THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

The first of the Classic Three, the other two being Piece of Mind and Powerslave. This album was the biggest thing in rock for a long time when i t was released. Songs like Run to the Hills, The Prisoner, the title track, and Children of the Damned are damn good proto- prog metal tunes. All with extremely catchy melodies that will just drive into your head and never leave. One key factor is the fading prescence of their earlier punk influence. It's still kinda there, but not really noticable. The production is miles ahead of their previous outings, with crystal clear guitars, upfront bass, and every drum part heard perfectly.

Of course the biggest change was the introduction of the almighty Bruce Dickinson. His voice gave new sound to the band and a freshness not heard since their debut. His 'air raid siren' name, he would later get after Powerslave, brings much more to the table. The music is more melodic than before, more harder edged, and MUCH more driven.

As good as this album is, it would be NOTHING without the final epic track 'Hallowed Be Thy Name'. The famous opening that builds up tension to Dickinson holding out one of the best sustaining tones in all of vocal history, and from there it's all money in the bag. The main theme just makes you think 'epic', but is not cheesy one bit. The more uptempo outro with the solo section is probably one of the band's best, most energetic piece of music they ever created. A prog-metal masterpiece.

Speaking of masterpieces, this one is. Almost every prog-metal technique used in the genre was first used here. And if it wasn't, it was used on at least the next 4 albums. I mean, Dream Theater covered this album!

HIGH RECOMMENDED. Probably one of the best albums to start out with.