THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

The first album to feature Bruce Dickinson and the last to have Clive Burr on drums. Which is a shame as I really liked DiAnno's vocals, and I have always thought Burr to be superior to McBrain. That is not to say that I don't enjoy the albums from the Dickinson era. I do actually, very much, but I would have liked to see where they would have headed with DiAnno.

Iron Maiden have never done one really consistent album (except the first two) in my opinion. Every one of their album has at least one song which I consider to be a filler. The Number of the Beast has Gangland and Total Eclipse. They are not bad songs by any means, just a bit weaker than the rest. And the rest of the bunch are bona fide classics of heavy metal, there's no doubt about that.

The playing, as always, is top notch, and Harris is the one who steals the show every time with his energetic bass playing. The double guitar attack was nothing new at the time, but Iron Maiden were the ones who really made it mainstream. And it was with this album, as the first two weren't as successful. Well, of course there were Wishbone Ash and Thin Lizzy before them for example, but they were never as succesful as Maiden would become.

One thing I have always loved about Maiden are their lyrics, and this album is no exception. References to vikings, The Prisoner, devil, and the continuing story of Charlotte (the harlot) all written in a very captivating style. Fantastic!

All in all, 4 stars must be given.