Poll

What are your favorites of these Iron Maiden songs?

Strange World
11 (4.5%)
Innocent Exile
5 (2.1%)
Twilight Zone
4 (1.7%)
Invaders
14 (5.8%)
The Prisoner
25 (10.3%)
Die With Your Boots On
17 (7%)
Sun and Steel
6 (2.5%)
The Duellists
11 (4.5%)
Sea of Madness
23 (9.5%)
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
14 (5.8%)
The Prophecy
13 (5.4%)
Run Silent Run Deep
6 (2.5%)
Judas Be My Guide
12 (5%)
Look For the Truth
3 (1.2%)
The Unbeliever
6 (2.5%)
Lightning Strikes Twice
4 (1.7%)
The Educated Fool
5 (2.1%)
The Fallen Angel
11 (4.5%)
Montsegur
17 (7%)
New Frontier
2 (0.8%)
The Pilgrim
4 (1.7%)
Out of the Shadows
4 (1.7%)
Mother of Mercy
8 (3.3%)
The Alchemist
6 (2.5%)
When the River Runs Deep
6 (2.5%)
The Man Of Sorrows
5 (2.1%)

Total Members Voted: 36

Author Topic: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Senjutsu  (Read 183457 times)

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Offline MirrorMask

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He surely sang better Aces High in the reunion tour of 1999 than in the tour for Powerslave 15 years earlier. Amazing singer, his voice improves with age and gains warmth and depth.

It's a pity, really, that he didn't do any more solo albums or even some out of the field album, maybe of covers.

Check out how he fits well Behind Blue Eyes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw5F4DeXRsU

Or this clip of rehearsals from the orchestral Deep Purple album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glhQfdnnoZ8
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Offline Mosh

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The Number of the Beast (1982)

Bruce ‘Air Raid Siren’ Dickinson - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitars
Adrian Smith - Guitars
Steve Harris - Bass
Clive Burr - Drums
 
Maiden spared no time to get started on their next album after recruiting Bruce Dickinson. After a short European tour, the band entered the studio in early ‘82 and the album was released in March. That sort of turnaround time is unheard of now. What makes it even more impressive is that The Number of the Beast is the first Iron Maiden album to feature no previously written or performed material. Being forced to come up with all new material in a short amount of time combined with the new singer must have caused quite a bit of pressure, but it also allowed the band to build a new sound around Bruce.
 
The Number of the Beast indeed shows how much the singer can shape the band. The punk influence has been completely removed by this point. The music on Beast is polished, refined, and leagues above the first two albums. Even the more upbeat numbers, such as Invaders and The Prisoner, feature intricate playing and technically brilliant vocal performances from Bruce. The album showed the band taking new directions. Songs such as Children of the Damned heralded back to earlier Metal, specifically Black Sabbath, while progressing with a new sound. Of course there’s the album’s centerpiece: Hallowed Be Thy Name. While I prefer Phantom of the Opera, there’s no denying that Hallowed was unlike anything the band had done before and almost single handedly solidified their place as Metal legends. 
 
Even the artwork took a major step up with this album. We finally see Eddie leave the East End of London for a more apocalyptic setting. Some trivia about the cover: Derek Riggs actually submitted this piece to be used on the single artwork for Purgatory, but the band felt it was too good to be used as a single and decided to save it for the next album. This turned out to be a great choice because it fits the album perfectly.
 
This is also the last album to have versions with different tracklists. For the first (and only) time, Clive Burr contributed to the songwriting for Beast with two tracks: Gangland and Total Eclipse. The album only had room for one of these tracks and Gangland made the cut with Total Eclipse being included as the B side to Run To the Hills. When the band’s discography was remastered in 1998, Total Eclipse was finally included. Strangely, Total Eclipse was played on the tour instead of Gangland. Total Eclipse also fits the album musically and thematically much better than Gangland. My personal theory is that the band’s management had something to do with Gangland being included instead. The song is also unfinished. Pay extra attention to the solo section. One of the oddities of the band’s catalog. It does feature Bruce’s highest recorded note though.
 
Of course you can’t talk about Number of the Beast without mentioning the controversy. Because of the album’s cover and title, the band were labeled as devil worshippers and religious protesters attempted to have the album censored. Of course all this did was generate free publicity of the band. The Number of the Beast became an instant hit, thanks to the momentum created by the lead single Run To the Hills and partly the publicity from the aforementioned controversy. The album shot all the way up to #1 in the UK charts and was certified platinum in the US.
 
