BECAUSE HE KNOWS THE TIME IS SHORT
LET HIM WHO HATH UNDERSTANDING
RECKON THE
NUMBER OF THE BEAST
FOR IT IS A HUMAN NUMBER
.jfif)
The Number of the Beast
is the third
studio album
by English
Heavy Metal band
It was released on
March,22nd 1982
in the US
by Harvest
and
Capitol Records
,and on
March,29th 1982
in the UK
by EMI 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.
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.
Writing and 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 to 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.
Given that
"Invaders"
is a re-write
of an earlier song,
"Invasion",
this suggests only
two tracks
the title track
and
"Gangland"
originated 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 with Birch
being 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.
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 constraints,
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."
TRACKLIST
Invaders
Children Of The Damned
The Prisoner
22 Acacia Avenue
The Number Of The Beast
Run To The Hills
Gangland
Total Eclipse
Hallowed Be Thy Name
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