Lift Your Skinny Fists is good enough but christ is it an exhaustive album to listen to. I rarely listen to it in one sitting and I find it more enjoyable to listen in two halves. I'd definitely rather listen to F#A#oo over it any day.

I'm also one of those who just doesn't get the appeal of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. For such a lauded album it just sounds so... average. I'm a fan of 90's lo-fi indie rock but there are definitely plenty of better indie albums in that decade than this.

I think most of the people enamoured with it are looking at the lyrical content. Something to do with a series of erotic dreams about Anne Frank or god know what.

I don't know why people say it's about that

I see it as just having overarching themes of life, death and experiencing life using Anne Frank as a device for this in some songs.

Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast

huge letdown after DiAnno left and a rather turgid beast

why is it in the Top 50 British albums list of some magazine?

Agreed. Lift Your Skinny Fists was one of those albums I finally got because I saw it so much. I enjoy it, but I was expecting more considering all the fanfare. I definitely, definitely don't get In The Aeroplane Over the Sea. If lyrics are part of why it's so highly lauded, then that doesn't do much for me since I don't pay all that much attention to them (probably because I listen to so much instrumental music). I'd also have to enjoy the music going along with them, of course, and I just... don't.

Their lyrics are good alright, I can acknowledge that. But If I wanted to admire their lyrics I would just read them on their own without the music. It's the music itself that disappoints me and falls way short of the album's reputation as an indie essential.

I listened to Iron Maiden- The Number of the Beast yesterday hadn't heard it in a while. I actually now think its a very special metal album, much more so than before. You have to look at the album in its time period the early 1980s.

Bands like Van Halen and Judas Priest were already going very commercial, but Iron Maiden refused to fully compromise and lose their metal credential, so what they did on that album was add melody, whilst keeping a true metal heaviness and cranking things up louder than Judas Priest or Van Halen ever could. It was an amazing feat because the technical ability of the band on that album is stunning and of course Bruce added the new vocal dimension that the band were looking for. I may even say now, that I agree with critics in that its probably the most important metal album ever recorded.

I agree with this, but it's a prime example of an album's place in history meaning more than the actual quality of the album. It was a genre that needed growth... It was fairly original when it was released but Iron Maiden perfected the style on the very next album. Piece of Mind is a much better album by far. In fact, Number of the Beast is one of my least favorite Maiden albums but I definitely can see where it has its place.

Someone just mentioned Slint's Spiderland in Albums You're Digging... It's another good example of this. Is it a great post rock album? Not compared to what has come out after it, but it's important historically and is an interesting listen for that reason.

Number Of The Beast is a good album but it has dated pretty badly compared to the likes of Piece Of Mind and Powerslave (my favourite Maiden album). But 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' is still a classic slice of early-80's metal. You have to hand it to them though, changing lead vocalist is a very risky move for any band and it worked out quite well for them in the end, Number Of The Beast could have been horrible but it certainly wasn't that bad.

I wouldn't say Number Of The Beast is dated, it holds up pretty well when you listen to some of the other NWOBHM stuff from around that time.

I've always thought that it's biggest problem is the track sequencing is all wrong. For a start the opening track is probably the weakest they ever wrote, why they didn't use the title track to open the album is a mystery to me. Also I have no idea why they relegated Total Eclipse to the B Side of the Run To The Hills single because I think it's better than a lot of the tracks on the album.
If I was the producer of the album I would have insisted on them writing one more song and sequenced the album like this....

Side One

1. Number Of The Beast
2. Children Of The Damned
3. The Prisoner
4. Total Eclipse
5. 22 Acacia Avenue

Side Two
6. Run To The Hills
7. ***Extra Song***
8. Gangland
9. Hallowed Be Thy Name

I think that would make it a much better album.

Invaders can go on the Run To The Hills B Side.
It was the first album I ever bought, I get a bit anal about it sometimes :)