Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast"
I discussed this 40-year-old classic with the host of "Uncle Steve's Iron Maiden Zone."
Thank you for spending part of your day with Michael’s Record Collection. In the 1980s I fell in love with heavy metal. I was drawn to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, of course, as well as German bands like Scorpions and Accept, and obviously the hair metal bands when they came along. My first concert experience included four metal bands representing four different countries — Canada (Kick Axe), the British Isles (Fastway, which had members from England and Ireland), the United States (Quiet Riot), and Germany (Scorpions).
Of all the metal bands, I always had the deepest respect for Iron Maiden. Their tempo changes, outstanding dual guitar leads, and lyrical subject matter — largely out of books, history, and movies —put them at the top of the heap in my book. I’ve been wanting to talk about Iron Maiden for some time and that time has come.
With 2022 being the 40th anniversary of the band’s breakout album, The Number of the Beast, and my discovery of a great Maiden-based podcast (Uncle Steve’s Iron Maiden Zone), it’s time to talk a little Iron Maiden.
This week’s story comes in two parts.
Part 1: The Podcast
Like anyone else, I have little control over what music I like. Songs, albums, and artists touch us all in different ways, so ultimately I follow my heart when it comes to music.
At the same time, I love to get other people’s takes on music. This is not to seek the approval of others to confirm what awesome taste I have, but rather to see if I’m picking up everything the artist is putting down. Maybe there’s something subtle that I’m missing or perhaps I’m not catching something that I should. We all have our blind spots. Finding them can take one’s enjoyment to another level, which is always worthwhile.
So, I’m always checking out reviews and music discussion that dives below the surface and really gets in there. One of the outlets I’ve found both entertaining and helpful in doing just that is a podcast called Uncle Steve’s Iron Maiden Zone. Despite the name, “Uncle Steve” and his cohosts/guests don’t only discuss the classic British heavy metal band. When not diving deep into the stories behind Iron Maiden’s music, or doing the more typical types of shows — such as discussing the band’s best album-opening songs or favorite songs written by one particular band member — the show branches out into other artists like KISS, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N’ Roses, and others.
“Uncle Steve” has been doing his show for two-and-a-half years, and has published about 150 episodes. Originally, the plan was to rotate bands as he went, starting the podcast as Uncle Steve’s Rock and Metal Zone.
“I was like, ‘I want to focus on lots of bands,’” Steve said. “I thought, ‘Maiden’s my favorite, so let’s do a full month of Maiden.’ And I was like, ‘I’m going to do it different from anyone. I’m even going to change the name to Uncle Steve’s Iron Maiden Zone, for a month.’ And I was just going to go back. And I really enjoyed doing it.”
Deciding there were no rules for his podcast and he could talk about any band he wanted anyway, Steve kept the name with Iron Maiden in the title and never looked back.
Steve’s love of Iron Maiden was born out of a childhood argument with a schoolmate. He was defending W.A.S.P. front man Blackie Lawless’ bass playing and arguing that Lawless was a better player than Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris.
“I didn’t even know who Steve Harris was. I just knew this guy liked Iron Maiden,” Steve said. “The next day, he brings me a cassette to school. He brings Piece of Mind. When I heard it, I thought ‘This is accessible stuff.’”
His first cassette from Iron Maiden was Live After Death, which he got by making a deal to write a classmate’s 10-page paper in exchange for the tape.
“So, I wrote the 10-page paper, and he gave it to me,” Steve said. “That was my introduction to Iron Maiden, right there. And it was 10 pages front and back. It was worth it. It started something.”
Steve and his co-hosts give their unique perspectives on Iron Maiden songs and albums on the show each episode, breaking down songs they love (and some they don’t). They’re critical and not afraid to point out what they feel are missteps by the band, but it’s always done out of love and respect.
“The problem with doing a podcast is you start analyzing things way too much,” Steve said. “I have a cohost and she always says ‘I came on your podcast because I love Iron Maiden and I feel like all we do is bash them.’”
Having loved Iron Maiden for 40-ish years, Steve said he has found some of the band’s more recent output more refreshing, as he hasn’t lived with the newer albums as long. He still loves the classics, but his album of choice is a bit unexpected.
“It’s very unconventional when I say my favorite Iron Maiden album is the 2006 (release) A Matter of Life and Death,” he said.
It’s an excellent choice from among the band’s more recent releases.
