Iron Maiden to Release 40th Anniversary Triple Vinyl Edition of ‘The Number of the Beast’
Iron Maiden – Story by Anne Erickson, photo by John McMurtrie
Iron Maiden’s groundbreaking album “The Number of the Beast” turns 40 this year
Iron Maiden are reissuing what it arguably their biggest album, “The Number of the Beast,” on triple-LP vinyl in honor of the groundbreaking album’s 40th anniversary.
The new edition will hit stores on Nov. 18 and pack a punch. What’s most intriguing is that the record’s original tracklist has been reimagined to include “Total Eclipse,” which is in place of “Gangland” on side B.
According to founding bass player Steve Harris, Iron Maiden had rushed to a decision to include “Gangland,” which is considered one of the weaker tracks on the record, instead of “Total Eclipse.” Now, looking back, Harris believes “Total Eclipse” is a strong song, so the band is righting that wrong.
“On this vinyl release we get the chance to put ‘Total Eclipse’ in its rightful spot on the album for the first time,” Harris said in a press release. “The reason it didn’t make it in the first place was that it was all a mad rush when we were finishing the record and we had to get the “Run to the Hills” single out before the tour and we basically had to pick a B-side and it was between ‘Gangland’ and ‘Total Eclipse’ and we just picked the wrong one, really! I think ‘Total Eclipse’ is a stronger song and the album would have been stronger if it had been on there.”
In addition to the main record, the two additional LPs in the upcoming set will pack the first-ever vinyl release of the “Beast Over Hammersmith” live album. That set comes from a March 1982 stint at the Hammersmith Odeon in London while on Maiden’s “Beast on the Road World Tour,” right before “The Number of the Beast” came out.
In other new, Iron Maiden are currently on a North American leg of their “Legacy of the Beast Tour.” The group will wrap things up with a show Oct. 27 in Tampa, Florida. For more information on the “The Number of the Beast” vinyl reissue and to pre-order, go here.
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