The Number of the Beast (album)

The Number of the Beast is the third studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in March 1982. It was their first release to feature vocalist Bruce Dickinson and their last with the late drummer Clive Burr.

The Number of the Beast met with considerable critical and commercial success and was a landmark release for the band—becoming their first album to reach No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, and be certified platinum in the US. The album also produced the singles "Run to the Hills" and "The Number of the Beast", the former of which was the band's first top-ten UK single. The album was also controversial, particularly in the US, due to the religious nature of its lyrics and its artwork.

Since the release of The Number of the Beast and its subsequent tour, The Beast on the Road, "The Beast" has become an alternate name for Iron Maiden and was later used in the titles of some of their compilations and live releases, including Best of the Beast and Visions of the Beast.

Number of the Beast (disambiguation)

The Number of the Beast, often equated to 666, is prophetic biblical language.

Number of the Beast also may refer to:

See also

The Number of the Beast (song)

"The Number of the Beast" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is Iron Maiden's seventh single release, and the second single from their 1982 studio album of the same name. It was also re-released in 2005.

Upon release in 1982, the song caused controversy in the United States where its religious subject matter caused outrage amongst religious groups. In spite of this, it remains one of the band's more popular songs, reaching No. 18 in the UK singles charts, and has been performed on almost all of their concert tours. Additionally, the song has been covered numerous times and has appeared in several video games and films.

Writing and recording

According to the song's writer, bassist and band-founder Steve Harris, it was inspired by a nightmare he had after watching the film Damien: Omen II, in addition to the poem Tam o' Shanter by Robert Burns.

The song opens with a spoken word passage, read by English actor Barry Clayton, which quotes Revelation 12:12 and Revelation 13:18. According to lead vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, the band originally asked Vincent Price to read the intro, but decided to hire Clayton after Price refused to do it for anything less than £25,000.

The Beast

The Beast may refer to:

Religion

Fictional character

Films

Television

The Beast (roller coaster)

The Beast is a wooden roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. When it opened in 1979, it was the tallest, fastest, and longest wooden roller coaster in the world. The Beast is still the longest wooden coaster in the world and the longest roller coaster in the US. It spans more than 35 acres (14 ha) utilizing the surrounding terrain for many of its elements. It also features a lengthy ride time that lasts more than four minutes.

The Beast has been consistently rated one of the top roller coasters in the world since its debut, having earned a solid reputation among roller coaster enthusiasts. After more than 30 years, it remains one of the most popular attractions at Kings Island and has accommodated over 45 million riders – third-most at the park.

History

Originally, Kings Island wanted to re-build a replica of the Shooting Star roller coaster previously located at Cincinnati's Coney Island. Coney Island was Kings Island's predecessor, and the Shooting Star was immensely popular there before it was demolished in 1971. The idea to rebuild the Shooting Star was eventually shelved in favor of building a terrain roller coaster that utilized the park's naturally-occurring wooded hills. The Shooting Star was eventually rebuilt at Canada's Wonderland as a replica called the Mighty Canadian Minebuster.

The Hunter (Blondie album)

The Hunter is the sixth studio album by the American band Blondie, released in May 1982. It was Blondie's last album of new material until 1999's No Exit. It was recorded in the fall of 1981 and January and February 1982.

Overview

The Hunter is a concept album based on the theme: searching, pursuing, and hunting. Tracks on the album include Jimmy Destri's Motown pastiche "Danceway", while "Dragonfly" has a science-fiction theme to its lyrics about a race in space. "The Beast" deals with Deborah Harry's experiences of becoming a public figure: "I am the centre of attraction, by staying off the streets". "English Boys" is Harry and Chris Stein's melancholy tribute to "those English boys who had long hair", The Beatles, recorded the year after John Lennon's assassination in New York City, describing the innocence and idealism of the 60's, while "War Child" references military conflicts in Cambodia and the Middle East. The album concludes with a cover version of Smokey Robinson's "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game", originally recorded by The Marvelettes in 1967. Several tracks on the album were reggae influenced and the band's earlier urgent new wave sound was largely absent.