10 Darkest Rock Music Albums Of The 80s
4. The Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden
People forget that there was a lot of doubt for what Iron Maiden could do going into Number of the Beast. While Steve Harris was still in his songwriting prime, having to go on without Paul Di'anno wasn't going to be easy for the hardcore fans who had weathered down their copies of songs like Wrathchild. When you trade in the bad boy punk for an air raid siren though, even the darkest albums can squeak past your radar.
As if the cover didn't clue you in enough, this is one of the more macabre Iron Maiden albums in their catalog, looking to analyze the concept of evil from many different angles, like an innocent man being locked away on The Prisoner or embracing the cold void of death on something like Hallowed Be Thy Name. If you're looking for the songs that were getting them in trouble, it would have to be the singles from the record.
On Run to the Hills and the title track, Bruce Dickinson sounds like an absolute banshee as he talks about witnessing the horrors of war as well as the occult ceremony he stumbles across in the middle of a field. For all of its sinister edge, these songs also make you feel like you can take on the world after you get done listening to them. It just goes to show you that Bill Hicks was right all those years ago: the devil still seems to have all the good music.