What "Master of Puppets" is to Metallica, "Number Of The Beast" is to Iron Maiden. This album is the definitive Maiden album, and the first big, worldwide strike for the band. "Number of the Beast" is not only one of the handful of albums that defined metal in the 1980s, but also defined metal PERIOD.

Musically, the album is also fantastic. There is only one weak track on the disc- "Gangland." Every other song is a Maiden classic; musically well-done- moving where it has to sound moving, driving when it has to be, and powerful every inch of the way. Mere words cannot describe the quality of the album. From the beginning ("Invaders"), Bruce Dickinson takes the listener on a roller coaster of emotion with his vocals, while Adrian Smith, Steve Harris, Clive Burr, and Dave Murray provide the raw power to get you through "Children of the Damned," "The Prisoner," and the title track, "Number of the Beast." "Hallowed Be Thy Name" starts off slow, then gradually picks up until it ends in a strong crescendo, a perfect end to a nigh-perfect album.

A must have for a music fan, to say nothing about a Maiden fan, or a metal fan!

THE BAND: Steve Harris (bass), Bruce Dickinson (vocals), Dave Murray (guitar), Adrian Smith (guitar), Clive Burr (drums).

THE DISC: (1982) 9 tracks clocking in at approximately 45 minutes. This is Maiden's 3rd album. Recorded at Battery Studios, London. The disc contains a 22-page booklet with a brief intro, lyrics, band pictures and thank you's. Song writing credits: Harris takes credit for 8 of 9 songs. Murray, Smith and Burr co-wrote a few each with Harris (Dickinson has zero song writing credits). The song "Gangland" by Smith and Burr only. The enhanced CD features a nice multimedia section for your PC - including 2 videos ("Run To The Hills" and "The Number Of The Beast", the band's catalogue of albums, band history, itinerary from the '82 Beast On The Road tour, and more. Digitally remastered in 1998. Cover art by the one and only Derek Riggs.

COMMENTS: Iron Maiden hit it big with "Number of the Beast". Easily considered a classic in early 1980's metal. Departed is Iron Maiden's original singer and enter newcomer ex-Samson vocalist, 23 year old Bruce Dickinson. This was also Clive Burr's last album with the band. Perhaps not as polished a record, say as "Powerslave" or "Piece Of Mind", but the band is in rare form - writing songs that will stand the test of time... and many being concert favorites decades later. "Number Of The Beast" is at its core - raw and full of energy and excitement. Where many bands at the time were releasing 3 and 4 minutes songs, Maiden was breaking the mold and giving their fans some trademark long songs - the 7+ minute "Hallowed Be Thy Name", the 6+ minute "22 Acacia Avenue" and "The Prisoner". Radio hits included the title track (#35 on the Billboard charts) and "Run To The Hills (#18 Billboard, and #7 in the UK). As good as Iron Maiden's 1st two discs were with singer Paul Di'Anno, the chance they took firing him really paid off 10-fold with Dickinson. This is Iron Maiden's first classic period release. Great disc.

I cannot beleive that just before I wrote this review this album had an average score of a mere four and a half stars out of five. This album truly deserves the maximum quantity of stars. I am hoping that this review will help to tip the balance and give it the five stars it deserves. This is one killer album and if you haven't got it then buy it NOW. Every song ROCKS especially classics like 'Number of the beast', 'Run to the hills', 'The prisoner' and 'Hallowed be thy name'. If you want to buy one maiden album I would say buy 'Live after Death' because it has most of the classics from their first five albums, but if you want a good maiden studio album, this is the one. This album, along with 'Powerslave' and 'Peice of mind' which are also excellent should go down as one of the finest examples of heavy metal mastery EVER.

Forget about the fact that in the United States the band has rarely received any airplay on commercial radio. Nearly 18 years after its initial release, this album holds up as being one of the best rock albums (not just metal) of all time.

When this album came out in 1982, it quickly outsold the previous two Iron Maiden albums and confirmed that band leader, bassist Steve Harris & Iron Maiden had made the right choice in naming Bruce Dickinson as their new lead singer.

While many of Iron Maiden's albums are very good, if you can have only ONE Iron Maiden album, this should be it.

Producer Martin Birch has crafted a studio album that from beginning to end is flawless.

Invaders, which kicks off the album with its thunderous riffs, will have you snapping your neck and running for your guitar to try and play along. Children of the Damned is deceptively mellow at the beginning before speeding up and concluding with a wallop.

The Prisoner (based upon the 60's TV cult classic starring Patrick McGoohan) is a tremendous effort and a nod against conformity. 22 Acacia Avenue is the continuing saga of Charlotte the Harlot from the first Maiden album and features simple chords that wail.

The title track, which was supposed to be intro'd by Vincent Price (he was unavailable), to even the Maiden uninitiated is one of the best known of all the metal anthems. Dickinson's screams of six-six-six, the number of the beast, hell and fire conjure up the images seen on the cover artwork. With the following track, Run to the Hills, Maiden wrote a song that should have received a lot of US radio airplay but didn't. Never the less it is probably the most sing-along-able and memorable song on the album.

Gangland with its heavy drums rolls, is an underated, interesting song for two reasons; One, it is the only song drummer Clive Burr ever wrote for the band. Two, it has rarely been performed live. Total Eclipse which was originally a b-side has been added to this CD and is solid contender. The final track, Hallowed Be Thy Name is a mini-epic that features the dueling guitars of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith.

There are very few albums that TRULY deserve a five star rating. Number of the Beast is lyrically superior to others of the genre and musically brilliant. If you do not own this album, you are missing out on a classic that you should end up re-playing for many years to come. Hopefully it will start you on the road to Maiden fanaticism.

These days, heavy metal is all about image and self-obsession. Metal Bands of the 90s are already so dated, it's embarrassing. How refreshing it is then, to go back to good 'ol 80s metal, when it was all about the music.

Number of the Beast is an absolute Howitzer of an album, and simply blows all of the phony wanna-be metal music of today out the door. Every song on this album is good (no filler, here.) The weakest song, Gangland, is thought of as sub-par only because it is sitting between "Run to the Hills" and "Hallowed be thy Name" (a song that is generally regarded as the greatest heavy metal song ever recorded.) Every song could find its way into a live set and be appreciated there, that's how good they are. I especially enjoy "22 Acacia Ave" and "Invaders", not to mention the title track and Children of the Damned...hell, the whole album rules.

This was the first maiden album I bought, and it quickly turned me into a believer. The music is incredible, the instruments and vocals are close to perfect... I'm sorry, if you don't like this you're not a metal fan. This is as close as you're gonna get to honest-to-god perfection in an often stale and tired genre. I can assure you, you will not be dissappointed by Number of the Beast.