Look for Uncle Steve’s Iron Maiden Zone wherever podcasts are available if you’re a fan of Iron Maiden or just hard rock/metal in general. You can also follow Steve on Twitter. And be sure to check out the video below for more on his show as well as the album discussed below.
Part 2: The Iconic Album
While it isn’t my favorite Iron Maiden of all time, there is no doubt that the band would never have reached the heights it did without breaking through with 1982’s The Number of the Beast. It’s a classic album that is still revered in the heavy metal world today, and it launched the band to the next level.
It’s not that I don’t love The Number of the Beast. It’s definitely among my favorite Maiden records. I simply find Piece of Mind and Powerslave a little more to my liking and Somewhere in Time is probably on par with Number as well.
The band was on the rise after releasing its first two albums — Iron Maiden (1980) and Killers (1981) — but still decided to take a big risk on its future by changing lead singers from Paul Di’Anno to the electrifying Bruce Dickinson, poaching him from the band Samson.
Dickinson joined an already great band and made it even better. His higher vocal range and control allowed Harris — Maiden’s bassist and primary songwriter — to stretch out and show more ambition. Bruce was just as capable as Di’Anno of growling out the aggressive verse lyrics that the band had written on the first two records, but he could also take songs to more melodic places in the chorus and made Maiden’s music more dramatic and theatrical.
While Dickinson was entering his first album with Iron Maiden, drummer Clive Burr was recording his last. Burr was an excellent driver of Maiden’s music. He could play with speed and skill, and his work shines throughout The Number of the Beast.
“Uncle Steve” professed a high opinion of Burr’s drumming during our chat.
“His drumming is frenetic and it’s fast-paced,” Steve said of Burr’s work during our discussion of the album. “I love his drumming. It’s simple, but perfect for it.”
It was a good way for Burr to go out, with the band replacing him for the next album with Nicko McBrain. Like Dickinson, McBrain had a few more tools in his kit than the guy he replaced, but Burr’s work was excellent on The Number of the Beast.
Joining Dickinson and Burr in the lineup for The Number of the Beast were bassist Steve Harris and the two-pronged guitar attack of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray. The album was recorded in January and February of 1982 at Battery Studios in London and released on March 22 of that year.
The album kicks off with the aggressive “Invaders,” which instantly positioned this as a new version of Iron Maiden, putting Dickinson’s power and range on display from the jump. Although the song hasn’t aged well in the band’s eyes, I still find it a good, high-energy, balls-to-the-wall album opener. Aside from the songs used as the album’s two singles, “Invaders” is the only obvious choice as an opener from the collection of eight songs that ended up making the album.
Iron Maiden changes gears after “Invaders” with the slower start to “Children of the Damned,” which showcases the other side of Dickinson’s voice — his ability to add epic, melodic choruses that make you want to sign along. The Harris-written song begins differently for Iron Maiden. The softer guitar in the song’s intro is more reminiscent of something the Allman Brothers might have put out than one of the band’s foremost heavy metal acts but they soon show more bite as the song progresses.
The band kicks into one of its patented gallops halfway through the song, bringing up the tempo and building drama. Everything works perfectly together — Burr’s drumming, Harris’ bass, the doubled guitars, and Dickinson shines over it all.
“When it gets to the chorus and he belts out ‘Children of the Damned,’ I imagine as a Maiden fan, that’s the first time you go, “Whoa. This is a step up,’” Steve said of Dickinson’s vocals, as opposed to Di’Anno’s.
“The Prisoner” has become an iconic song from the album, due partially to having the first of two spoken introductions on the record. This one comes from the British TV series of the same name. It has some of the album’s best guitar work and a terrific drum break to open the song. Like many of the other songs on The Number of the Beast, the song goes through tempo changes and there’s a terrific tonal contrast between the aggression of the verses and the more melodic chorus.
The first side closes with “22 Acacia Avenue,'“ the band’s second song about a character known as Charlotte the Harlot and the longest song on Side A. Despite enjoying the song’s music, I find the lyrics a bit all over the place. It starts out talking about how a sad sack can find some comfort in the arms of Charlotte but oddly — after talking about being willing to pay the price — it talks about how if you mention the song’s narrator you might get it for free if you mention his name. At times, the song is dark and discusses the abuse of the sex worker in a way that is almost a command.
