Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
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Free Music Notes for Number of the Beast
Free Music Review: Heavy Metal Perfection
Hit: 5 Stars
It's very distressing to see modern metalheads obsessing over all this new metalcore that plagues our world and gives metal a bad name and not even knowing who Iron Maiden is. While the title of "Fathers of Heavy Metal" belong to bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden is definitely in the top 5 metal bands to ever grace the earth. How can anyone deny the pure talent that this band shows and then go to Trivium concerts thinking that they're the greatest band that ever lived? Iron Maiden is definitely one of the reasons those bands even exist, I know for sure, because Iron Maiden still remains one of the most influential metal bands in the music industry.
Now that I've got that off my chest, let's break the whole into pieces and analyze each of the band members. First of all, there's everyone's favorite metal vocalist Bruce Dickinson, also known as "The Air Raid Siren of Heavy Metal" for his operatic singing style and incredible range. Bruce can comfortably switching from an angry growl (Metallica-style, not death metal) to a high-pitched shrieking without missing a beat. Next up we have Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, who provide some very compelling guitar riffs and beautiful, focused solos that match perfectly with the individual feel of every song. These two undeniably belong on a list of metal's greatest guitarists. After them is bassist and founding member Steve Harris, who has remained loyal to the band since its founding in 1975. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, metal's greatest bass guitar player. Not only does he provide a subtle atmosphere for the album's intense, anthemic feel, he plays the bass as if it is meant to be a lead instrument, playing marvelous riffs and holding it all together. And last but not least is drummer Clive Burr, whose drumming is sorely missed on later albums (even though his replacement, Nicko McBrain, is arguably their best drummer in the long run), as he introduced several songs with addictive drum solos and keeps a fine beat going for every song.
Overall, this album is a milestone in metal, marking the introduction of Bruce Dickinson to the world of mainstream metal and being Iron Maiden's first straightforward metal album (the first two album also included elements of punk). Without this album, so many metal bands would not have existed in the form they do today, including many sub-par metalcore bands, I'm sorry to say. But whether directly or indirectly, Iron Maiden is one of the top influences in today's metal scene, and there is no way you can deny that.
Track Selections: "The Prisoner", "Run To The Hills", and "Hallowed Be Thy Name"
10/10
Free Music Review: A METAL EPIC OF INFINATE PROPORTIONS. "NUMBER OF THE BEAST" IS DEFINENTLY A HEAVY METAL BLUEPRINT FOR FUTURE METAL BANDS........
Hit: 5 Stars
A metal epic you say!!! That is totally an understatement. Bruce Dickinson joined the Maiden crew in November 1981, and held nothing back with his debut on "Number Of The Beast". Bruces voice is ear shattering and exploding with rythmic energy. "Number Of The Beast" captures Maiden at an awe inspiring creative peak. Yeah I know "Run To The Hills" is the popular song that everybody likes and skips the other 8 tracks on the cd to listen to. "Run To The Hills" pales in comparison to most of the other tracks on the cd. "Invaders", "Children Of The Damned" "Gangland" "Hallowed Be Thy Name" just to name a few. From "Invaders" to "Hallowed Be Thy Name", "Number Of The Beast" is a riveting listen that speaks volumes of pure metal genius. "Number Of The Beast" would start Maidens incredible streak of recording greatness throughout the remainder of the big 1980s, Piece of Mind,Powerslave,Somewhere in Time,Seventh Son of a Seventh Son into the 1990s. The one thing I will give Iron Maiden is that they did'nt sell out and make more commercially favorite music to appeal and sell more cds to the public. Unlike Metallica who compared favorably to Maiden through 1983-1988 with great hard crunchy metal music with the likes of "Kill 'Em All1983" "Ride the Lightning1984", "Master of Puppets1986", got more commercial and softer sounding with their music. Maiden today is still pumping out hard crunching metal music and are no sell outs. "Number Of The Beast" is essential to any heavy metal or hard rock library, as it gets better with age, the Beast ages like fine wine. If you are not a of fan of Iron Maiden, I assure you, you need to own this cd. The packaging is really awesome with a fine mini booklet of literature about the Maiden and the remastering is incredible. Enough already THE IRONS Music Review: Maiden's most popular album, and an excellent one overall.Hit: 5 Stars In March 1982 Iron Maiden released their 3rd studio album 'Number of the Beast'. This is the first album featuring vocalist Bruce Dickinson and as the title says IM's most popular album.
Let me first say something out of the way. Iron Maiden is my favorite metal band but I don't think it's Maiden's best, yes it's certainly a top 3 album in their catalogue along with POM and Powerslave, but I like Powerslave more than this one, simply put because that has more energy, better guitars and better production.
This is definitely one of Maiden's best albums, I first thought it was overrated and had too many lame songs, but in fact they all are good. The only track I never really got into is 'Invaders'. But make no mistake, the rest is classic Maiden. 'Children of the Damned' is an amazing ballad, with a great solo and acoustic riff. 'The Prisoner' and '22, Acacia Avenue' are kinda catchy and maybe a bit repetitive, but 2 damn enjoyable songs. The title track is probably Maiden's most popular song ever and is one of my favorites on the album. 'Run to the Hills' is the 2nd hit off the album and maybe somewhat overrated but it has a great drum intro. 'Gangland' I didn't really like at the first time but now I think it's great and has a great solo and a kick as s drum intro like RTTH, and in fact the only Maiden song that Clive Burr was a part in it's songwriting. Then there is 'Total Eclipse', a live track that was added with the remaster and it seems that fans tend to trash it (although I think it's great). Then we get into the last and best song on the album...
