A number of things fell into place for this album to become such a wonderful item. The introduction of Bruce Dickinson to replace Paul Di'Anno for one. Despite the great work that Di'Anno had done with the band on their first two albums, Bruce brought another dimension of possibilities to Iron Maiden, not only with his dynamic vocal range but his song writing capabilities. Also, with all of the band's previously written material having been exhausted in the recording of the first two albums, it now forced them to write all new material for this release, something that allowed them to stretch themselves with all they had learned in recent years.
"Invaders" is similar in structure to both "Prowler" and "Wrathchild", which were the opening songs on Iron Maiden and Killers respectively. It's a short sharp introduction, punctuated by the rifling Steve Harris bassline and those duelling guitars and machine gun drumming, along with Bruce's first strike on vocals, hitting those notes straight up to make this album immediately stand out from the first two releases. I've never really been sure why this song has been so maligned, even by members of the band itself. I think it is a great introduction into the album, showcasing in a historic way what the band could do well in the same way as the aforementioned two songs. It may not be an epic, as future album openers "Where Eagles Dare" and "Aces High" are, but I still think this is a great song, and more is the pity we haven't heard it in a live setting.
"Invaders" is followed by the amazing "Children of the Damned", a truly moody and magnificent song that is still one of the best this band has produced. This was certainly not a song they could have done with Di'Anno on vocals, it would never have worked. Bruce is truly magnificent here, crooning away at the start under the brooding and melodic guitars. The music almost perfectly reflects and remembers the story it is based on, and the following movie of the same name. The moody feel flows into the lead solo break where the song breaks ranks and returns to the fierce Maiden guitar/drum break that they are renown for, while Bruce returns in full force to conclude the song on an upswing. In recent times Bruce was quoted as saying that Black Sabbath's marvellous "Children of the Sea" also inspired this song, and it can actually be seen and heard in the song and its layout.
"The Prisoner" is an inspired song, derived from the classic British TV series, which begins with a monologue taken from that show, which leads straight into a terrific opening where Clive Burr's drums are featured over the short riffs of the guitars. Great start to the song, which then moves into a running guitar bridge which suits the songs lyrics down to the ground, making you fell as though you are "on the run", before launching into "not a Prisoner, I'm a free man!" The lead break again is just classic Maiden, underpinned by Burr's machine-like drumming. Great song.
Following on from two of my all-time favourite Iron Maiden songs comes a third, the brilliant "22 Acacia Avenue". The single guitar riff to start, with Bruce speaking over the top is just great, before busting into the song itself. An old Adrian Smith song from his Urchin days that was reformatted to become the 'next chapter' in the "Charlotte the Harlot" story, this is again highlighted (I believe) by Clive's brilliant drumming throughout the whole song - listen again and be amazed at its precision and power. The lead break cleverly remind you of the middle of the original "Charlotte the Harlot" before breaking ranks and finishing off the song in style.
The second half of the album (for those who are old enough to have owned this on vinyl of course) contains three of Maiden's best known and most beloved songs.
"The Number of the Beast" is the song that much of bible belt America decided was proof that the band was just a bunch of devil worshipping freaks. In reality of course, it was written by Steve Harris after he had watched that fine film, "Damien: Omen II", which tells the STORY of the devil's child. Anyway, pre-empted by a reading from the Book of Revelation from the New Testament, another of Maiden's memorable guitar intros launches the song, leading up to the anthemic calling of "Six! Six six! The number of the beast!". It is still a great song after all these years. This is followed by the song that almost everyone knows whether they are a metal fan or not. "Run to the Hills" spans the generations and the genres, and broke into mainstream radio back when it was released. This is another song that starts with Clive's rhythmic and precision drumming, a drum beat that drummers all over the world have learned at one stage or another, much in the same way all guitarists learn the riff of "Smoke on the Water". Along with the renown guitar riff, and Bruce's superb leading vocals throughout, but especially in the chorus, this has become the song everyone knows Maiden for, and everyone has had a go at hitting Bruce's heights with "Run to the hills, run FOR your LIFE!".
"Gangland" is the second maligned song on the album, and again I think that is unfortunate. The story goes that, when "Run to the Hills" was being prepared for release as the single before the album, a choice had to be made between "Gangland" and "Total Eclipse" as to which would be the B side of the single, with the other song going onto the album The Number of the Beast. It came to pass that "Total Eclipse" became the B side, though Steve Harris has said since that he thinks the wrong decision was made, and that the songs should have been reversed. I can't say I agree, though maybe because the fact is that "Gangland" IS on the album. I like "Total Eclipse", but I've always though of it as have 'B side qualities'. "Gangland" may well reside in the same laneways as "Quest For Fire" as 'forgotten' Maiden songs, but I still like it and think it holds its own here.
The album concludes with the song most of the band consider one of their best, "Hallowed Be Thy Name". It is an epic, in song structure, lyrically and in performance. It once again, as with so many songs just on this album alone, has a distinctive and unique opening to the song, a natural flow from the subtle to the heavy guitar, a brilliant range in the vocals that only Bruce could bring and an anthemic quality, this time into the conclusion of the song. It has been an enduring classic and one that has rarely been out of the band's live set since this album was released.
It is a difficult task to convey how truly magnificent this album is. Only by listening to it can you hear everything that one tries to explain in words, and fails to do to anyone's satisfaction. There are albums that I would place higher on a list of my all-time favourite albums, but that doesn't take away or detract from the fact that this is one of the best ever produced, and its legacy is heightened by the number of bands that have become huge in the past thirty years that this inspired.
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