The Number of the Beast (album)

For the Biblical meaning, see Number of the Beast.
The Number of the Beast
Studio album by Iron Maiden
Released 29 March 1982
Recorded Battery Studios
1981 – January 1982
Genre Heavy metal
Length 44:47
Language English
Label EMI (EMC 3400)
Producer Martin Birch
Iron Maiden chronology
Killers
(1981)		 The Number of the Beast
(1982)		 Piece of Mind
(1983)
Alternative cover
1998 Remastered cover with restored colours
Singles from The Number of the Beast
  1. "Run to the Hills"
    Released: 12 February 1982
  2. "The Number of the Beast"
    Released: 26 April 1982
  3. "Hallowed Be Thy Name (live)"
    Released: 24 October 1982

The Number of the Beast is the third studio album by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 29 March 1982 through EMI and on its sister label Capitol the US. The 1998 re-issue was released by EMI and Sanctuary/Columbia in the US. This was the debut of vocalist Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden and their last with drummer Clive Burr.

Of all the album's songs, "The Number of the Beast", "Run to the Hills" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" remain in the set lists of nearly all the band's concert tours, with the latter two often used to close a show. All three are among the band's most well-known tracks and have been released as singles in various forms.

The Number of the Beast is one of two Iron Maiden records listed in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (Iron Maiden being the other).[1]

Contents

History

The Number of the Beast marked Bruce Dickinson's debut with the band. Since this album (and its tour, The Beast on the Road), "The Beast" has become an alternate name for the band, later used in the titles of some of their compilations and live releases, such as Best of the Beast and Beast over Hammersmith, and the DVD Visions of the Beast.

This album is the only one to feature songwriting by drummer Clive Burr.[2] This is one of several reasons why the album was so different from previous ones other than the obvious change in lead singer. It was the first album with writing by Adrian Smith (see below track listing for details),[2] and the first to feature writing by the 'new' Steve Harris (his older style had been written for different musicians, and in a different time) - the entire writing system was different, with producer Martin Birch remarking, "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."[3]

According to several interviews with Bruce Dickinson, he was heavily involved in the writing process of several of the album's songs, mentioning in particular the tracks "Children of the Damned", "The Prisoner" and "Run to the Hills".[4] Due to his previous band, Samson's, ongoing contractual problems, Dickinson couldn't legally be part of any of the record's song-writing,[2] having to give, what he calls, a "moral contribution", i.e. having an influence on particular tracks without giving enough creative input to earn a writing credit.[5]

Music press reports told a story that during the recording sessions, there were instances of unexplained phenomena occurring. Lights would periodically trip out and there were 'cold spots' in the studio. This all climaxed when the producer Martin Birch was involved in a car accident and was presented with a repair bill for £666.[6]

Reception and controversy

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [7]
BBC Music (favourable)[8]
Sputnikmusic [9]

The album was panned by social conservatives, especially in the United States, where the band were accused of being Satanists. Steve Harris states that "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."[10] As a result, The Beast on the Road tour was marred by boycotts and protests,[11] however, it was well received by Iron Maiden fans and is considered to be one of their best albums.[3][6]

Since it's release, the album has received consistent critical acclaim, with Allmusic describing it as "quite simply one of the best heavy metal albums ever released." Q magazine placed the album at number 100 in its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever" in 2000, named it as one of the "50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time" a year later,[12], and placed it at #40 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s" in 2006.[13] On top of this, IGN and Metal-Rules.com placed it third and second respectively in their lists of the Top Ten Heavy Metal Albums,[14][15] while Guitar World ranked it at number 17 on their list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time".[16]

In 2001, the BBC made a documentary about The Number of the Beast as part of the Classic Albums series, while EMI included it in their "Albums That Shaped Rock History" series.

