Iron Maiden’s 1982 album The Number of the Beast is one of the most celebrated releases in metal history, and is regularly ranked among the genre’s defining LP’s.
During a recent conversation with Sirius XM’s Eddie Trunk, guitarist Adrian Smith was asked if he realized The Number of the Beast would become an iconic album while the band was making it.
“I’m never that blasé,” the guitarist responded – however he quickly noted one instance that did carry a sense of palpable excitement. “‘Run to the Hills,’” Smith declared. “When we heard that back, we thought ‘This is the single: ‘Run to the Hills.’’ Like a genuine single, with three bar harmonies on the chorus, Bruce [Dickinson] backed up the vocals. Catchy chorus. So yeah, we probably did get the idea [that] this could be something special.”
READ MORE: How Bruce Dickinson Inspired Iron Maiden’s ‘Number of the Beast’
Smith also revealed his earliest memories of hearing The Number of the Beast’s famous title track.
“I stayed with Steve Harris when I joined the band, because I did a crash course in learning the set and I sat with him most days just going through songs,” he explained. “And then one day he said to me, ‘Oh, check this out. I’ve got this one.’ He didn’t have a demo or anything but he just had the idea for ‘Number of the Beast.’ And he did the intro and he just sort of scat sang that the vocals and that. And he played that to me in that very very rough state, I remember that. And that turned out to be one of the big Maiden songs, obviously.”
Iron Maiden will launch their Run for Your Lives world tour next month, with dates throughout Europe running until August. Meanwhile, Smith just released Black Light/White Noise, his second album with Richie Kotzen.
Iron Maiden Albums Ranked
When ranking Iron Maiden albums, perhaps the most striking thing is that they succeeded despite changing lead singers on three separate occasions.
Gallery Credit: Eduardo Rivadavia
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