Episode 5 - The Number of the Beast (1982)

    Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast! We've arrived at episode 5, the unrelenting force which is Iron Maiden's third album, the first to showcase legendary vocalist Bruce Dickinson. This is an exciting one for us, and we hope it will be for you, too. Last week we posted some links to help people get acquainted with this treasure of heavy metal, including a few live picks. We'll include links to those below, here, as well. 

    You can hear the episode on your favorite podcast platform (links are embedded in the menu area of this page), or right here on the built-in player. Feel free to join the conversation in the comments or via email, twitter, or facebook.

Matt's live picks: 

1. Hallowed be Thy Name from the Beast on the Road tour. This was recorded right around the time the album came out, and features the "Beast" lineup in full force. This song is the final track on the album and remains in contention for best Iron Maiden epic closer.

2. Children of the Damned from Beast Over Hammersmith, also taken from the Beast on the Road tour. This song really shows off Bruce Dickinson's vocal range and power, illustrating why Maiden chose him to replace Paul Di'Anno and why he is in the conversation for best metal vocalists of all time.

3. Total Eclipse - This song isn't technically on the album, but does appear on some of the remastered CD versions. There was a controversy between this song and the song "Gangland (which does appear on the album)," and since we delve a little bit into this in the episode, and the band has never played "Gangland" live, we thought it would be nice to include at least one of them as a live pick.