posts: 11963 |
Posts: 11963
Oh wow, this album is huge. But then again, Maiden is huge. I love children of the damned and 22 acacia avenue. I'm not even mentioning the other obvious hit-songs.
Loading...
|
 Posts: 4920 |
Posts: 4920
don't eat me but I think this album is overrated...I love maiden, they are one of my favourite band, and this is a very good album but in my opinion not their best, nor a 10...it is made by 4 wonderful masterpieces (children of the damned, 22 acacia avenue, number of the beast and halloweed be thy name), run to the hills which is the most overrated maiden song (i don't know why people find it a great song)...the others seem fillers...maiden could do better, they'll do better in other albums...but it is just my opinion 
Loading...
|
| gerrard888
Account deleted |
|
|
Posts: 515  |
Posts: 515
Its pretty overrated IMO... Ok, its not that its overrated, its just that most of the songs on it are so overplayed that I can't listen to them without feeling fucking bored.
Loading...
|
 Posts: 2955 |
Posts: 2955
Exellent album and very fair review. important also historically since its from here that Iron become this huge phenomenon in the metal scene.
----  ---- member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
Loading...
|
 Posts: 777 |
Posts: 777
Everyone can agree that this album is a Classic 10 Up the Irons:metal:
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 30  |
Posts: 30
Honestly........ Solid 10.0 for me. Pure classic from what I personally consider one of the best bands of all times.
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 489  |
Posts: 489
I thoroughly enjoy every song on this album. This album shows off everything that I love about Maiden, catchy songs about eclectic topics and Bruce Dickinson's amazing energy.
---- Despair is death, and I'm not interested in dying. Member of the True Crusade against True Crusades
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 1469  |
Posts: 1469
It's an excellent album, but not Maiden's best, imo. "Powerslave", "Somewhere In Time" and "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" are all better than "The Number Of The Beast".
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 349  |
Posts: 349
Probably not my favorite Maiden album although its freaking amazing! It's probably their most famous album by far...
---- 
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 86  |
Posts: 86
You can say how great this album is and that it deserves a 10 probably that is true but Judas priest was far better than iron maiden and formed 5 years earlier in 1969, this is definitely a classic album but Judas priest owns maiden
Loading...
|
| BeastOfMetal456
Account deleted |
|
|
Posts: 7 |
|
 Posts: 64433 |
Posts: 64433
Paul fired, yes but can someone of you image 3 more albums whit him  his voice is not cabale follow this newer Maiden sound
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
|
 Posts: 1534 |
Posts: 1534 Written by Powerslavex on 28.11.2008 at 11:51 Well, it's me vs everyone in that case. Can't argue with it being considered a classic, but I wouldn't score it higher than an 8.
---- My one-man project's Bandcamp with free downloads: https://dreadrealm.bandcamp.com/
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 942 |
Hits total: 15659 | This month: 15