In the 1stplace, I would like to say kudos! to Hawgwyld!
I promised to review all Maidens albums and, will do so. I do recommend reading his review also, as he is very accurate about Steve Harrises bass work. Maidens' music is bass centered and, he points this out well. However, unlike what he says, this is not an album without faults. There are a number of weak songs on this album compared to the masterpiece "Powerslave". The strong point of this album is its' run of the songs "22 Acacia Avenue","The Number of The Beast"and "Run To The Hills" during the middle of the c.d. These masterpiece songs are concluded by Maidens all time classic "Hallowed Be Thy Name". Although these are all time great metal songs, there are a few weak numbers to wade through, unlike "Powerslave", where there are no weak numbers at all. SHALL WE REVIEW?

The 1st song to start the album is "Invaders". I play guitar and, know which metal bands have talent and, which don't! Maiden is one of if not,THE most talented metal bands ever. Unfortunately, they give us a very dismal effort in this song. This just does not sound like Maidens best songs. A standard riff begening, 150 MPH effort that sounds at parts like "Toys in The Attic", but much faster. It is however, our 1st peek at Bruce Dickinson and, his voice is a 200% improvement over Paul DiAnno. Bruce is a mans man type singer, where as paul trid to be both and, was good at neither. Bruce can even actually hold a note!!!

The next selection"Children of The Damned" has a very slow start. The thing is to stick around for the next 2 minutes to hear some very fine guitar work. One of Maidens best guitar solo works ever, why does the song have to start so slow?

"The Prisoner" starts of with some goofy dialogue in the begening, " I am not a number, I am a free man!!" The song is very much like "Invaders", but a little better. Maiden fans will know this is not one of their best works, but is still a decent song. If I seem like I am being harsh, I am not! I am just comparing these great songs to the master piece "Powerslave". These are good songs, just not masterpieces.

"22 Acacia Avenue" on the other hand, is a brilliant work! Again, the song starts slow, but leads into a 2nd bridge, which is one of the finest works all time in metal!!
"Charlotte isn't time you stopped all this mad life!
Don't you ever think about the bad times?
Why do you have to live this way?
Do you enjoy the lay or is it the pay?"
( Don't know how to do italics, help me if you can)

This bridge has several verses that I can easily see done in a musical. The tone is angry and pleading. This 2nd part to the song"Charlotte The Harlot" is a pleading with her to get out of prostitution. This is a story being told with much agony, and frustration to get Charlotte out of her self destruction. Beautifully done, it is 1st song of the central trio of brilliant songs that occupy the middle of this c.d.

Lyrically, I was disappointed with "The Number of The Beast". Maiden bases alot of their songs on novels, mythology, and movies. I thought this song was going to be based on the Heinlein novel of the same name. Nope!!(They also did this to me with their future song "Stranger in A Strange Land") Instead, it is a tale told of attending a Satanic ritual by the narrator. The narrator ponders if what "he saw that night was real or just fantasy?" lyrics aside, the song is another classic! I used to love to play this song on guitar and peeps always wondered when I was playing the intro, if it was a high tempoed"How Dry I Am" I was playing. The bridge to this song is classic. Hi tempoed, excellent vocals from Dickinson, this song got Maiden the attention they deserved!! Unfortunately, the album art and, the lyrics also left them with the reputation that they were a Satanic band!!(Which they aren't). Those who knew better pointed out to "Run To The Hills".

"Run To The Hills" is most peeps fave from this album. Fast driving, intelligent lyrics, and OH GOD!!! THOSE RIFFS!!! This song was my favorite to play with my former band"Miscellaneous Mischief". This song brought a whole new expectation from metal bands everywhere! Problem was, most bands weren't willing to tackle Maidens stuff, as it took more talent to play than the Metallica stuff coming out at the time.

Now we return to the mediocre.(Maiden Wise) "Gangland" is another number that does not compare with the selections off of "Powerslave", but is ok on its own. This song is another good number that, I have to rate as weak when comparing to the best Maiden has.

"Total Eclipse" was a b-side to one of their earlier songs, but I am not sure which, One of the slower songs on this album( which is not saying much) they try to break into a fast driving solo, but its effect is very uneffective. It then tries to slow down to a thoughtful type of number, it does not work as well as should have.

To end the album, we receive another master piece of a song!! "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is one of the most perfectly written, beautifully composed metal songs of all time!! The song is heavy, while being more melody oriented than riffed. The lyrics are thoughtful, and intelligent. This song also started the pattern of Maiden ending their album on a long epic song. Aside from "Rhime of The Ancient Mariner", this was probably their biggest success. The song concludes with one of their best guitar solo duets, and is sure to be a metal classic for decades to come! No exaggeration there!!

So we wrap up "Number of The Beast"! Not their masterpiece, but definately one of the best metal albums ever! This album is definately gonna have more repeat plays with the average music fan, than most the other metal albums I'm going to review for the Metal listener.

When I summarize this album, we must go over a few things. 1st, This is not their master piece, the 1st 2 albums you should buy are "Powerslave" and "Live After Death". While this album has many metal classics, it is not without faults, and it is very hard to judge between this album and "Piece of Mind". They are about both equally good.( I know I did not bring that up here).

As I have stated before, with each Maiden album, you will receive an interactive c.d. you can pop into your computer and, view the videos released with each album. On "Number of The Beast" you also get the videos of the title track, along with"Run To The Hills"! Pop it in and enjoy!! I hope to see other bands follow this example!

The line up for "Number of The Beast" is their last before their classic line up was complete.
STEVE HARRIS-Bass and back up vocals
DAVE MURRAY-Guitar
ADRIAN SMITH-Guitar and back up vocals
BRUCE DICKINSON-Lead vocals
CLIVE BURR-Drums

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends