The Number of the Beast es un álbum de Iron Maiden, publicado en 1982 por EMI. El disco incluye 9 canciones, entre ellas «Invaders», «Children of the Damned», «Prisoner» y «22 Acacia Avenue».
Sobre el álbum
Este álbum de 1982 es, sin lugar a dudas, la obra que transformó a la banda en un fenómeno global y un pilar indiscutible de la discografía de Iron Maiden. "The Number of the Beast" no solo supuso el debut del legendario vocalista Bruce Dickinson, sino que también definió el sonido del heavy metal clásico para toda una generación, gracias a una colección de canciones que son pura historia del género.
El impacto del disco fue monumental y, a la vez, muy polémico. La llegada de Dickinson, con su increíble rango vocal y su potencia operística, le dio a la banda una nueva dimensión épica. Su voz se convirtió en el vehículo perfecto para las complejas y galopantes composiciones del bajista y líder Steve Harris. El sonido de Iron Maiden se volvió más majestuoso y poderoso.
El álbum está repleto de clásicos inmortales. "Run to the Hills", con su ritmo trepidante, narra la conquista del Oeste desde dos perspectivas. La canción que da título al disco, "The Number of the Beast", con su famosa introducción hablada y su riff icónico, generó una enorme controversia en su día, pero se convirtió en uno de los himnos más grandes del metal. El álbum se cierra con la épica y literaria "Hallowed Be Thy Name", considerada por muchos como una de las mejores canciones de heavy metal de todos los tiempos.
"The Number of the Beast" es una pieza redonda absoluta. Es el disco que no solo consolidó la formación clásica de la banda, sino que también estableció la plantilla sonora que seguirían en su época dorada. Su influencia en la historia del heavy metal es simplemente incalculable, un trabajo esencial para entender el género.
Listado de Canciones
- Invaders3:25
Letra
(harris) Longboats have been sighted the evidence of war has begun Many nordic fighting men their swords and shields all gleam in the sun Call to arms defend yourselves get ready to stand and fight for your lives Judgement day has come around so be prepared don't run stand your ground They're coming in from the sea They've come the enemy Beneath the blazing sun The battle has to be won Invaders... Pillaging Invaders... Looting Set ablaze the campfires alert the other men from inland Warning must be given there's not enough men here for a stand The vikings are too many much too powerful to take on our own We must have reinforcements we cannot fight this battle alone They're coming over the hill They've come to attack They're coming in for the kill There's no turning back Invaders... Fighting Invaders... Marauding Axes grind and maces clash as wounded fighters fall to the ground Severed limbs and fatal woundings bloody corpses lay all around The smell of death and burning flesh the battle weary fight to the end The saxons have been overpowered victims of the mighty norsemen You'd better scatter and run The battle's lost and not won You'd better get away to fight another day Invaders... Raping Invaders... Plundering - Children of the Damned4:35
Letra
(harris) He's walking like a small child But watch his eyes burn you away Black holes in his golden stare God knows he wants to go home Children of the damned (repeat another 3 times) He's walking like a dead man If he had lived he would have crucified us all Now he's standing on the last step He thought oblivion well it beckons us all Children of the damned (repeat another 3 times) Now it burns his hand he's turning to laugh Smiles as the flame sears his flesh Melting his face screaming in pain Peeling the skin from his eyes Watch him die according to plan He's dust on the ground what did we learn You're children of the damned Your back's against the wall You turn into the light You're burning in the night You're children of the damned Like candles watch them burn Burning in the light You'll burn again tonight You're children of the damned - Prisoner
- 22 Acacia Avenue6:37
- Number of the Beast
- Run to the Hills3:54
Letra
White man came across the sea He brought us pain and misery He killed our tribes, he killed our creed He took our game for his own need We fought him hard, we fought him well Out on the plains we gave him hell But many came, too much for Cree Oh will we ever be set free Riding through dustclouds and barren wastes Galloping hard on the plains Chasing the redskins back to their holes Fighting them at their own game Murder for freedom the stab in the back Woman and children, a cowards attack Run to the hills - run for your lives Run to the hills - run for your lives Soldier blue in the barren wastes Hunting and killing's a game Raping the woman and wasting the man "The only good injins are tame" Selling them whiskey and taking their gold Enslaving the young and destroying the old Run to the hills - run for your lives Run to the hills - run for your lives Run to the hills - run for your lives Run to the hills - run for your lives - Gangland3:48
Letra
(smith/burr) Shadows may hide you but also may be your grave You're running today maybe tomorrow you'll be saved You pray for daylight to save you for a while You wonder if your children will face the killer's smile Dead men -- tell no tales In gangland -- murder's up for sale Dead men -- tell no tales In gangland -- where jail birds die Face at the window leers into your own But it's only your reflection still you tremble in your bones How long can you hide? How long till they come? A rat in a trap but you've got to survive Once you were glad to be free for a while The air tasted good and the world was your friend Then came the day when the hard times began Now your alone but alive for how long? A knife at your throat another body on the pile A contract to keep and it's service with a smile Murder for vengeance or murder for gain Death on the streets or a blackened out jail Dead men -- tell no tales In gangland -- murder's up for sale Dead men -- tell no tales In gangland -- where jail birds die In gangland you tell no tales - Total Eclipse4:26
Letra
Cold as steel the darkness waits it's hour will come. A cry of fear from our children worshipping the sun. Mother nature's black revenge on those who waste her life. War babies in the garden of Eden, Shall turn our ashes to ice. Sunrise has gone freezing up the fires. Sunrise has gone numbing our desires. Around the world the people stop, With terror stricken eyes. A shadow cast upon them all, To crush them like a fly. In the icy rain and whiplashed seas, There's nowhere left to run. The hammer blows of winter fall like a hurricane. Around the world the nations wait, For some wise word from their leading light. You know it isn't only madmen who listen to fools. Is this the end, the millions cried, Clutching their riches as they died. Those who survive must weather the storm. Gone are the days when man looked down. They've taken away his sacred crown. To be set free, it took so long. It's not journeys' end, it's just begun. - Hallowed Be Thy Name7:14
Letra
I'm waiting in my cold cell, when the bell begins to chime. Reflecting on my past life and it doesn't have much time. 'Cause at 5 o'clock they take me to the Gallows Pole, The sands of time for me are running low. When the priest comes to read me the last rites, I take a look through the bars at the last sights, Of a world that has gone very wrong for me. Can it be that there's some sort of error? Hard to stop the surmounting terror. Is it really the end, not some crazy dream? Somebody please tell me that I'm dreaming, It's not easy to stop from screaming, But words escape me when I try to speak. Tears fall but why am I crying? After all I'm not afraid of dying. Don't I believe that there never is an end? As the guards march me out to the courtyard, Somebody cries from a cell "God be with you". If there's a God then why has he let me go? As I walk all my life drifts before me And though the end is near I'm not sorry Catch my soul 'cause it's willing to fly away Mark my words please believe my soul lives on Please don't worry now that I have gone I've gone beyond to see the truth When you know that your time is close at hand, Maybe then you'll begin to understand Life down here is just a strange illusion. Yeah, yeah, yeah... Hallowed be Thy name Yeah, yeah, yeah... Hallowed be Thy name Yeah