The Number of the Beast

Thought I would hate this. Something, something, childhood memories of heavy metal bad.

But after a listen it’s actually quite good. I may have another listen!

Black Sabbath but make it 80's. Last few songs are bangers.

Don't really care for Maiden in general, but this is probably about as good as they get in my opinion. 2/5

better than expected

666
Goes hard, but not fully my thing. 3*

A classic of the genre, with some of their beta and most famous songs. Not as heavy as I would have expected, but still hits like a sledgehammer.

As long as you can ignore the simplistic lyrics, this is an absolute banger of an album

Really enjoyed this having not heard the album before

Classic Rock with a hint of metal. I love it.

Great, a good mix of just ROCK and story telling.

I don't really have much to say about this album other than it sounded pretty cool.

Nostalgia can be a bitch!
How I recall listening to this, when it was my brother's turn to pick the music to listen to in the car...

What a great album! What great memories! What great simplicity!

4 1/2 stars, only because the album isn't perfect.

Honestly, doesn't live up to the 5 star album cover

not my favorite megadeath album, but a solid listen. consistently good, no real dips in quality

Not as strong as the debut album imo. It does have the bigger hits, but I don’t really care as much for them as I do on their debut or powerslave. Still a really solid metal album, but not quite their best.

Really, really enjoyed this! Brilliant musicianship, awesome songs, themes... just top notch for me.

I love that they put 2 of the huge singles halfway in, just the sheer confidence in the rest of the album is brilliant.

This wasn’t bad but definitely feels dated. For me Iron Maiden is more of a greatest hits band. The songs I really thought were great were ones I already knew, Number of the Beast and Run to the Hills. The rest of the songs weren’t bad, they just didn’t grab me. A lot of them felt too long. I understand that Iron Maiden are metal pioneers and I can see their influence in this album. But I prefer later metal that’s a little heavier. Maiden is just too clean sounding to me, that and I’m not a big fan of Dickinson’s vocals.

That’s a 5.

I don’t even think I want to expound on that. It’s a fucking 5. Just… ugh. Insanely good. I’ve never heard Iron Maiden before this; I might be fucking stupid. What an incredible album, genuinely. I don’t have the words; I’m writing this right after I listened to it, and I’m stunned, and all I know is that everyone should listen to this. Just beautifully visceral. This shit feels like hearing Thriller for the first time. To me, it feels like the cornerstone piece of a genre. That’s all I can say. Easy 5.

Now this is a proper Iron Maiden album, don't know why they bothered including the debut on the list. Fantastic guitar playing, and the rest of the band is on point. Bruce Dickinson's singing is like nothing I've ever heard, but the lyrics are a bit cringe in a lot of places (I'm looking at you, Acacia Avenue). There are a couple of songs I wouldn't miss if they were dropped. But it's definitely a very important album, and the second side is almost perfect. Hallowed Be Thy Name is incredible.

I actually really like “Invaders”, but it’s downhill for me after that. I like some of the punky influences, but Dickinson is just too over the top for me.

2.5/5