The Number of the Beast Review by Steve Huey
Routinely ranked among the greatest heavy metal
albums of all time, The Number of the Beast is the birth of Iron Maiden
as we know it, a relentless metal machine lifted to soaring new heights
by the arrival of erstwhile Samson frontman Bruce Dickinson. Dickinson's operatic performance here made him an instant metal icon, challenging even Rob Halford
for bragging rights, and helped launch the band into the stratosphere.
The Number of the Beast topped the charts in the U.K., but even more
crucially -- with Judas Priest
having moved into more commercial territory -- it also made Iron Maiden
the band of choice for purists who wanted their metal uncompromised.
Maiden took the basic blueprint Priest
had created in the late '70s -- aggressive tempos, twin-guitar
interplay, wide-ranging power vocals -- and cranked everything up faster
and louder. The album's intensity never lets up, the musical technique
is peerless for its time, and there isn't a truly unmemorable song in
the bunch. Blessed with a singer who could drive home a melody in
grandiose fashion, Steve Harris'
writing gets more ambitious, largely abandoning the street violence of
old in favor of fittingly epic themes drawn from history, science
fiction, and horror. The exceptions are "22 Acacia Avenue," a sequel to
"Charlotte the Harlot" that sounds written for Di'Anno's range, and the street-crime tale "Gangland," which Harris didn't write; though the punk influences largely left with Di'Anno,
these two definitely recall the Maiden of old. As for the new, two of
the band's (and, for that matter, heavy metal's) all-time signature
songs are here. The anthemic "Run to the Hills" dramatized the conquest
of the Native Americans and became the band's first Top Ten U.K. single.
It features Maiden's trademark galloping rhythm, which in this case
serves to underscore the images of warriors on horseback. Meanwhile, the
title track's odd-meter time signature keeps the listener just slightly
off balance and unsettled, leading into the most blood-curdling Dickinson scream on record; the lyrics, based on nothing more than Harris'
nightmare after watching a horror movie, naturally provoked hysterical
accusations of Satan worship (which, in turn, naturally provoked sales).
"Hallowed Be Thy Name" is perhaps the most celebrated of the band's
extended epics; it's the tale of a prisoner about to be hanged,
featuring some of Harris'
most philosophical lyrics. It opens with a superbly doomy atmosphere
before giving way to a succession of memorable instrumental lines and an
impassioned performance by Dickinson;
despite all the tempo changes, the transitions never feel jarring.
Elsewhere, "The Prisoner" is a catchy retelling of the hit British TV
series, and "Children of the Damned" is a slower, heavier number
patterned after the downtempo moments of Dio-era Black Sabbath.
CD remasters integrate "Total Eclipse," first released as the B-side of
"Run to the Hills," into the running order. Though some moments on The
Number of the Beast are clearly stronger than others, the album as a
whole represented a high-water mark for heavy metal, striking a balance
between accessible melodicism and challenging technique and intensity.
Everything fell into place for Iron Maiden here at exactly the right
time, and the result certainly ranks among the top five most essential
heavy metal albums ever recorded. A cornerstone of the genre.
