The Number Of The Beast (album)

The Number of the Beast is the third studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The album was released on March 29, 1982 through EMI and on its sister label Capitol on the Harvest imprint in the US originally before it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia in the US. This was the debut of vocalist Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden. It has been cited as one of the most influential heavy metal albums of all time, and is widely acknowledged as one of the best and most iconic albums of the genre.

The Number of the Beast also cemented Iron Maiden as one of "the biggest metal bands on the planet".

Of all the songs in the album, "The Number of the Beast", "Run to the Hills" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" remain on the set lists of nearly all of the band's concert tours, with the latter two often used to close a show. All three songs have been released as singles in various forms. The album is also Iron Maiden's highest selling album worldwide with over 14 million sales estimated.

The Beast on the Road was the tour supporting the album.

History

The Number of the Beast marked Bruce Dickinson's debut with the band. Since this album (and its tour, Beast on the Road), "The Beast" has become something of a nickname for the band and possibly Eddie, as suggested by albums such as Best of the Beast (which featured a 'best of Eddie' mural on the cover), Beast over Hammersmith, and the DVD Visions of the Beast.

This album is the only one to feature songwriting by drummer Clive Burr. This is one of several reasons why the album was so different from previous ones other than the obvious change in lead singer. It was the first album with writing by Adrian Smith (see below track listing for details), and the first to feature writing by the 'new' Steve Harris (his older style had been written for different musicians, and in a different time) - the entire writing system was different. However, it is one of the few albums not to feature a Dave Murray song, and the first album not to feature an instrumental.