The Number of The Beast (album) - Reception and Controversy

Reception and Controversy

The album was strongly criticised by social conservatives – especially in the U.S., where the band 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. 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." As a result, 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.

Since its release, the album has received consistent critical acclaim, with Allmusic describing it as "quite simply one of the best heavy metal albums ever released." 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.com placed it third and second, respectively, in their lists of the Top Heavy Metal Albums, and Guitar World ranked the album 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." The Number of the Beast is one of two Iron Maiden records listed in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (Iron Maiden being the other). In 2012, the album was voted No. 1 in HMV's list of "The Best British Albums of the Past 60 Years".

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.