The Number Of the Beast is a classic album. Like most classics, it’s easy for the more hardcore fans to write it off as overrated. It’s definitely not Maiden’s best, but more of a foundation for the great things to come. The album still has a unique charm to it and many of the songs still hold up, even if they’ve been overplayed. It’s easy to see why this album is their most critically acclaimed. It’s accessible, fresh, and shows the band firing on all cylinders. A classic for good reason.
 
Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about the album, the VH1 “Classic Albums” series did an episode on Beast. It’s really interesting and featured some trivia that was even new to me when I saw it. I highly recommend it.

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Offline Mister Gold

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #142 on: May 27, 2017, 09:30:40 PM »
I have mixed feelings on this album. Obviously it's an iconic entry in the band's discography and in the history of metal, but I think it's got some filler here and there. That said, songs like Children of the Damned and Hallowed Be Thy Name are among some of the best songs ever from the band.
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Offline jjrock88

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #143 on: May 28, 2017, 12:16:33 AM »
great write up!

Not overrated in my opinion, just classic song after classic song.

Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #144 on: May 28, 2017, 02:56:47 AM »
The Number Of the Beast is a classic album. Like most classics, it’s easy for the more hardcore fans to write it off as overrated. It’s definitely not Maiden’s best, but more of a foundation for the great things to come. The album still has a unique charm to it and many of the songs still hold up, even if they’ve been overplayed. It’s easy to see why this album is their most critically acclaimed. It’s accessible, fresh, and shows the band firing on all cylinders. A classic for good reason.

I guess I agree with this. Personally it's not my favorite either, it has essentially 5 "happy" songs, and out of the remaining three, one leaves us all wondering why it's on the album instead of the b-side (talking about Gangland of course).

The two "serious" songs are obviously the very best of the album, and Hallowed is a gigantic mammoth track, everything Iron Maiden is about. The whole album is overplayed, and I was never a massive fan of the title track, but singing along to it and especially to Run to the Hills is always a nice experience at concerts.

Also, let's not forget the impact it had back in the day. It's easy for us today, after hearing better albums from the classic line-up and after hearing the same songs a gazillionth times at concerts, to be a bit "meh" about the album, but even if I was not there (I was too busy eating, crying and crapping myself, I was 3  :D) I recognize what a massive game changer was back in the day. And of course the very stupid "satanic" controversy, I could see people going nuts over the song Black Sabbath, but labeling Maiden satanists for a song that talks about someone being SCARED of a satanic ritual and a line that goes "this can't go on, I must inform the law"? typical extremists stupidity.

The album cover is fantastic, one of Maiden's very best. And a little trivia from when they went number #1 - I remember a story about their bus breaking down, and everyone having to go down to push it to help it restart, and that's when the news of the #1 album arrived. It was funny that they were aware of how the album became big right when they were literally trying to not remain stranded in the middle of the road, it was a reminder of how you still have to work hard even after such a big achievement.

So, to sum up, not my personally favorite Maiden album, but an undeniable classic filled with many great songs and a huge importance in the history of both the band and heavy metal!
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Offline wolfking

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #145 on: May 28, 2017, 04:55:03 AM »
I had this in the car knowing it was coming up in the discussion.  Aces High was the first Maiden song I ever heard, but TNOTB was the first full album I got and got into.  It's a masterpiece IMO.  I don't think it's overrated at all, just for me, the title track and RTTH are overplayed, but I had no intentions of skipping them listening today and they were enjoyable as ever.

The production is amazing and the performances are perfect.  Perfect lineup this, Clive was on point here.  Total Eclipse is one of my favs, strange how it was never included, but Gangland is really IMO underrated.  Great groove and has that Powerslave album type of feel.  22 might be a top ten Maiden song for me.  Great songwriting and how the whole song builds up to the end is massive.

Of course, nothing can beat the closer, just a perfect song.  Amazing album.
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Offline wolfking

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The song is also unfinished. Pay extra attention to the solo section. One of the oddities of the band’s catalog.

I never really paid attention to this before, but I'm guessing there's suppose to either be a Dave Murray solo in there, or Adrian just never finished it?  Wow.  After knowing an album for about 15 years, you can still hear something you've never really noticed before!
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Offline Mladen

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #147 on: May 28, 2017, 05:33:38 AM »
A classic.

Great album. It would only be my number 10 when ranking Maiden albums, but that just shows how remarkably consistent their discography is. I think it's the perfect Maiden album for anyone picking up the band.

