'Numbers From the Beast': give it a shot !

The Saint

Powerslave
Staff member
I've been listening to that new tribute we've been talking on the Maidenfans.com news: 'Numbers From the Beast'.

It's honestly very good. Tribute usually do not rank high in my taste, but this one stands out (well, it could have been expected for the musicians are excellent on this one). Not used to do reviews, but here is it after my first listen (meaning, I didn't really had time to get into all the songs):

In order, 'Run to the Hills' and 'Wasted Years' are excellent, even if somewhat to close to the original for my taste. A pleasure to the ears.

'Wrathchild' is quite close to the original, but with Di'Anno singing, how couldn't it not be [!--emo&:D--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/biggrin.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'biggrin.gif\' /][!--endemo--] I was beamed back to the early 80s. His voice is magnificent !

'Flight of Icarus' is brilliant, for Ripper really delivers.

The musicians on the next track, 'Fear of the Dark', do deliver in a brilliant way. The guitar interpretation is really nice. I'm not fond of the voice, but the quality behind it was so good that, in the end, I loved everyminute.

'The Trooper' is next. Well, it's similar yet very different. In the first second, I had to get used to Lemmy singing this very fast song. But you know what ? Brought a large smile. He should sing that with Motorhead !! I love Lemmy, so I might be biased [!--emo&:)--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'smile.gif\' /][!--endemo--]

'Aces High' is very nice. Love how they changed some of the guitar parts. Gives a different edge to the song.

2M2M is maybe to close to the original, but it delivers. Voice is excellent.

'Can I Play With Madness' is a nice interpretation of the original. They stick to the original but altered some parts slightly. Nice.

'The Evil That Men Do'. On this first listen, it's the masterpiece of this tribute. Ok, the original is one of my favorite, so I could be biased, but I really love what they did with it. It stays in line with the original, but the slight changes plus the excellent singing makes for a different experience.

Last song, 'The Wickerman' is very interesting, especially for the voice. The songs becomes heavier. One review on the main news says it's better than the original. Well, I understand why this was stated. Rock'n'roll baby !

In the end, all the songs will be transfered on my iPod for more listens. The best tribute to Maiden ever made. Brilliant musicianship.

Do not consider it as a tribute. Consider it as a new album and check it out !


Cheers
 
well, sorry Saint, but I have to strongly disagree.

Most of the covers are pretty unimaginative, the musicianship is not that special, the overdoing of some of the lead-guitar lines is a pain in the ass (see Aces High) and the only songs that really stand out are Trooper (because of Lemmy, but it gets old after a few listens) and The Wicker Man (which is basically "heavier" cause it's tuned down half a step)

I don't like the tribute at all. Dee Sniders destroys Wasted Years, Ripper doesn't suit Flight of Icarus, Chuck Billy could have done better if they had done Fear of the Dark in a Thrash style... oh well, opinions differ, hey? [!--emo&;)--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/wink.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'wink.gif\' /][!--endemo--]

If you want a creative and absolutely great Tribute, go check out Food For Thought!
 
[!--QuoteBegin-Maidenfreak+Nov 6 2005, 02:22 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Maidenfreak @ Nov 6 2005, 02:22 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]well, sorry Saint, but I have to strongly disagree.

Most of the covers are pretty unimaginative, the musicianship is not that special, the overdoing of some of the lead-guitar lines is a pain in the ass (see Aces High) and the only songs that really stand out are Trooper (because of Lemmy, but it gets old after a few listens) and The Wicker Man (which is basically "heavier" cause it's tuned down half a step)

I don't like the tribute at all. Dee Sniders destroys Wasted Years, Ripper doesn't suit Flight of Icarus, Chuck Billy could have done better if they had done Fear of the Dark in a Thrash style... oh well, opinions differ, hey? [!--emo&;)--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/wink.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'wink.gif\' /][!--endemo--]

If you want a creative and absolutely great Tribute, go check out Food For Thought!
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I agree with you. "Numbers from the beast" is quite crappy (at least the songs I've heard, i.e. most of the album), while "Food for thought" is a masterpiece.
 
I can't say I liked The Wicker Man. Way too heavy (even if it was only tuned a semitone down). The original will never be topped.
The other songs weren't bad actually, gotta say I liked them a lot.

It was great to hear Paul back in action again on Wrathchild, but i suppose he used to sing it a lot better (kinda obvious since he's aged a two decades). Of course we'll always love him though!!!

The best cover song I've ever heard was Remeber tommorow from Anthrax from the cd "A tribute to the beast Vol. 2"

Edit: Nicer look... [!--emo&;)--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/wink.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'wink.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
Men of different tastes.

Don't worry. I see your point with 'Food For Thought'. I also love it. But it's a totally different kind of tribute.

With 'Numbers from the Beast', we know that the song would be revisited by metal bands and my expectations were set there.

With 'Food for Thought' or Gaba's piano interpretation of some Maiden songs (or that jazzy 'Gangland' version by Dream Theater), it's a jump in unknown territories. All the examples that I've just mentionned show that this jump can be a real tingling pleasure [!--emo&:)--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'smile.gif\' /][!--endemo--]

Cheers
 
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