MOG

OK, one last metal classic from the 80's - can't do 100 without covering Iron Maiden now, can we?

Mostly because of Iron Maiden's "Eddie" imagery, the rock n roll corpse that was their mascot, most kids in my High School avoided Maiden. They were referred to as a "devil band", similar to Black Sabbath back in the 70's when I was in Junior High. If you were into Iron Maiden in my school, you were considered a pothead dirtbag loser by the general populace, especially if you wore a T-shirt of the band. So of course, once I heard their 1982 "The Number Of The Beast" album, I ran out and got the t-shirt. People really looked at me in shock and horror as I walked the halls in my "Number Of The Beast" T-shirt....what innocent times the 80's were, eh?

The video for "TNOTB" is a goof, with werewolf and Godzilla footage thrown in. They pretty much gloss over the whole devil theme, which is good - the song just rocks, the band was at the beginning of their creative peak, which would continue through 1983's "Piece Of Mind" and 1984's "Powerslave" (anybody remember back when a band put out one new, great record every year? Who does that nowadays?)

"The Number Of The Beast" - an essential 80's metal jam from Iron Maiden! Up The Irons!