1982: The eighties would be a make or break decade for metal as a genre. Free from the dominance of original pioneers: Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, the genre had managed to survive the summer of punk thanks to likes of Judas Priest but as another new decade dawned it was time for Metal to evolve or fade away.
1982 saw the emergence of one of the most important movements in heavy rock history, the New Wave In British Metal. While the resurgence had started in the late seventies with key releases from Motorhead and Iron Maiden, 1982 was the year the scene truly exploded and found the album that a new legion of fans could triumphantly cling to as a work just as important (if not quite as good) as IV or Paranoid. I'm sure 99% of you have already figured out which LP I'm about to review (and no it's not Borrowed Time by Diamond Head) but it's still interesting to look back and see how the music media consider of the time viewed the band.
Interestingly the album that I'm about to review came seventh in Kerrang's album of the year losing out to Tom Petty, Rush, Kiss, Robert Plant, Van Halen and ultimately Blackout by the Scorpions. If that's not the definition of musical conservatism I don't know what is. But at least Kerrang recognised the album's quality, Rolling Stone the US stalwart of the old school panned the album, flat out calling it bad music.
So I'm sure you've all guessed it, one of the most obviously inclusion imaginable:
(EMI 1982, Matt Birch)
So yes one of the most predictable entries has been revealed, but honestly was there any alternate? Can this album really be denied? Looking back I feel quite ashamed that it didn't make my top fifty albums of the eighties, but then had I done the top 100 I'd have likely listed the three Maiden classics back to back. Anyway, it seems hard to imagine now, but back in 1982 this album was the subject of derision not adulation. The US straight out rejected the album, feeling it was satanic and cultish, which of course was about the best publicity any metal band could ever hope for. The Number Of The Beast was also an incredibly important album for Maiden themselves, not only because it's arguably their best, but because it saw a major shift in the bands direction. Most notably the arrival of Bruce Dickenson one of the greatest front men of all time, with an incredible range and a near unparalleled flair for the dramatic. More importantly it marked a fundamental shift in Maiden's song writing. The British New Wave core sound saw metal bands swap the early blues influence of Zeppelin for the punk influences that came to prominence in the late 70s. 1982 saw Maiden change tack, they kept the relentless punk spirit in their guitar work but opened their song writing up to sprawling operatic epics more suited to Dickenson's range, and it was this philosophical change that would change the face of metal forever. Prog and Opera were in, and they'd stay in till this very day.
It's not surprising that the albums two weakest tracks "Gangland" and "22 Arcadia Avenue" focus on rough and tough tales of street fighting gangs, that just seem at odds with Dickenson's personality. The latter of the two track still manages to thrill despite not quite feeling right. The rest of the album is the work of genius. With galloping guitars, and widescreen epics with tempo and mood changes galore. Dickenson retells the sci fi epics like "the Prisoner" or delves into psychological torment with the the legendary "Hallowed Be Thy Name". After "Invaders" sets the pace the album never lets up, only getting steadily more epic with the great wall of china style riffage of "Children Of The Dammed", the blood and guts gallop through the US's genocidal history that is "Run To The Hills" and of course the albums title track which contains, in my opinion, the greatest blood curdling cry in metal history. However if there is any one track that sums up why Maiden are so revered and most importantly so much fun, it's "Hallowed Be Thy Name" it has everything that makes Madien great and it just feels just as essential on the fiftieth listen as it did on the first. Number Of The Beast is beyond influential, everyone from Metallica to Dream Theatre have at some point been touched by this album, music wouldn't be the same without it.
The Metal Time Line:
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1982: The Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden
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1998: System Of A Down - System Of A Down
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