"Hallowed Be Thy Name" is perhaps the most celebrated of the band's extended epics it's the tale of a prisoner about to be hanged, featuring some of Harris' most philosophical lyrics. Meanwhile, the title track's odd-meter time signature keeps the listener just slightly off balance and unsettled, leading into the most blood-curdling Dickinson scream on record the lyrics, based on nothing more than Harris' nightmare after watching a horror movie, naturally provoked hysterical accusations of Satan worship (which, in turn, naturally provoked sales). It features Maiden's trademark galloping rhythm, which in this case serves to underscore the images of warriors on horseback. The anthemic "Run to the Hills" dramatized the conquest of the Native Americans and became the band's first Top Ten U.K. As for the new, two of the band's (and, for that matter, heavy metal's) all-time signature songs are here. The exceptions are "22 Acacia Avenue," a sequel to "Charlotte the Harlot" that sounds written for Di'Anno's range, and the street-crime tale "Gangland," which Harris didn't write though the punk influences largely left with Di'Anno, these two definitely recall the Maiden of old. Blessed with a singer who could drive home a melody in grandiose fashion, Steve Harris' writing gets more ambitious, largely abandoning the street violence of old in favor of fittingly epic themes drawn from history, science fiction, and horror. The album's intensity never lets up, the musical technique is peerless for its time, and there isn't a truly unmemorable song in the bunch. Maiden took the basic blueprint Priest had created in the late '70s - aggressive tempos, twin-guitar interplay, wide-ranging power vocals - and cranked everything up faster and louder. The Number of the Beast topped the charts in the U.K., but even more crucially - with Judas Priest having moved into more commercial territory - it also made Iron Maiden the band of choice for purists who wanted their metal uncompromised. Dickinson's operatic performance here made him an instant metal icon, challenging even Rob Halford for bragging rights, and helped launch the band into the stratosphere. Routinely ranked among the greatest heavy metal albums of all time, The Number of the Beast is the birth of Iron Maiden as we know it, a relentless metal machine lifted to soaring new heights by the arrival of erstwhile Samson frontman Bruce Dickinson.
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