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Mar 22, 20239 min read

Iron Maiden — The Number of the Beast (1982)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…



Iron Maiden — The Number of the Beast (1982)



Original Vinyl & Cassette Track List:

Side One:

01. Invaders (3:20)

02. Children of the Damned (4:34)

03. The Prisoner (5:34)

04. 22 Acacia Avenue (6:34)


Side Two:

01. The Number of the Beast (4:25)

02. Run to the Hills (3:50)

03. Gangland (3:36)

04. Hallowed Be Thy Name (7:08)


The Japanese pressing includes the song Total Eclipse on Side Two as track 7, with Gangland andHallowed Be Thy Name moving down to tracks 8 & 9, respectively.


Iron Maiden:



Production & Layout:



Background:

Iron Maiden released their third full-length studio album The Number of the Beast on March 22nd, 1982 via EMI Records in the United Kingdom, and in the United States by Harvest / Capital Records. The album was their first to feature vocalist Bruce Dickinson and their last with drummer Clive Burr.


The Number of the Beast was met with critical and commercial success, and became the band's first album to top the UK Albums Chart and reach the top 40 of the US Billboard 200. The album produced the singles Run to the Hills and The Number of the Beast, the former of which became the band's first top-ten UK single.


(Run to the Hills - single, Released February 12, 1982)


The album was also controversial, particularly in the United States, due to the religious references in its artwork and the title track's lyrics. Since the release of The Number of the Beast, "The Beast" has become an alternate name for Iron Maiden and was later used in the titles of some of their compilations and live releases, including Best of the Beast and Visions of the Beast.


(The Number of the Beast - single, Released April 26, 1982)


Writing & Recording:

The Number of the Beast is Iron Maiden's only album to include songwriting credits for Clive Burr, and was the band's first album to feature writing by guitarist Adrian Smith. In addition, the release saw Steve Harris adopt a different approach to writing, which would cater more for new vocalist Bruce Dickinson. The album's producer Martin Birch remarked, "I simply didn't think [former vocalist Paul Di'Anno] was capable of handling lead vocals on some of the quite complicated directions I knew Steve wanted to explore ... When Bruce joined, it opened up the possibilities for the new album tremendously."


According to several interviews Dickinson was heavily involved in writing several of the album's songs, and in particular the tracks Children of the Damned, The Prisoner and Run to the Hills. Owing to his previous band Samson's ongoing contractual issues, Dickinson could not legally have any writing credit. The recording and mixing of the album had to be completed in only five weeks, after the band had spent too long constructing the new songs. This was allegedly because the group were for the first time creating a new album from scratch, with very little material written prior to the record's pre-production stage. However, live recordings show that five of the album's songs had been premiered live already at a few shows towards the end of the Killer World Tour in November and December 1981. With Invaders being a re-write of an earlier song, Invasion, this suggests only two tracks – the title track and Gangland – were written after the 1981 tour ended.



Music press reports told stories of unexplained phenomena occurring during the sessions at Battery Studios, such as lights turning on and off of their own accord and the recording gear mysteriously breaking down. These odd occurrences climaxed when Birch was involved in a car accident with a mini-bus transporting a group of nuns, after which he was presented with a repair bill for £666.



Album Art:

Like all of Iron Maiden's album artwork during the 1980s and early 90s, it was painted by Derek Riggs. The cover was originally created for the song Purgatory, but manager Rod Smallwood deemed it of too high a calibre for a single release and decided to save it for The Number of the Beast. The original 1982 artwork includes a blue sky in the background; a mistake by the printers of the cover, this was corrected to black when the album was remastered for compact disc in 1998.


The album attracted controversy, particularly in the United States, due to the lyrics of the title track and the cover art depicting Eddie controlling Satan like a puppet, while Satan is also controlling a smaller Eddie. Smallwood explains that the concept was to ask "who's the really evil one here? Who's manipulating who?" According to Riggs, this was inspired by a Doctor Strange comic book, "which had some big villain with Doctor Strange dangling on some strings like a puppet – it was something I read as a child back in the 1960s, I think," while the images of hell were "taken from my knowledge of medieval European Christian art which was full of such scenes". In addition, Satan was supposed to have wings made out of lightning and smoke (which can still be seen vaguely in the final piece) but due to time constrain, Riggs was unable to complete it as intended. He also made Satan look like Salvador Dalí as a joke.



According to US professor Bryan A. Bardine, "this album evokes power, passion and music that present darker themes and images."


The artwork has been parodied by Crossover Thrash band Stormtroopers of Death for the cover of their 1999 album Bigger than the Devil, and on a T-shirt by Streetwear brand Diamond Supply Co.


"It's probably thick," remarked KIϟϟ bassist Gene Simmons of the sleeve. "It's probably got elves and dragons holding it up!"


In 2015, this cover art makes an appearance in the Speed of Light music video depicting Eddiefighting Satan (now known as "The Beast") in a form of Mortal Kombat video game.



The Songs:

Run to the Hills was released as a single on February 12th, 1982, two weeks before Iron Maiden's UK tour, acting as a preview for the forthcoming album, which would not be released until two days after the British dates ended. Released alongside a music video, made using live footage and clips from Buster Keaton films, the single performed remarkably well, earning the band their first top ten entry in the UK Singles Chart. As they were rushing to complete the album in time, as well as record and mix the single for an even earlier release, the band hastily selected Total Eclipse as the B-side.


As they had written too much material, they had to choose between Total Eclipse and Ganglandfor the Run to the Hills B-side, with the understanding that the other song would appear on the album. Several band-members have since expressed regret over the decision, with Steve Harriscommenting, "We just chose the wrong track as the B-side. I think if 'Total Eclipse' had been on the album instead of 'Gangland' it would have been far better." On top of this, Harris has stated that the record's opening track, Invaders, was not good enough, commenting that it "could have been replaced with something a bit better, only we didn't have anything else to replace it with at the time. We had just enough time to do what we did, and that was it." Total Eclipse was added to the 1998 CD reissue, and replaced Gangland on the 2022 40th Anniversary reissue vinyl.



While the title track was considered by many religious groups in the United States as evidence that Iron Maiden was a Satanic band, the song was in fact inspired by a nightmare that bassist Steve Harris had, triggered by watching the film Damien: Omen II late at night.


In addition, Harris has stated that the lyrics were also influenced by Robert Burns' Tam o' Shanter. The track opens with a spoken introduction from the Book of Revelation, read by actor Barry Clayton. According to Dickinson, the band originally approached Vincent Price to record the passage, but were unwilling to pay Price's fee of £25,000. Although the liner notes state that the passage is from Revelations 13:18, the first line comes from 12:12.


The closing song Hallowed Be Thy Name has remained in all but two of the band's setlists since the album's recording (the only exceptions being the Maiden England World Tour 2012–14, and the second leg of the Book of Souls World Tour in 2017). AllMusic describes the track as "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." Several band-members have since stated that it is one of their favorite tracks, with Dickinson describing it as "fantastic" and that performing it live is like "narrating a movie to the audience." A live version of the song was released in 1993, gaining the band another top ten placement in the UK Singles Chart.


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 his last radio show for BBC Radio 6, during a segment in tribute to the late Ronnie James Dio, Dickinson mentioned 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. The band's manager, Rod Smallwood, had to telephone Patrick McGoohan to ask permission to use the audio clips for the song and was extremely hesitant during his conversation with whom Smallwood himself describes as "a real bona fide superstar actor".


McGoohan was reported to have said "What did you say the name was? A rock band, you say? Do it."


Iron Maiden later made another song based on the series, Back in the Village from 1984's Powerslave.


22 Acacia Avenue is the second song in the Charlotte the Harlot saga, which was originally written by Adrian Smith several years earlier, while playing in his old band, Urchin. According to Smith, Steve Harris remembered hearing the song at an Urchin concert in a local park, and modified it for The Number of the Beast album.



Reissues:

1995 Castle Communications Reissue:

The album was reissued in 1995 via Castle Communications as a single CD version and a limited edition with bonus disc with two tracks.


1995 Castle Communications Reissue Bonus Disc:

01. Total Eclipse (4:26)

02. Remember Tomorrow (Live) (5:29)


(1995 Castle Communications Limited Edition 2 CD Set)


1998 Sanctuary Records/Metal Is Remastered Edition:

This edition adds the song Total Eclipse as track 8, moving the song Hallowed Be Thy Name to track 9. The disc is also enhanced and features the music videos for Run to the Hills and The Number of the Beast, along with band history, tour history and a photo gallery.


(My copy of the 1998 Sanctuary Records/Metal Is Remastered Edition)


The album has been remastered and reissued numerously and their are too many to list here. Check Discogs or The Metal Archives for a more comprehensive look at the reissues.



Album Controversy & Critical Reception:

The album was strongly opposed by social conservatives – especially in the United States, where Iron Maiden were accused of being Satanists. Public burnings of the band's catalogue were organised, although some religious groups smashed the records with hammers, for fear of inhaling fumes from burning vinyl. It is not known whether their caution was based on toxicological or theological concerns. The subsequent tour was subject to numerous boycotts and demonstrations: venues were sometimes surrounded by activists who handed out leaflets and, in one case, a 25-foot cross was carried in protest. Harris has stated, "It was mad. They completely got the wrong end of the stick. They obviously hadn't read the lyrics. They just wanted to believe all that rubbish about us being Satanists."



Since its release, the album has received consistent critical acclaim, with AllMusic describing it as "among the top five most essential Heavy Metal albums ever recorded. A cornerstone of the genre."


SputnikMusic calls it "a classic in the world of Metal", while BBC Music praised the record's complex arrangements, stating "Whereas even some of the venerable HM institutions (think Black Sabbath) would struggle to make material that was something more than a collection of minor-key riffs, Iron Maiden pull this feat off with considerable élan."



Q Magazine placed the album at No. 100 in its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever" in 2000; in 2001 named it one of the "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time"; and in 2006 placed it at No. 40 in its "40 Best Albums of the '80s" list.


IGN and Metal Rules placed it third and second, respectively, in their lists of the Top Heavy Metal Albums, and Guitar World ranked it at No. 17 on their list of 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time.


Classic Rock Magazine placed it at No. 15 in their list of the 100 Greatest British Rock Albums, describing it as "the most important metal album of the decade", and it was voted No. 1 in HMV’slist of The Best British Albums of the Past 60 Years in 2012.



The Number of the Beast is one of two Iron Maiden records listed in Robert Dimery's book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (1980's Iron Maiden being the other).


In 2017, it was ranked 4th on Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.


In 2001, the BBC made a documentary about The Number of the Beast as part of the Classic Albums series, which was released on DVD in the same year.


In 2022, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the album's release, The Number Of The Beastwas named No. 1 of 'The 25 greatest rock guitar albums of 1982' list in Guitar World.



Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



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