Iron Maiden
The Number Of The Beast

THE REVIEW

1981: Paul Di'Anno, the singer of the greatest band in the universe called Iron Maiden, leaves the group due to his excess with drugs and smoking, which practically ruined his voice. His role was then taken over by Bruce Dickinson, who in the meantime had left Samson, another NWOBHM band, but without distinction. Dickinson's task was certainly not one of the easiest: Di'Anno was a great singer, and his almost melodic and sentimental voice softened the hard sounds the band managed to achieve. Bruce, on the other hand, turned out to be the most suitable replacement, and his prodigious voice had nothing to envy from Di'Anno, showing even more passion and ambition compared to his predecessor.

It was with him that Iron Maiden in 1982 recorded their third album, "The Number of the Beast", which quickly became a milestone, the masterpiece of heavy metal, and probably the essence of the genre, which still today inspires many bands. The band's sound has evolved significantly compared to their previous successes, resulting in less raw and clearer, but much heavier.

The album opens strikingly with "Invaders", a piece of about three and a half minutes of Dickinsonian fury, fast, overwhelming, but not too exceptional, certainly better than the following "Children of the Damned": the piece starts with an acoustic guitar, very similar to both the introduction of "Angel Fall First" by Nightwish (I really think the Finnish group was inspired by this Maiden song) and also to that of "Look for the Truth" from their future album "The X Factor". The song then proceeds slowly, and Bruce puts all his passion into it, only to then accelerate like a storm and end with an incredible Dickinson high note. We arrive at "The Prisoner", a song inspired by the series of the same name, a real masterpiece with a catchy chorus, but above all, a splendid central solo by the legendary Adrian Smith (I often listen to this song at least once a day, singing or rather shouting, frightening the neighbors). "22 Acacia Avenue" is part of the "Charlotte" saga, an imaginary prostitute, who in this piece is invited not to "throw away her life". As in the previous song, there is a splendid solo by Adrian. We then arrive at the title track, the song that made them famous but also infamous. It was with this that Iron were attacked and accused of Satanism, especially in America (ridiculous!!). As far as I know, this has nothing to do with Satanism; it's simply about a childhood nightmare of the bassist Steve Harris. But not only that, the lyrics should also be interpreted from a philosophical point of view: our personalities, no matter how good we might be, always have a dark side, and it's up to us to try to suppress it to prevent it from overpowering us. The song has become the most popular of the band, always performed in various subsequent concerts.

"Run to the Hills" is another text worthy of praise, fast and imposing, yet without being too heavy, talking about the clash between European colonizers and the Native Americans. "Gangland" I like mainly for Clive Burr's drumming, very fast, but compared to others, it is rather banal. "Total Eclipse" was not present in the original album, but only in the 98 remastered edition, it starts off strong, but then does not convince much; it talks about the natural disasters of our planet, a theme also revisited in "Paradise" by Stratovarius, but here not as a regret. The record closes with "Hallowed Be Thy Name", the masterpiece of the album and perhaps of Maiden's entire discography. It notes the sad reflections of a condemned man, leaving a sense of melancholy to the listener, but at the same time involving them passionately. The opening bells are spine-tingling, especially when listened to live, but then you are transported to an epic scream-worthy atmosphere!

I invite all those who appreciate good music to listen to this fantastic album!