page_title: The Number of the Beast (album)
section_title: Reception and controversy
hierarchical_section_title: The Number of the Beast (album) / Reception and controversy
caption_attribution_description: English: Bruce Dickinson in 1982
context_page_description: The Number of the Beast is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 22 March 1982 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Harvest and Capitol Records. The album was their first to feature vocalist Bruce Dickinson and their last with drummer Clive Burr.
  The Number of the Beast was met with critical and commercial success, and became the band's first album to top the UK Albums Chart and reach the top 40 of the US Billboard 200. The album produced the singles "Run to the Hills" and "The Number of the Beast", the former of which became the band's first top-ten UK single. The album was also controversial, particularly in the United States, due to the religious references in its artwork and the title track's lyrics. Since the release of The Number of the Beast and its subsequent tour The Beast on the Road, "The Beast" has become an alternate name for Iron Maiden and was later used in the titles of some of their compilations and live releases, including Best of the Beast and Visions of the Beast.
context_section_description: The album was strongly opposed by social conservatives – especially in the United States, where Iron Maiden were accused of being Satanists. Public burnings of the band's catalogue were organised, although some religious groups smashed the records with hammers, for fear of inhaling fumes from burning vinyl. The Beast on the Road tour was subject to numerous boycotts and demonstrations: venues were sometimes surrounded by activists who handed out leaflets and, in one case, a 25-foot cross was carried in protest. Harris has stated, "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."
  Since its release, the album has received consistent critical acclaim, with AllMusic describing it as "among the top five most essential heavy metal albums ever recorded. A cornerstone of the genre." Sputnikmusic calls it "a classic in the world of metal", while BBC Music praised the record's complex arrangements, stating "Whereas even some of the venerable HM institutions (think Black Sabbath) would struggle to make material that was something more than a collection of minor-key riffs, Iron Maiden pull this feat off with considerable élan." Q magazine placed the album at No. 100 in its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever" in 2000; in 2001 named it one of the "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time"; and in 2006 placed it at No. 40 in its "40 Best Albums of the '80s" list. IGN and Metal Rules placed it third and second, respectively, in their lists of the Top Heavy Metal Albums, and Guitar World ranked it at No. 17 on their list of "100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time". Classic Rock placed it at No. 15 in their list of the "100 Greatest British Rock Albums", describing it as "the most important metal album of the decade", and it was voted No. 1 in HMV's list of "The Best British Albums of the Past 60 Years" in 2012. The Number of the Beast is one of two Iron Maiden records listed in Robert Dimery's book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (1980's Iron Maiden being the other). In 2017, it was ranked 4th on Rolling Stone' list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".
  In 2001, the BBC made a documentary about The Number of the Beast as part of the Classic Albums series, which was released on DVD in the same year.
caption: Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris performing in 1982. The Beast on the Road tour was marred by several protests organised by religious activists in the US
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