666 – THE NUMBER ONE BEAST 29th June 1999   1. Can I Play With Madness [Steve Overland] 2. 2 Minutes To Midnight [Steve Grimmett] 3. Wrathchild [Paul Di'Anno] 4. Hallowed Be Thy Name [Doogie White] 5. Running Free [Paul Di'Anno] 6. The Evil That Men Do [Doogie White] 7. Phantom Of The Opera [Paul Di'Anno] 8. The Number Of The Beast [Steve Grimmett] 9. Iron Maiden [Paul Di'Anno] 10. Run To The Hills [Steve Overland] 11. The Trooper [Gary Barden]

Can you imagine what it would sound like if Whitesnake or Cinderella had covered Iron Maiden? Well, listen to this album and all the non-Di'Anno tracks will give you a clearer idea. Those track are mainstream-sounding and would have been perfect in the heyday of "Hair Metal". This isn't a negative criticism, as most tracks are actually quite nice to listen to, but this simply isn't Maiden. The power and rawness are absent and these covers sound a bit bland.

Among the musicians who contributed, it is interesting to note that a couple of friends of Adrian Smith's are present, namely Andy Barnet and Dave Colwell, who contributed to a few songs recorded by Maiden in the late 80s and that ended up as B-sides on a few singles. The musical performance is excellent and the whole album is quite good.

It is also noteworthy to point out that Doogie White was one of the most serious contenders – along with Blaze Bayley and Damian Wilson – to the replacement of Bruce Dickinson when he left in 1993. Judgeing from the covers on this album, he would also have been a good choice, although Blaze gave Maiden a different dimension that White couldn't have provided. He probably would just have had less problems singing the Dickinson-era material.

The only thing to deplore is that Paul Di'Anno only sings on tracks he used to do with Maiden. Some Bruce Dickinson tracks would have made an interesting comparison, although the songs with Di'Anno on this album are excellent, with even more rage and aggression than on Maiden's first two album. All in all, this is a very good tribute album.

Other Pressings:

Japan (1999)

Switzerland (2000)

Malaysia (2000)

STEVE OVERLAND – Can I Play With Madness (Smith, Dickinson, Harris)

The voice may come as a bit of a shock to the die-hard Maiden fans. Gone is the aggression of Bruce Dickinson's vocals, to be replaced by a more mainstream and "FM"-type hard rock voice. This is an example of a song that would have had quite a lot airplay if Steve Overland had been Iron Maiden's singer at the time.

STEVE GRIMMETT – 2 Minutes to Midnight (Smith, Dickinson)

Close to the original, this version of "2 Minutes To Midnight" is very nicely done. Grimmet emulates Dickinson really well and the instrumental part is also cleverly performed.

Video from nekromoogle.

PAUL DI'ANNO – Wrathchild (Harris)

With Di'Anno on vocals, this cover doesn't really sound much like a cover. That was to be expected!

DOOGIE WHITE – Hallowed Be Thy Name (Harris)

This somehow cheesy version of "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is however not bad and fairly close to the original, despite the lack of aggression of the vocals.

Video from nekromoogle.

PAUL DI'ANNO – Running Free (Harris, Di'Anno)

Only Di'Anno can sing "Running Free" the way it should be sung, and he proves it once again with this pretty good cover.

DOOGIE WHITE – The Evil That Men Do (Smith, Dickinson, Harris)

Unlike on "Hallowed Be Thy Name", Doogie White offers us a really good performance of "The Evil That Men Do", almost Dickinson-like. Very close to the original – maybe a bit too much to be a proper cover version!

PAUL DI'ANNO – Phantom Of The Opera (Harris)

Brilliant rendition of a brilliant song. Not much else to add.

STEVE GRIMMETT – The Number Of The Beast (Harris)

There again, the voice may be a bit too "Hair-Metal"-sounding to make this cover really efficient. It's still pretty good though.

Video from nekromoogle.

PAUL DI'ANNO – Iron Maiden (Harris)

Perfect rendition. Di'Anno's voice is really the only one suited to sing Di'Anno-era material.

STEVE OVERLAND – Run To The Hills (Harris)

The voice, this time, makes this cover interesting. Without being like Dickinson's, it is pretty good.

GARY BARDEN – The Trooper (Harris)

Despite the unusual vocals – like on most of the album! – this is a quite good version of "The Trooper".

Video from nekromoogle.