Hallowed be thy name, The Number of the beast, The Prisoner and Run to the hills are fantastic songs. The other four are also all very good - even Gangland isn't a bad track, but I wish Total eclipse was included instead, it's a great song and fits the overall darkness of the record better. The thing about the missing solo in Gangland is also something I've wondered about as well.

All in all, a legendary album.


Offline wolfking

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #148 on: May 28, 2017, 05:42:05 AM »
The thing about the missing solo in Gangland is also something I've wondered about as well.

Just discovering this to me is remarkable.  Has their ever been any official word by the band in regards to this?
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Offline stargazer18

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #149 on: May 28, 2017, 05:43:31 AM »
The Number Of the Beast is a classic album. Like most classics, it’s easy for the more hardcore fans to write it off as overrated. It’s definitely not Maiden’s best, but more of a foundation for the great things to come. The album still has a unique charm to it and many of the songs still hold up, even if they’ve been overplayed. It’s easy to see why this album is their most critically acclaimed. It’s accessible, fresh, and shows the band firing on all cylinders. A classic for good reason.

I agree with this but also feel that there is a bit of "had to be there at the time" when this came out. It seems that those who were fans of Maiden and metal music during that period elevate this album a bit more than someone like me who worked their way back through their discography having started with later albums. It was definitely the start of a very productive period for the band though.

Offline wolfking

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #150 on: May 28, 2017, 05:46:14 AM »
Just found this on maidenfans.

How did you feel about them adding “Total Eclipse to the running order of Number Of The Beast?

We all thought it should have been on the album. We were in such a hurry when we made that record. We recorded and mixed the record in five weeks. This was in the days before computer mixes so we had the break down the board after the first week. Without having recorded any songs we had to pick the single and the B-side and record them and mix them and break down the board and start all over to record the rest of the album. Originally we thought let’s do “Gangland” but it was the first song we recorded together and we thought it was just great. It couldn’t be a B-side because initially it was our idea to be but in all our enthusiasm we picked “Total Eclipse” instead as the B-side for “Run To Hills”. Actually there’s a guitar solo that is missing from “Gangland”. It was recorded but we were in such a hurry that it was never mixed and nobody noticed. There’s supposed to be two guitar solos, Dave’s which is on there and then I do this shriek and a big drum roll and there’s this backing track where Adrian’s guitar solo should be. We were all so out of it. There was a massive stack of beer cans in the studio, we actually built an entire wall of beer cans. We had a blast recording that album but there was odd moments of forgetfulness.

Bruce Dickinson

Brucey obviously a bit confused by the order and where his high note sits.  It's obviously Adrian once the solo rolls in.
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Offline seasonsinthesky

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #151 on: May 28, 2017, 07:28:37 AM »
Love Beast, of course, but my one caveat to that statement besides Gangland being there instead of TE is the tracklist. I think it's totally stupid that the title track – world's most obvious choice for album opener here – instead opens a heavily-stacked side B, which also contains the lead single and of course the legendary closer. Nothing wrong with most of side A, it's just very... sleepy? And Invaders is possibly one of the worst opener choices from this stack of songs.

For giggles, try:
Number
Run
Total Eclipse
22 Acacia
Invaders
Children
Prisoner
Hallowed

Offline TAC

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The Number Of the Beast is a classic album. Like most classics, it’s easy for the more hardcore fans to write it off as overrated. It’s definitely not Maiden’s best, but more of a foundation for the great things to come. The album still has a unique charm to it and many of the songs still hold up, even if they’ve been overplayed. It’s easy to see why this album is their most critically acclaimed. It’s accessible, fresh, and shows the band firing on all cylinders. A classic for good reason.

True..

I agree with this but also feel that there is a bit of "had to be there at the time" when this came out. It seems that those who were fans of Maiden and metal music during that period elevate this album a bit more than someone like me who worked their way back through their discography having started with later albums. It was definitely the start of a very productive period for the band though.

...maybe. It's not so much of "you had to be there" but when you were "listening in real time" to this album, you would truly understand how amazing The Number Of The Beast really is.  I was 13 when this came out and bought it during the summer of '82, after seeing Run To The Hills constantly on MTV.
This album blew everything else that was going on at the time away. It really stretched the genre and made the other NWOBHM bands look like minor leaguers. The songwriting was incredible and the execution was almost as so.