Beat her, mistreat her, do anything that you please
Bite her, excite her, make her get down on her knees
Abuse her, misuse her, she can take all that you've got
Caress her, molest her, she always does what you want
It closes with the narrator trying to save Charlotte from that life. Aside from not picking a lyrical lane, “22 Acacia Avenue” is a great showcase for the band’s ability to change tones and for the musicality of the five performers.
Side B opens with the album’s back-to-back singles. It was a curious sequencing decision to put the singles at the start of the second side, especially considering “Run to the Hills” was released a month before the album came out.
The title track kicks off the second side in epic fashion — despite the song being under five minutes long. It feels much bigger, starting with the spoken word part read by actor Barry Clayton. After the sinister words from the book of “Revelation,” Smith’s riff kicks in and Dickinson sings a hushed vocal during the atmospheric intro that builds in intensity until he unleashes a long, otherworldly scream of “Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah!” that indicates every bit of the frustration he built up when singing that opening for four hours to get a take that producer Martin Birch liked.
The song, along with the album cover, triggered the puritanical sensibilities of the religious right at the time, but the song is simply an amalgamation of a nightmare Harris had after seeing the film Damien: Omen II and a poem called Tam O’Shanter by Robert Burns. With imagery of being pursued by a beast and not knowing what’s real or a dream, the lyrics show just a hint of what Harris was becoming as a writer, although they’re easily better than some other songs on the record.
“The Number of the Beast” was an odd choice for a single, but it did well in the UK for the band. It’s certainly a song that would have appealed to the sense of rebellion that teenagers had, particularly with the controversy of those accusing the band of being satanic. But, above all, for me it’s just a damn fine song, played beautifully by the musicians involved.
My favorite from the album is the iconic “Run to the Hills,” problematic lyrics and all. Harris told the story of the Cree people (and applicable to most of the native American tribes) from their perspective, as well as from the point of view of cavalrymen of the time. It was one of the band’s first real stabs at a lyrical political statement and it doesn’t completely work on that level, but the chorus hook is infectious and the guitar solo is sublime. The band again breaks into one of its iconic gallops, and Burr’s playing is fast but inventive and works perfectly for the song. He and Harris drive the song forward at breakneck pace, providing an apt vehicle for headbanging. Dickinson brings it to a halt with one of his trademark sing-screams.
“Gangland” is an underrated song that only suffers from being on an album with seven other great tracks. Even though Harris has expressed regret over including it instead of “Total Eclipse,” I quite like this up-tempo song written by Smith and Burr — the lone writing credit for the drummer. There are some terrific Dickinson screams and the guitar and basslines are frenetic and aggressive.
The album closes with the true epic of the record, “Hallowed Be Thy Name.” An iconic concert staple, it starts with a chime and atmospheric guitar and vocals. It’s terrific audio theater about a prisoner sentenced to death. A minute in, the band ramps up the tempo and a wonderful guitar riff drives the song into a stop-start section where Dickinson blasts out Harris’ introspective lyrics. Playing out for more than seven minutes, the song builds and climbs in intensity throughout, culminating with Dickinson wailing out the titular lyrics in a sublime finish that puts an appropriate cap on the record.
If I were to order my preference for the songs on the album, I’d rank them like this:
Run to the Hills
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Children of the Damned
The Number of the Beast
The Prisoner
Invaders
22 Acacia Avenue
Gangland
That is not to say that “Gangland” is a significantly worse song to my ears than “Run to the Hills.” It’s more a statement of how strong the album is top to bottom.
While I may value other Iron Maiden albums more, or listen to them more often, The Number of the Beast is an essential record in the band’s catalog and I think its considerable standing and prestige in heavy metal history is completely earned. It was an album worth revisiting in its 40th anniversary year and I enjoyed getting to know it — and fall in love with it — all over again.
My hope is that those of you who haven’t spun this album in a while will take this opportunity to go back and give it another critical listen with fresh ears. And, if you’re not familiar with it, I encourage you to check it out. There’s a reason it’s viewed as a metal classic.
It’s by no means the band’s most mature work, or possibly even their best (depending on who you ask, of course), but it was an important milestone for Iron Maiden and the launching pad that set them on the path to becoming one of the world’s premier purveyors of heavy metal.
What are your favorites from this album? Where does it stack up against the rest of the Iron Maiden catalog? Let me know what you think.
For my full discussion with Uncle Steve, including our track-by-track discussion of The Number of the Beast, check out the video below or download Episode 73 of the Michael’s Record Collection podcast on any major podcast platform (Apple, Google, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, Goodpods, Podchaser, etc.).
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