Iron Maiden

Best of the Beast (Castle)
by Scott Hefflon

Following the re-release of every Iron Maiden disc on the market (each containing a bonus picture disc), Castle has now released the first Best of Iron Maiden disc. It took two discs, packed with a total of 27 songs (running time 76 minutes), and a 60 page booklet to get across all the songs and info required to do a band like Maiden justice. Rarities include “Iron Maiden” and “Strange World” from a 1979 limited-edition 7″, “Virus,” the latest song by Iron Maiden (which will not appear on their upcoming album), and “Afraid To Shoot Strangers,” the first live song released with Blaze Bayley, the new vocalist. While it’s recommended to own everything Iron Maiden did in the ’80s (if you don’t already), the ’90s are not crucial. New fans are welcome to disagree. Best Of The Beast contains the obvious picks from each album, but misses the more subtle favorites. This’ll give you the single, isolated from its surroundings, but at least you can judge if you want to dig deeper, based on the style. A great gift.