Album artwork

Like all of Iron Maiden's album artwork during the 1980s and early 90's, it was painted by Derek Riggs. The cover was originally created for the song Purgatory, but the band's 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 album instead.[17] The original 1982 artwork includes a light blue sky in the background; this was a mistake by the printers of the album cover, and was later rectified and became black when the album was remastered for compact disc in 1998.[11]

The album was also the centre of controversy, particularly in America, 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?"[17]

The album's cover art has been parodied several times — by crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death for the cover art of their 1999 album Bigger than the Devil, and on a T-shirt by underground New York hip hop label Uncle Howie Records.[18] Streetwear brand Diamond Supply Co. parodied the album cover for a shirt in their line.[19] Nick Tershay, founder of Diamond, is reported as having had to pay $50,000 due to the parody being too close to the original artwork.[20]

Lyrical themes

While the title track was thought by many to mean that Iron Maiden were Satanists, in fact the song was inspired by a nightmare bassist Steve Harris had, triggered by watching the film Damien: Omen II late at night.[2] Harris has also stated that the lyrics were also influenced by Robert Burns's Tam o' Shanter.[11]

"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.[21][22] 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".[23]

"The Prisoner" was inspired by the British TV show of the same name, and features dialogue from its title sequence. Rod Smallwood had to telephone Patrick McGoohan to ask permission to use the dialogue for the song. According to witnesses the usually calm Smallwood was completely star struck during the conversation. McGoohan was reported to have said "What did you say the name was? A rock band, you say? Do it."[24] Iron Maiden later made another song based on the series, "Back in the Village" from Powerslave.[25]

"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.[26]

The title track opens with a spoken introduction which draws entirely from the King James Version of Revelations 12:12 and 13:18, read by actor Barry Clayton.[27]

Appearance in media

On 24 October 2002, progressive metal outfit Dream Theater played the original album in its entirety at La Mutualite in Paris, France. The performance was recorded and has been released through the band's YtseJam Records label.[28]

"Run To The Hills" was covered on the all-star tribute album Numbers From The Beast, featuring vocalist Robin McAuley, guitarists Michael Schenker and Pete Fletcher, bassist Tony Franklin, and drummer Brian Tichy.[29][30] A Tribute to the Beast, Vol. 2 features covers of "Children of the Damned", by Sebastian Bach of Skid Row fame, and "Hallowed Be Thy Name", by Iced Earth,[31] who have also covered "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "The Number of the Beast on their own album, Tribute To The Gods.[32] "Hallowed Be Thy Name" has also been covered by Machine Head on Maiden Heaven: A Tribute To Iron Maiden, which was released by Kerrang! magazine in 2008,[33] and by Cradle of Filth,[34] while the title track has also been covered by Djali Zwan on the soundtrack of the film Spun.[35]

Several of the record's songs have been used in video games. "Run To The Hills" is featured in SSX On Tour as the opening theme,[36] and a cover version is included in Rock Band, the only song in the game listed as 'Impossible' for all instruments.[37] In addition, the master tracks of the songs "The Number of the Beast," "Run to the Hills" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (the latter being a live recording found on Flight 666) were made downloadable to Rock Band as part of a 12 pack on 8 June 2009.[38] In addition, "The Number of the Beast" was featured in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.[39]

Reissues

The album was reissued in 1995 with a bonus CD containing 2 tracks, "Total Eclipse" and a live version of "Remember Tomorrow", which had been previously released as the b-sides of the album's two singles. The album reissue incorrectly includes Paul Di'Anno in the song-writing credits for "Total Eclipse", which had actually been written by Harris, Murray, and Burr.[40]

It was also released as an enhanced CD version in 1998 which included photos, band history and the music videos for the songs "The Number of the Beast" and "Run to the Hills", as well as the bonus track "Total Eclipse". This version mistakenly lists the track length for "22 Acacia Avenue" as 4:49, when it is in fact 6:37.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Steve Harris, except where noted. 

