The Number of the Beast is the third studio album by NWOBHM band Iron Maiden, released in March 1982. It was the first time ever a heavy metal record reached #1 in the british album charts and so this record is seen as one of the most important albums of the genre.
Vocalist Bruce Dickinson had his first appearance for Maiden on this record and for drummer Clive Burr it’s the last one before he got replaced by current drummer Nicko McBrain.
So this is definitively one of Maiden’s most famous albums. I also realize that when I dj. I couldn’t imagine a performance without this album, as people always wish for songs like run to the hills, number of the beast or hallowed be thy name. All those three songs got released as singles so I guess those are just the Maiden songs people most know about. Because what I realize when I play is – wether it’s good or not, but more about that later – that most people always want to listen to songs they already know. Not that I don’t like those songs, I love ’em too and ‘hallowed be thy name‘ is definitely one of my favorite metal songs ever, but still I think that Iron Maiden is a band that offers a lot of great songs on their other 14 studio albums too.
So WHY ALWAYS PLAYING THE SAME THREE ONE’S? Myself, I like to play songs like running free, caught somewhere in time, die with your boots on, wicker man, seventh son of a seventh son, rainmaker,… aah there are so many, I can’t even list them all :-D And I also see it as part of my job to show people the huge variety of Maiden’s discography. So I always try to sneak some of those other songs into my setlist.
Let me know, which is your favorite Maiden song? Which one would you like to rock out to in a bar?
Feel free to leave a comment below!
