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Moises Hernandez

Dr. Nelson

English 1301

3 October 2022

Visual Analysis of Iron Maiden’s The Number of The Beast

Iron Maiden, an English band formed in 1975, is a popular group that bases its music on

the music genre of heavy metal rock. One of its most popular albums is none other than The

Number of The Beast. The album cover was released in 1982, and became a huge success thanks

to its distinctive art style. At first glance, the captivating tagline “The Number of The Beast” can

be found in the center of the album cover (Fig. 1). The album cover also contains a large corpse

with a menacing grin positioned in the middle of the album cover, a devil pointing at what looks

like scaled down people on fire, with a dark cloudy background. This album was not solely

created to just be an album cover. The use of visual elements in the album cover, including a

dark and stormy background that positions the corpse in relief in the center foreground, and

multiple symbolic figures, imply that through corruption and manipulation, there is chaos and

ruin in the story being revealed within the album.

The dark cloudy background is used to evoke ruin and chaos within the album cover.

This is due to the spots of blackness, foggy setting, and specs of thunder found along the album

cover. The color black is a dominant color that can be intimidating to viewers. The foggy

background gives off the feeling of uncertainty, mystery, and obscurity. Finally, the specks of

thunder found across the album cover can be connected to punishment and destruction. Paired

together, these elements combine their energy, creating a new, unique atmosphere. This new
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atmosphere a combination of menace and mystery that inevitably leaves the viewer disturbed,

and aids in intensifying ruin.

The giant corpse, the devil, and the miniature stick figure found within the album are

positioned the way that they are in order to induce the idea of destruction, corruption, and

manipulation. The giant corpse with the menacing grin is seen with long white hair and edgy

clothes. Following the fashion of the corpse, it also has detailed facial features that show viewers

that the corpse possibly resembles someone. It can be inferred that the corpse positioned in the

album cover is in fact Iron Maiden’s lead singer Bruce Dickinson. The corpse is the primary

force of corruption because of its size and positioning in the album cover. Corruption is found in

the album by using an inanimate object such as a corpse based on Bruce Dickinson, as the main

evil force.

Along with the corruption found among Dickinson, manipulation also resides in the

album. Although not noticeable, there are thin strings that can be found running down one hand

of the tips of Dickinson’s fingers to a small devil. Strings are typically attached to objects such as

puppets to completely control their actions and movements; strings are the basis of manipulation.

Moreover, the tiny devil also has thin strings running down from his fingertips to the stick figure.

Based on the same hand gesture made by the zombified Dickinson and the small devil, there is

reason to believe that Dickinson is manipulating the devil and the devil to the small figure.

Overall, Dickinson is the primary puppet master through his manipulative use of strings,

controlling the beings beneath him to completely entice chaos. The idea of corruption and

manipulation is manifested throughout the entire album and the community involved.

On the album cover, there are deeper details not immediately recognizable at first glance,

such as the little people at the very bottom of the album cover found being set on fire. Fire has
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many different meanings; it can range from hope to purification. In this case, however, fire is

tied to destruction and even hell itself. The reason behind a large amount of fire set on the tiny

people displayed could be due to the evil forces such as the devil and Dickinson, controlling the

land. Additionally, in the left-hand bottom corner of the cover, people are falling down into what

looks like the pits of hell. Hell breaking loose can be the correct phrase to say when looking at

this album cover. Eternal damnation and chaos are highly stressed in the album cover through the

use of evil entities, communities ignited on fire, and the biblical use of the gateway to Hell. The

album cover also emphasizes destruction and perhaps, even hell on Earth, through its use of fire.

Some instances of fire being used include the corrupt Bruce Dickinson. As mentioned before,

Dickinson used one hand to manipulate the devil. However, hellfire can be found coming out of

Dickinson’s other hand. The idea of fire in his hand may indicate that he is holding chaos in the

palm of his hand.

Altogether, The Number of The Beast album cover is a head-turner thanks to the unique

symbolism involved. Through the use of elements including background, positioning of

characters, and deeper details not immediately recognizable, the album can prove that there is

malice and destruction throughout the entire cover. The Number of The Beast entices what true

metal rock is through the genius use of the unique story unfolded within its album, allowing Iron

Maiden to display who they are as a band.

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Appendix

Figure 1. Iron Maiden Number of the beast album cover (1982).

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Work Cited

Riggs, Derrek, Album Cover for The Number of The Beast. Wikipedia.org, 2022,

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Number_of_the_Beast_(album) 3 October 2022