Original track listing
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Invaders"     3:24
2. "Children of the Damned"     4:35
3. "The Prisoner"   Harris, Adrian Smith 6:03
4. "22 Acacia Avenue"   Harris, Smith 6:37
5. "The Number of the Beast"     4:51
6. "Run to the Hills"     3:54
7. "Gangland"   Clive Burr, Smith 3:49
8. "Hallowed Be Thy Name"     7:12

Personnel

Chart performance

The Number of the Beast was released on 29 March 1982, and quickly became a commercial success around the world.[41] The album has sold 14 million copies worldwide.[42] It was the band's first effort to top the UK charts, entering the Top 40 directly at No. 1 on 10 April, maintaining the same position for another week, and then remaining in the Top 75 for a total of 31 weeks.[43] It entered the Billboard 200 at No. 150, peaking at No. 33 and it went Gold. The album reached the top 10 in Austria and Sweden, and hit No. 11 and 13 in Canada and Norway respectively. It was awarded platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 4 October 1983. Although the album failed to chart in Germany, it was certified gold ten years later, and received a 3× platinum award in Canada for sales exceeding 300,000 units. Two songs were released as singles, "Run to the Hills" and the title track, which debuted in the United Kingdom at No. 7—their highest chart position at the time— and No. 18 respectively. Both songs entered the singles chart in Ireland in the same order —at No. 16 and 19.

Album

Country Chart (1982) Peak
position
Austria Ö3 Austria Top 40 3[44]
Canada Canadian Albums Chart 11[45]
Norway VG-lista 13[46]
Sweden Sverigetopplistan 7[47]
United Kingdom UK Albums Chart 1[48]
United States Billboard 200 33[49]
Country Chart (1987) Peak
position
United Kingdom UK Albums Chart 98[50]
Country Chart (2006) Peak
position
United Kingdom UK Albums Chart 54[50]

Singles

Single Chart (1982) Peak
position		 Album
"Run to the Hills" UK Singles Chart 7[48] The Number of the Beast
Irish Singles Chart 16[51]
"The Number of the Beast" UK Singles Chart 18[48]
Irish Singles Chart 19[51]

Re-releases and Live Singles

Single Chart (1985) Peak
position		 Album
"Run to the Hills (Live)" Irish Singles Chart 18[51] Live After Death
UK Singles Chart 26[52]
Single Chart (1990) Peak
position		 Album
"Run to the Hills / The Number of the Beast" UK Albums Chart[note 1] 3[53] —
"Running Free (Live) / Run to the Hills (Live)" 9[54]
Single Chart (1993) Peak
position		 Album
"Hallowed Be Thy Name" (live) Irish Singles Chart 16[51] A Real Dead One
UK Singles Chart 9[55]
Single Chart (2002) Peak
position		 Album
"Run to the Hills (Live)" Canadian Singles Chart 11[56] Rock in Rio
Dutch Singles Chart 60[57]
Finnish Singles Chart 5[58]
French Singles Chart 73[59]
German Singles Chart 55[60]
Irish Singles Chart 38[61]
Italian Singles Chart 6[62]
Norwegian Singles Chart 15[63]
Swedish Singles Chart 28[64]
Swiss Singles Chart 75[65]
UK Singles Chart 9[48]
Single Chart (2005) Peak
position		 Album
"The Number of the Beast"[note 2] Finnish Singles Chart 2[58] —
French Singles Chart 78[59]
German Singles Chart 76[60]
Irish Singles Chart 11[61]
Italian Singles Chart 5[62]
Norwegian Singles Chart 13[63]
Swedish Singles Chart 40[64]
Swiss Singles Chart 42[66]
UK Singles Chart 3[48]

Notes

  1. ^ Re-release of singles as part of "The First Ten Years" box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart.
  2. ^ Re-release of original studio version along with 2002 live version.

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[67] 3× Platinum 300,000^
Germany (BVMI)[68] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[69] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[70] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

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Preceded by
Love Songs by Barbra Streisand		 UK Albums Chart number one album
10 April 1982 – 23 April 1982		 Succeeded by
1982 by Status Quo