The 80's weren't all bad you know!
Ah now this takes me back, The Number of the Beast was originally released in 1982 & caused no end of controversy at the time. I actually remember an R.E teacher trying to explain why this was such a bad record, oh yes, these heavy metal bands shouldn't mess with dark powers that they do not understand (666, Satan & all that!).
This was the title track of the album that propelled Iron Maiden on their way to super stardom; musically it finds them retaining elements of the original rawness of the first two albums but also displaying signs of moving toward the super slick over produced style that was to follow. Number of the Beast is actually a damn good song, it's not their best work but it's certainly vastly superior to much of the later Iron Maiden catalogue which saw them disappear up a certain orifice on a wave of spandex! This comes from the classic heyday of good old fashioned heavy metal; dual guitar parts over a fast rhythm section, high pitched vocals, obligatory guitar solo, a load of studs, a pile of leather & buckets of long hair. It was fun, much of it was self-parody & nobody really took it that seriously (did they?!).
If you've never heard Iron Maiden before this is a pretty good place to start, for the rest of us it's an excuse to dust off the vinyl & stick the album on or to remember why we never liked them in the first place!