Best of the Beast was Iron Maiden's first best of album, released in 1996 in three formats: a 34 track vinyl, a 27 track CD and a 16 track CD. The vinyl edition is nowadays quite rare and has become a collector's item. The songlist is mainly Maiden's greatest hits and most well-known songs from 1980-1995, but it also comprises a few real goodies, like one new sonngs (entitled Virus), and two songs from the band's 1979 demo tape The Soundhouse Tapes (Iron Maiden and Strange World, of which the latter one was previously unreleased).
The Number of the Beast is a heavy metal album released in 1982 (see 1982 in music) by Iron Maiden on EMI in the UK and originally Harvest Records/Capitol Records in the U.S. (now on Sanctuary Records/Columbia Records), and is widely considered to be one of the most influential albums in its genre.
The album was also the centre of much controversy, particularly in America, due to the misinterpretation of the lyrics of the title track and the cover art.
Since this album (and its tour Beast on the Road), "The Beast" has become something of a nickname for the band and possibly Eddie, as suggested by albums such as Best of the Beast (which featured a 'best of Eddie' mural on the cover), Beast over Hammersmith, and the DVD Visions of the Beast.
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