50 THE BEST OF THE BEAST
1. THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST (1982)
“Woe to you, oh earth and sea.”
TO A TRUE IRON Maiden fan, the very mention of those seven words elicits a tremendously visceral response within us. The biblical-sounding phrase takes us back to our teenage bedrooms, where we would spend hours surrounded by nightmare-inducing album covers, crumpled piles of denim and leather, sharp objects, stereo gear from Emerson, Sanyo and Technics and more than likely a faint haze of smoke. Those words continually transport us to the cavernous halls of Madison Square Garden, the Philadelphia Spectrum or the Hollywood Sportatorium, where we would thrust our collective fists toward the rafters as soon as “Woe” — uttered in that distinct baritone voice — came blaring over the P.A. Those seven words mean everything to us, because they not only signify that something spectacular is about to happen every time we hear them, but because we identify them as being synonymous with Iron Maiden. We identify them as being synonymous with metal.
Those seven words, and the rest of the spoken intro that follows — which is a combination of passages from Revelation 12:12 and Revelation 13:18 — were provided by British actor Barry Clayton (who died in 2011) after famous horror movie legend Vincent Price turned down the band’s offer to handle the speaking role. And while it’s undeniably one of the most powerful song intros in rock history, it’s the track itself that stands tall as the quintessential Iron Maiden song — the one that has every right to be deemed the best of the best; or, in this case, the best of the beast.
Written by bassist Steve Harris, “The Number of the Beast” is the title track from Iron Maiden’s third album and first with vocalist Bruce Dickinson, who replaced original singer Paul Di’Anno in 1981. Harris claims to have been inspired to write the lyrics after watching the movie Damien: Omen II, which is certainly believable when you consider the song’s dark imagery and the repeated proclamation in the chorus that three sixes in a row are the mark of the devil. “666” will forever be linked to heavy metal thanks, in large part, to this song.
“The Number of the Beast,” which opens side two and was the second single from the album after “Run to the Hills,” is barely five minutes in length, but it’s everything contained within those five minutes — including one of the all-time great blood-curdling screams and a blistering solo section in the middle featuring the massive talents of guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith — that make this song our top choice.
2 HALLOWED BE THY NAME
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST (1982)
WHILE “THE NUMBER of the Beast” may have achieved greater notoriety thanks in part to its Satanic panic–baiting subject matter, “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” the fourth song on The Number of the Beast, is arguably the greatest summation of Iron Maiden’s mission statement.
CLOCKING IN AT seven-plus minutes, this behemoth is a master class in catchy NWOBHM riffs, ambitious songcraft, compelling storytelling and iconic dual-guitar interplay.
Dickinson’s operatic vocals are the perfect instrument to give life to bassist/songwriter Steve Harris’ tale of a death-row prisoner reflecting on his life in the final hours. Fittingly, “Hallowed Be Thy Name” is ominous and vibey as hell from the jump: It begins with a foreboding tolling bell and a few clean guitar chord progressions, which erupt into a quintessential Iron Maiden gallop around the one-minute mark. Guitarists Adrian Smith and Dave Murray lay down one of their most memorable tandem riffs, as Harris and his Fender P-bass keep pushing the infectious groove forward.
Dickinson leads us along the character’s increasingly frantic existential crisis while the band continues to evolve and build on the song’s main themes until the track’s mid-point — when they shift gears and kick “Hallowed” into maximum overdrive. Murray and Smith trade off on a series of fleet-fingered solos, which eventually coalesce into a harmonized restatement of the original melody. There’s a reason why “Hallowed Be Thy Name”
