Pranzo Oltranzista
Registered User
- Oct 18, 2017
- 3,843
- 2,704
Music: Best Albums of the Year series: 1982
- Thread starter Saturated Fats
- Start date
Naster Okan
Registered User
- Jan 8, 2019
- 697
- 694
Habsfunk
Registered User
Aladyyn
they praying for the death of a rockstar
Hockey Outsider
Registered User
- Jan 16, 2005
- 9,148
- 14,460
Iron Maiden is my favourite band, but "Number of the Beast" is easily their most overrated album. I'd rank it as the weakest of their five classic albums with Dickinson, and in the bottom half of their catalogue overall.
Most people are familiar with the title track (which is great), "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (also great - if you can overlook the fact that it was plagiarized) and "Run to the Hills" (perhaps their most overrated song - simplistic with a cloying chorus). But the album features plenty of filler. The band has admitted in interviews that they had to rush to release the album and made some questionable decisions in editing. It's no surprise that many of the weaker songs ("Invaders", "Gangland", "Total Eclipse") have either never been performed live, or not for 35+ years.
There's a few reasons why the album is so famous. If you're just counting the hits (and ignoring the misses), then it looks good. It was also (in)famous as some conservative groups accused the band of being Satanic (controversy helps sell records) - even though the title track's lyrics are clearly about someone who's terrified after stumbling upon a Satanic ritual. Finally, the songs are fairly short and accessible by Maiden's standards (it's more a straightforward metal album, rather than prog metal - you don't have any 8+ minute songs here, which would soon be commonplace for them).
I still voted for the album. There's some very good material there (particularly the two songs written by Adrian Smith), and the lyrics are much more interesting than on their first two albums (where most of the songs were about being an outlaw). But they've released at least eight or nine albums that are better.
Most people are familiar with the title track (which is great), "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (also great - if you can overlook the fact that it was plagiarized) and "Run to the Hills" (perhaps their most overrated song - simplistic with a cloying chorus). But the album features plenty of filler. The band has admitted in interviews that they had to rush to release the album and made some questionable decisions in editing. It's no surprise that many of the weaker songs ("Invaders", "Gangland", "Total Eclipse") have either never been performed live, or not for 35+ years.
There's a few reasons why the album is so famous. If you're just counting the hits (and ignoring the misses), then it looks good. It was also (in)famous as some conservative groups accused the band of being Satanic (controversy helps sell records) - even though the title track's lyrics are clearly about someone who's terrified after stumbling upon a Satanic ritual. Finally, the songs are fairly short and accessible by Maiden's standards (it's more a straightforward metal album, rather than prog metal - you don't have any 8+ minute songs here, which would soon be commonplace for them).
I still voted for the album. There's some very good material there (particularly the two songs written by Adrian Smith), and the lyrics are much more interesting than on their first two albums (where most of the songs were about being an outlaw). But they've released at least eight or nine albums that are better.
Last edited:
Saturated Fats
This is water
I'm not going to disagree, if only because I'm such a massive Kate Bush stan. I prefer Hounds but, The Dreaming is my favourite album of the year.