'Hallowed Be Thy Name', words won't do this song enough justice. In my opinion, not just the best on the album, but the best song in the entire 13 IM album catalogue. It talks of a man who is going to be hung. The intro is probably the best I've ever heard to any song. All the instruments here go flawlessly together and the vocals couldn't get much better if any at all. Like other reviewers said, if feels it all actually happens. The solo is amazing also and it has also a beautiful main riff. Quite possibly the best hard rock song ever written (no, really). This is just perfect.
All in all, a very good album. I'm not saying it is overrated (trust me, it's good as they say), I just think that Powerslave had something that this doesn't to make it Maiden's very best album. Probably the best album of 1982. If you like metal, you MUST have this, period.
UP THE IRONS!!
Free Music Review: The Album that Lifted Maiden to New Heights
Hit: 5 Stars
While 'Killers' and 'Iron Maiden' where two excellent albums, the band was truly lifted to stardom with the release of the 'Number of the Beast'. This album produced instant classics such as 'Run to the Hills', 'Hallowed be thy Name', and the title song. However, the lesser-known songs are also excellent. The opening song, 'Invaders', even though it is not on par with other Maiden openers such as 'Where Eagles Dare', 'Aces High', and 'Moonchild', is still a good track about the invading Vickings. 'Children of the Damned' is a slower piece from Maiden, but it is an excellent song with a great build up in the middle of the song and is sadly one of the most underrated Maiden songs. 'The Prisoner' is another often overlooked song that has one of the best sing-a-long choruses and some good solos towards the end. '22 Acacia Avenue' is another classic that is the part two of the 'Charlot the Harlot' tale. It's a good song, but the subject matter of the song is a little too "Hair metalish". The title song, the one that sparked all the controversy about Maiden being devil worshipers (although the song is actually about a nightmare that Steve Harris had) is an excellent song. I especially love the way the song starts out after the opening verse because one really does get the feeling of a nightmare when Bruce starts singing with a sort of whisper. 'Run to the Hills' is probably Maiden's most well known song, and in my opinion, overrated. Its a good song and all, but the subject matter doesn't match the happy mood that the song has. The next two tracks, 'Gangland' and 'Total Eclipse' are fillers, but are not bad songs. 'Total Eclipse' is the better song of the two fillers. The album closses off with THE best song that Maiden has to offer: Hallowed be Thy Name. This song is so powerful it might even turn you against capital punishment after a listen. The song is about a man who is soon to be hanged and really shows what the poor man is going through psychologically. The mood of the instruments match the lyrics perfectly, and the second part of the song also has one of the best Adrian Smith solos. 'Hallowed be thy Name', along with 'The Trooper' are in my opinion the best songs from Maiden. Anyhow, this is another must-own album from Iron Maiden. This is by many considered the best Maiden album, and its a good argument, but I still feel the two albums following 'The Number of the Beast' are superior. However, if your into this genre of music, this is a must own album.Free Music Review: Maiden's Magnum Opus?
Hit: 5 Stars
It's hard to cite a particular Iron Maiden album as being the 'best' album that they ever did. Unlike some other bands who produced one excellent album by which all other albums are judged (think Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid'), Iron Maiden have given us so many excellent albums that I can't say that this one is any better than the other 'classic' Maiden records of the 80's.
But I can say that Number of the Beast is the band's first classic album; after their powerful debut and the solid 'Killers', Maiden returned with a new (IMHO superior) singer, Bruce Dickinson, and recorded Number of the Beast. This was Maiden's breakthrough album, their 'dark side of the moon'. It's not hard to understand why; every track is great and the album sounds exciting and fresh even after 23 years.
That being said, i don't consider this the finest album that Maiden produced; good but not great tracks like Gangland, and Total Eclipse (not originally part of the LP) prevent this; though it is still EASILY a 5 star album because of the many other songs which can only be called 'amazing'. I would rate Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, Seventh Son and Piece of Mind as more 'well rounded' albums, but Number of the Beast perhaps has more 'classic' Maiden songs on one record, and many staple live favourites which may lead some to conclude that it is their best album.
The most popular songs on this album are the title track ( a classic song and well worth the hype), run to the hills (great, but I'm not as keen on it as most...perhaps I've heard it too much), and Hallowed Be Thy Name (A truly breathtaking song; rightly recognised as one of Maiden's BEST ever. In many people's opinion it is the best - I'd have a hard time disagreeing; though my personal fave is Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
Overlooked songs are the wonderful Prisoner (We WANT INFORMATION) and beautiful Children of the Damned. 22 Acacia Avenue is another great song that really sticks in your head.
The 'good but not great' tracks on this album are Total Eclipse and Gangland, but they're still worth a listen and you may like them more than I do. They just aren't as excellent as the other tracks so maybe that accounts for their oft-claimed 'filler' status
OVERALL I wouldn't consider this album Maiden's best; but that doesn't mean you won't. There's no justification in NOT buying it; its well deserving of its 'classic' status, and a wonderful release.