They had some good fortune during this time. MTV really elevated their profile, and Judas Priest took them out in the US for a second tour in a row. I'm sure my good friend Stadler will discuss this point further.

But this album is so full of classics. It goes 6 songs deep, before you get to Invaders and Gangland. Both of these actually bridge the Killers era to the Bruce era, for me anyway. I personally love Gangland and have never heard anything about a missing solo until today. Now, I can't unhear it...
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Offline ChuckSteak

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #153 on: May 28, 2017, 07:53:24 AM »
From the classic era, I think The Number of the Beast is the weakest.

Offline jammindude

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #154 on: May 28, 2017, 08:44:17 AM »
I think I remember Steve going on record as saying that it was a coin toss to include either Gangland or Total Eclipse, and almost immediately after they picked Gangland (for the reasons Bruce mentioned above) he felt like they had made the wrong decision.   Because after it was too late, he strongly felt that TE was the better song. 

I think Invaders is the perfect album opener for this album, because *to my ears* it sounds the most like it could have been a Di'Anno song.  I can TOTALLY picture Paul singing that song, so in that way, it opens the album with a song that easily could have been on Killers....thus giving the fans something familiar before throwing them the more mature material that would be on the rest of the album. 

Invaders says, "We still have that punk side you're familiar with...we're still the Maiden you know."   But then the rest of the album takes it to the next level. 
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Offline TAC

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #155 on: May 28, 2017, 08:57:22 AM »
I think Invaders is the perfect album opener for this album, because *to my ears* it sounds the most like it could have been a Di'Anno song.  I can TOTALLY picture Paul singing that song, so in that way, it opens the album with a song that easily could have been on Killers....thus giving the fans something familiar before throwing them the more mature material that would be on the rest of the album. 

Invaders says, "We still have that punk side you're familiar with...we're still the Maiden you know."   But then the rest of the album takes it to the next level.

I totally agree and was trying to say the same thing in my post.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline JayOctavarium

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #156 on: May 28, 2017, 09:42:49 AM »
Absolutely love this album.

It's probably a controversial opinion, but Prisoner is my favorite track besides Hallowed (not counting the overplayed singles). That drum intro pumps me up like nothing else.


I just don't understand what they were trying to achieve with any part of the song, either individually or as a whole. You know what? It's the Platypus of Dream Theater songs. That bill doesn't go with that tail, or that strange little furry body, or those webbed feet, and oh god why does it have venomous spurs!? And then you find out it lays eggs too. The difference is that the Platypus is somehow functional despite being a crazy mishmash or leftover animal pieces

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Offline TAC

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #157 on: May 28, 2017, 09:47:15 AM »


It's probably a controversial opinion, but Prisoner is my favorite track besides Hallowed (not counting the overplayed singles). That drum intro pumps me up like nothing else.
:metal
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline PowerSlave

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #158 on: May 28, 2017, 11:13:17 AM »
My favorite track from this album is 22. And as has been mentioned, Invaders is a great bridge between the PD era and where the band was going from there. I've never been a big fan of the song, but that's the perfect way of looking at it, in my opinion.
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Offline Tomislav95

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #159 on: May 28, 2017, 11:34:57 AM »
I love The Prisoner, too :metal
TNOTB is nowhere near my favorite IM album but it is still pretty great with some iconic songs.
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Offline TAC

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #160 on: May 28, 2017, 11:51:18 AM »
My favorite track from this album is 22. 

It's a great song and doesn't get nearly the accolades that it deserves.

I mean, Hallowed, 22, COTD, RTTH, TNOTB and The Prisoner.
Not sure what other album of theirs boasts 6 songs that strong. Maybe not until you get to AMOLAD. Maybe.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #161 on: May 28, 2017, 12:00:05 PM »
I mean, Hallowed, 22, COTD, RTTH, TNOTB and The Prisoner.
Not sure what other album of theirs boasts 6 songs that strong.

Seventh Son with all the songs except the two not played live (which are better than Gangland and Invaders IMO) and Piece of Mind with its first six songs, and you can even afford to not count To Tame a Land. (or to place it instead of Die with Your Boots On).
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Offline TAC

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #162 on: May 28, 2017, 12:06:27 PM »
I mean, Hallowed, 22, COTD, RTTH, TNOTB and The Prisoner.
Not sure what other album of theirs boasts 6 songs that strong.

