The Number of the Beast

 

    Next up for my introduction metal is The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden, widely acclaimed to be one of, if not the best heavy metal album of all time. I'll be straightforward and say: I don't see it. The majority of the album feels somewhat generic in a way. In my review of Black Sabbath's self titled I said that I'm not usually a fan of satanic and occult imagery in media, which is due to it being generally overdone and/or coming off as just edgy, which is kinda what I feel listening to this. I understand why songs like "The Number of the Beast" use it here, it's just that it doesn't feel as necessary to the tone as it did back in Black Sabbath. Aside from that, a lot of the elements of the songs don't really mesh well with each other, like they're all just present without building off of one another. I will say, the vocals done by Dickinson are great, and the guitar and bass-work is downright amazing, and where a lot of the appeal of the music is for me here. Other than that though, the whole thing has a general feeling of "song you hear come on the radio and think 'yeah, I'll let it play out'."

    Highlights: The Prisoner, Run to the Hills, Gangland

Rating: 4/6