Singles and Live Albums from Iron Maiden. Somewhere Back in Time - The Best of: 1980 - 1989.
- Listen: In this latest installation of CLASSICS WEEK 2014, Anthony Fantano visits with Iron Maiden's breakout alb.
- Listen free to Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast (Invaders, Children of the Damned and more). 8 tracks (38:43). 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. This was the debut of vocalist Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden.
Biography
The legendary British heavy-metal band Iron Maiden was formed in 1975 by the bassist Steve Harris. He knew perfectly what kind of music he wanted to play, and, as the result, he started looking for like-minded persons. Pretty soon the very first line-up was established, and the rockers began performing in small clubs. The potential was huge, and the constant shows all around the United Kingdom helped Iron Maiden to gain the popularity. Moreover, the style created by the musicians turned out to be truly revolutionary: Iron Maiden are considered to be the founders of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.
Due to the number of concerts, the rockers managed to save some money and afford recording the first demos. Among them was the composition Prowler that later peaked at number one of metal-chart. Iron Maiden’s bright shows were attracting everyone’s attention, including attention from representatives of various labels, and by 1979 the band signed the contract with EMI. Thus, in 1980 the band’s debut album Iron Maiden was released and it got excellent reviews from the critics. The rockers did not make their fans wait too long for the following studio work: the second long play Killers, that proved to be as interesting and strong as its predecessor, was issued in 1981. Iron Maiden started the professional career in a very confident way, because the musicians managed to gain a huge fan base and also to establish a reputation of one of the most talented and prominent young bands.
Iron Maiden’s members always had plenty of new ideas, and the musicians realized them very well in the studio. Thus, the records The Number Of The Beast (1982) and Piece Of Mind (1983) were certified Platinum in the UK and on the other side of the Atlantic. In 1983 the famous magazine Kerrang! included Piece Of Mind and The Number Of The Beast into the list of The Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Times to the first and second places accordingly. In general eighties became the Golden period for Iron Maiden: the rockers issued their best albums and managed to achieve the world recognition.
Nineties turned out to be a bit less successful for the band: there were rumors about Iron Maiden’s disbandment, which luckily proved to be fake. Maybe the albums of nineties were received in that way because of the fact that the extremely talented vocalist Bruce Dickinson quitted the group. Nevertheless, the band’s fans were satisfied: they got such strong long plays as No Prayer For The Dying (1990), Fear Of The Dark (1992) and many others. In 1993 the founders of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal released the live album A Real Dead One, recorded during the concerts in Europe. A Real Dead One became the real present for all the live sound lovers, as soon as that album could preserve the energy and drive of Iron Maiden’s performances.
Even if someone considers nineties to be not the best period of the band’s creativity, the millennium showed the real potential of the musicians. Iron Maiden’s line-up is worth mentioning: not every band has three guitarists, and of such high level. That helped to achieve the new sound, which turned out to be even more powerful than it used to be. Moreover, the group’s fans were extremely happy because Bruce Dickinson came back. The album Brave New World, released in 2000, debuted at number two in the UK and soon it was certified Gold. Three years later Iron Maiden issued the record Dance Of Death (2003) that had been crated in the band’s best traditions. The studio attempt titled A Matter Of Life And Death appeared in 2006 and it was enjoyed by the fans and it was critically acclaimed.
In 2010 Iron Maiden’s discography was enlarged by the album The Final Frontier that had been waited by fans for four years. The musicians’ skills allowed them to create not only the strong, but also the incredibly difficult from the technical point of view work. Iron Maiden never looked for the easier ways, they always did their best, and The Final Frontier is the bright example of that. That studio work already attracted the attention of millions of fans all around the world, and there is absolutely no doubt that The Final Frontier will be interesting for all the good music lovers.
Studio Albums
Iron Maiden The Number Of The Beast Album Download Mp3
The Final Frontier
Iron Maiden The Number Of The Beast Album Download Free
Singles
EP
Compilation albums
Lives
Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast (1982/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 00:40:22 minutes | 899 MB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Official Digital Download – Source: www.onkyomusic.com | © Parlophone Records
Recorded: Battery Studios, January – February 1982
Routinely ranked among the greatest heavy metal albums of all time, The Number of the Beast is the birth of Iron Maiden as we know it, a relentless metal machine lifted to soaring new heights by the arrival of erstwhile Samson frontman Bruce Dickinson. Dickinson’s operatic performance here made him an instant metal icon, challenging even Rob Halford for bragging rights, and helped launch the band into the stratosphere. The Number of the Beast topped the charts in the U.K., but even more crucially — with Judas Priest having moved into more commercial territory — it also made Iron Maiden the band of choice for purists who wanted their metal uncompromised. Maiden took the basic blueprint Priest had created in the late ’70s — aggressive tempos, twin-guitar interplay, wide-ranging power vocals — and cranked everything up faster and louder. The album’s intensity never lets up, the musical technique is peerless for its time, and there isn’t a truly unmemorable song in the bunch. Blessed with a singer who could drive home a melody in grandiose fashion, Steve Harris’ writing gets more ambitious, largely abandoning the street violence of old in favor of fittingly epic themes drawn from history, science fiction, and horror. The exceptions are “22 Acacia Avenue,” a sequel to “Charlotte the Harlot” that sounds written for Di’Anno’s range, and the street-crime tale “Gangland,” which Harris didn’t write; though the punk influences largely left with Di’Anno, these two definitely recall the Maiden of old. As for the new, two of the band’s (and, for that matter, heavy metal’s) all-time signature songs are here. The anthemic “Run to the Hills” dramatized the conquest of the Native Americans and became the band’s first Top Ten U.K. single. It features Maiden’s trademark galloping rhythm, which in this case serves to underscore the images of warriors on horseback. Meanwhile, the title track’s odd-meter time signature keeps the listener just slightly off balance and unsettled, leading into the most blood-curdling Dickinson scream on record; the lyrics, based on nothing more than Harris’ nightmare after watching a horror movie, naturally provoked hysterical accusations of Satan worship (which, in turn, naturally provoked sales). “Hallowed Be Thy Name” is perhaps the most celebrated of the band’s extended epics; it’s the tale of a prisoner about to be hanged, featuring some of Harris’ most philosophical lyrics. It opens with a superbly doomy atmosphere before giving way to a succession of memorable instrumental lines and an impassioned performance by Dickinson; despite all the tempo changes, the transitions never feel jarring. Elsewhere, “The Prisoner” is a catchy retelling of the hit British TV series, and “Children of the Damned” is a slower, heavier number patterned after the downtempo moments of Dio-era Black Sabbath. CD remasters integrate “Total Eclipse,” first released as the B-side of “Run to the Hills,” into the running order. Though some moments on The Number of the Beast are clearly stronger than others, the album as a whole represented a high-water mark for heavy metal, striking a balance between accessible melodicism and challenging technique and intensity. Everything fell into place for Iron Maiden here at exactly the right time, and the result certainly ranks among the top five most essential heavy metal albums ever recorded. A cornerstone of the genre. -Steve Huey
Tracklist:
1 Invaders 3:20
2 Children Of The Damned 4:34
3 The Prisoner 5:34
4 22, Acacia Avenue 6:34
5 The Number Of The Beast 4:25
6 Run To The Hills 3:50
7 Gangland 3:46
8 Hallowed Be Thy Name 7:08
Personnel:
Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
Dave Murray – guitar
Adrian Smith – guitar
Steve Harris – bass guitar
Clive Burr – drums
All Of Iron Maidens Albums
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