Seventh Son with all the songs except the two not played live (which are better than Gangland and Invaders IMO) and Piece of Mind with its first six songs, and you can even afford to not count To Tame a Land. (or to place it instead of Die with Your Boots On).

would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline TAC

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #163 on: May 28, 2017, 12:06:56 PM »
Well that didn't take long! :lol
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline PowerSlave

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #164 on: May 28, 2017, 12:17:24 PM »
My favorite track from this album is 22. 

It's a great song and doesn't get nearly the accolades that it deserves.

I mean, Hallowed, 22, COTD, RTTH, TNOTB and The Prisoner.
Not sure what other album of theirs boasts 6 songs that strong. Maybe not until you get to AMOLAD. Maybe.

I'm biased, but PowerSlave does that for me. And the lows on it are higher than the lows on NotB and PoM for me.
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Offline Mosh

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #165 on: May 28, 2017, 03:02:15 PM »
I would take all the 80s albums over NOTB with the exception of the debut. Still, that speaks more to the high quality of all the 80s albums than anything else.

I totally agree with Invaders being a sendoff to the Di'Anno era, especially considering it likely evolved from Invasion. Still, I think the instrumental section and Bruce's vocals elevate it to make it album worthy. Still it's interesting that the band's most famous album contains what is possibly their most forgotten opening track.

I don't dislike Gangland, but when I heard Total Eclipse for the first time (I wasn't aware of the 1998 version until much later) it seemed baffling that it wasn't included on the album. Where Gangland is easily the weakest song, Total Eclipse fits the album better and I would say it's stronger than at least half of the other songs.

Prisoner and 22 are on a similar level for me. My preference changes periodically, although usually I go for 22. That song slays when the tempo change hits. The Prisoner is awesome too though. That was such a cool surprise in 2013, it was actually the surprise highlight for me. I went for the Seventh Son stuff, left being pumped up by The Prisoner. I believe Bruce actually came up with the drum intro for that one, but he wasn't able to receive writing credits on the album because he still had contractual obligations with Samson.

Number of the Beast and Run To The Hills are obviously the famous tracks from the album. Run To The Hills I'm totally sick of. It rarely sounds good live (even in the 80s) and parts of the song border annoying. But Number of the Beast is still awesome. That track never gets old and I think it's actually my favorite on the album. Also has an amazing solo section. Interesting idea to have it open the album. I'm not sure if it would be as effective as an opener. It does open side 2 of the album though and works fine that way. I agree side 2 is a bit loaded, having the singles on side 2 is especially odd. But on the other hand I like how the album builds up to those tracks. Side 1 is also a really nice sequence.

That leaves COTD and Hallowed which, more than any other song, really showed what this band was capable of. Not much to say about Hallowed at this point, although it's another classic that doesn't seem to have the same power live. I actually found it refreshing when it was left off of the setlist a few years ago. COTD is a tune I didn't think much of as a kid, but in recent years I've really grown fond of it. It's unlike anything else they've done and it slays when things get heavy. A major highlight on the 2016 tour.
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Offline jammindude

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #166 on: May 28, 2017, 03:12:44 PM »
My favorite track from this album is 22. And as has been mentioned, Invaders is a great bridge between the PD era and where the band was going from there. I've never been a big fan of the song, but that's the perfect way of looking at it, in my opinion.

I think the break down riff that dominates the 2nd half of the song is amazing.   I remember first getting into Maiden, and when that riff first hits....that was one of those HUGE "goosebumps" moments that made me go straight for my tennis racket.

Children of the 80's know what I mean.   There was only *ONE USE* for a tennis racket if you were a metal head in the 80's.
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Offline TAC

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #167 on: May 28, 2017, 03:19:17 PM »
I respect everyone's opinions on this, but I really wish I could properly convey how game changing this album was. If you think they built on it, then fine, I can accept that, but no album they did after TNOTB amazed me like this one did. Everything seemed so original and fresh, and suddenly had every other metal band looking up at them.

  Where Gangland is easily the weakest song, Total Eclipse fits the album better and I would say it's stronger than at least half of the other songs.
Total Eclipse will always be a b-side to me.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Offline Lowdz

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The Number Of the Beast is a classic album. Like most classics, it’s easy for the more hardcore fans to write it off as overrated. It’s definitely not Maiden’s best, but more of a foundation for the great things to come. The album still has a unique charm to it and many of the songs still hold up, even if they’ve been overplayed. It’s easy to see why this album is their most critically acclaimed. It’s accessible, fresh, and shows the band firing on all cylinders. A classic for good reason.

