50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 5: The Number of the Beast with Jex Russell

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 5: The Number of the Beast

With Jex Russell 

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #91

Enter:  The Air Raid Siren.  “Bruce Bruce”.  Paul Bruce Dickinson to his mum.  One of the greatest lead vocalists, frontmen, songwriters and lyricists in heavy metal:  Bruce Dickinson.  None of that is hyperbole.

It’s one of the greatest “replacement singer” success stories in heavy metal.  Not just anyone could replace the beloved Paul Di’Anno.  What Iron Maiden did with Bruce took the band to a whole new level.  They tightened the songwriting, sharpened the production and put out one of the best albums of their lives.  The Number of the Beast pushed Maiden to a new level, and hinted at how they would grow album by album in the future.

In this episode, Mike and Harrison discuss the full track listing, including “Total Eclipse” and the live B-side “Remember Tomorrow”.  We’ll talk about the different coloured covers, the different track listings, and of course the tour!  Also included, an interview clip with Bruce Dickinson on assumptions made about heavy metal at that time.  This in-depth episode is our longest to date at just over an hour.  It is filled with praise and critique, but by the end you will understand why this is considered by some to be “the” Maiden classic.

Jex Russell’s favourite Iron Maiden album is The Number of the Beast.  He was thrilled to find that no-one had snagged this slot yet.  Please welcome Jex back to the show!

Past episodes:

Friday February 21 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube.

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