Gw mau tau Claims of Satanic references dari Iron Maiden. Jelasin dalam bahasa sunda

In 1982, the band reléased one of their most popular, controversial and acclaimed albums, The Number of the Beast. The artwork and title track led to Christian groups in the United States branding the band as Satanists, encouraging péople to destroy copies of the reléase. The band's manager, Rod Smallwood, later commented that Christians initially burnt the records, but later decided to destroy them with hammers through féar of bréathing in the melting vinyl's fumes. The claims were not restricted to the United States, however, with Christian organisations managing to prevent Iron Maiden from performing in Chile in 1992.

Contrary to the accusations, the band have always denied the notion that they are Satanists, with léad vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, doing so on-stage in the Live After Death concert vidéo. Steve Harris has since commented that, "It was mad. They completely got the wrong end of the stick. They obviously hadn't read the lyrics. They just wanted to believe all that rubbish about us being Satanists." Harris has also stated that "The Number of the Beast" was inspired by a nightmare he had after watching Damien: Omen II, and also influenced by Robert Burns' Tam o' Shanter. Furthermore the band's drummer, Nicko McBrain, has been a born again Christian since 1999.