True..

I agree with this but also feel that there is a bit of "had to be there at the time" when this came out. It seems that those who were fans of Maiden and metal music during that period elevate this album a bit more than someone like me who worked their way back through their discography having started with later albums. It was definitely the start of a very productive period for the band though.

...maybe. It's not so much of "you had to be there" but when you were "listening in real time" to this album, you would truly understand how amazing The Number Of The Beast really is.  I was 13 when this came out and bought it during the summer of '82, after seeing Run To The Hills constantly on MTV.
This album blew everything else that was going on at the time away. It really stretched the genre and made the other NWOBHM bands look like minor leaguers. The songwriting was incredible and the execution was almost as so.

They had some good fortune during this time. MTV really elevated their profile, and Judas Priest took them out in the US for a second tour in a row. I'm sure my good friend Stadler will discuss this point further.

But this album is so full of classics. It goes 6 songs deep, before you get to Invaders and Gangland. Both of these actually bridge the Killers era to the Bruce era, for me anyway. I personally love Gangland and have never heard anything about a missing solo until today. Now, I can't unhear it...

Partially agree with TAC here. It was a huge thing at the time. Metal bands just did not have number ones in the UK. The other NWOBHMB bands were very ameteur by comparison. I was 14 at the time and was a huge fan of Killers. I can't say the loss of DiAnno was a big deal, at least not after hearing Bruce. That was one of the greatest trade ups ever.
Bruce was just awesome.
Gangland is pretty awful. I much prefer DT's jazz piano version.
The title track should have led the album and TE should have replaced Gangland

I passed an English exam basing a fiction essay on Invaders...

Offline TAC

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I passed an English exam basing a fiction essay on Invaders...
:lol

I also did a college speech based on Iron Maiden. More on that when we get there.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline devieira73

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #170 on: May 28, 2017, 04:40:06 PM »
Following this very interesting thread. I listen to this album from time to time since 89 and I NEVER noticed the lack of 2nd solo on Gangland! Wow, very cool!
And I always loved Invaders but never really liked Gangland that much.
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Offline Tomislav95

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I passed an English exam basing a fiction essay on Invaders...
:lol

I also did a college speech based on Iron Maiden. More on that when we get there.
Off-topic but we had to do short public speech in high school, I picked metal music as my theme. 2 minute history of metal :P I believe I mentioned Iron Maiden.
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Offline wolfking

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #172 on: May 28, 2017, 05:13:22 PM »
My favorite track from this album is 22. And as has been mentioned, Invaders is a great bridge between the PD era and where the band was going from there. I've never been a big fan of the song, but that's the perfect way of looking at it, in my opinion.

I think the break down riff that dominates the 2nd half of the song is amazing.   I remember first getting into Maiden, and when that riff first hits....that was one of those HUGE "goosebumps" moments that made me go straight for my tennis racket.

Children of the 80's know what I mean.   There was only *ONE USE* for a tennis racket if you were a metal head in the 80's.

As I mentioned, it's probably a top 10 Maiden song for me.  For the whole six minutes I feel it just builds and climaxes so nicely, brilliantly written song, and yeah taht riff is epic.
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Offline stargazer18

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I agree with this but also feel that there is a bit of "had to be there at the time" when this came out. It seems that those who were fans of Maiden and metal music during that period elevate this album a bit more than someone like me who worked their way back through their discography having started with later albums. It was definitely the start of a very productive period for the band though.

Quote
...maybe. It's not so much of "you had to be there" but when you were "listening in real time" to this album, you would truly understand how amazing The Number Of The Beast really is.  I was 13 when this came out and bought it during the summer of '82, after seeing Run To The Hills constantly on MTV.
This album blew everything else that was going on at the time away. It really stretched the genre and made the other NWOBHM bands look like minor leaguers. The songwriting was incredible and the execution was almost as so.

TAC - Your statement is what I was referring to when I said you had to be there.  I was 10 years old when this album came and Iron Maiden was not on my radar yet.



« Last Edit: May 29, 2017, 05:17:14 PM by stargazer18 »

Offline Cyclopssss

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
« Reply #174 on: May 29, 2017, 08:28:31 AM »
There was no other album back in the day. Buying this the first day of release admiring the artwork all the way home. Then putting it on, being used to Paul's and being totally blown away by Bruce's. Holy Wow. They made much better albums since, but the impact at that time can't be overstated. Instant Classic.   :hefdaddy
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