See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

12 used & new from $20.00

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
The Best of the Beast
 
See larger image
 

The Best of the Beast

Iron Maiden
4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews) More about this product


Available from these sellers.


1 new from $73.59 11 used from $20.00
Amazon's Iron Maiden Store
Find all the CDs, MP3s, and vinyl, plus photos, videos, biographies, discussions, and more. Visit the store.

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Iron Maiden: Flight 666

Iron Maiden: Flight 666

DVD ~ Iron Maiden
4.7 out of 5 stars (49)  $16.99
Iron Maiden: Live After Death (Two-Disc Set)

Iron Maiden: Live After Death (Two-Disc Set)

DVD ~ Iron Maiden
4.8 out of 5 stars (96)  $15.99
Flight 666 (2CD)

Flight 666 (2CD)

~ Iron Maiden
4.3 out of 5 stars (29)  $16.99
The Best of the Beast

The Best of the Beast

~ Iron Maiden
4.2 out of 5 stars (8)  $22.99
Hits

Hits

~ Phil Collins
4.6 out of 5 stars (199)  $14.99
Explore similar items

Product Details

  • Audio CD (September 24, 1996)
  • Original Release Date: September 24, 1996
  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Label: Ziriguiboom Brasil
  • ASIN: B000006JQ5
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #226,629 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Listen to Samples

To hear a song sample, click on "Listen" by that sample. Visit our audio help page for more information.
Disc: 1
1. Virus
2. Sign Of The Cross
3. Man On The Edge
4. Afraid To Shoot Strangers (Live)
5. Be Quick Or Be Dead
6. Fear Of The Dark (Live)
7. Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter
8. Holy Smoke
9. The Clairvoyant
10. Can I Play With Madness?
See all 16 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner (Live)
2. Running Free (Live)
3. 2 Minutes To Midnight
4. Aces High
5. Where Eagles Dare
6. The Trooper
7. The Number Of The Beast
8. Run To The Hills
9. Hallowed By The Name
10. Wrathchild
See all 14 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The cover of the Iron Maiden retrospective Best of the Beast features the band's zombie mascot Eddie in seven of the various ghastly guises he assumed for the band's records. The image conveys volumes about the group's brash, visual form of heavy metal. Starting with Maiden's most well known track "Number of the Beast" (which was actually featured on the band's third album), the disc progresses through eight singles recorded during the height of its career and a handful of less memorable cuts that followed its glory years. Galloping beats, twin guitar leads, and eardrum-shattering vocals abound, along with lyrics that could have been plucked straight from the Tales of the Crypt comic books. Overall, a valid collection, but it suffers from the omission of classics like "Die with Your Boots On," "Flight of Icarus," and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." --Jon Wiederhorn

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search
No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

 

Customer Reviews

17 Reviews
5 star:
 (12)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Very messy... but I rate this 5 stars anyway., May 13, 2002
By A Reviewer "somereviewer" (somewhere in time) - See all my reviews
A very good introduction to the classic heavy metal band indeed, but I have a few complains, a major complain: This album is too messy. My first complain is: Why in all reasons in the world 'Virus' is the opening track of Maidens' greatest hits?! Don't get me wrong, 'Virus' is an excellent, creative song, and I also understand that it's a brand new song which only appears on 'Best Of The Beast', so maybe because of that they wanted to put it as the opening track, but come on, 'Virus' is too slow and too dark to open the album, and besides I'm sure all fans would be happier if any song by Bruce was the opening track and not the too slow-sung by Blaze 'Virus'.

Ok, when 'Virus' ends, 'Sign Of The Cross' is pumping up. Another bad way for the second track. 'Sign of The Cross' is another dark-sung-by-Blaze-song, and also Maiden's second longest song ever, so after the kinda dark and long 'Virus', it is obvious that a fast classic Maiden song should pump up. But no. We get 'Sign Of The Cross', but it's a good song anyway.

Ok, when 'SOTC' ends, 'Man On The Edge' is pumping up. Finally a fast song... but why is it on Maiden's greatest hits anyway?
Good fun song indeed but not a classic Maiden song in any way.

A few more complains: where is 'Infinite Dreams', or 'Children Of The Damned', or 'Invaders', or 'Killers', or 'The Prisoner, etc? Instead of unnecessary songs like 'SOTC' or 'Man on...' (they should've been selected one of these 2 songs) or 'Holy Smoke' which vocally, is Bruce's worst song ever, which is a shame, or 'Heaven Can Wait' which is unnecessary too, instead of this song for exampe they could've been put other song from "Somewhere In Time", like 'Stranger In A Strange Land'. I just don't understand the silly arrangement and why some unnecessary songs was selected to Maiden's greatest hits too. I just don't understand it.

...But, after all it's contains 2 cd's of Maidens' greatest hits, classic metal songs which will forever remain classic. And if someone is really interested in Maiden songs from all periods, he really should get this album, because it contains most prominent songs of Maiden through all years of Maiden's existance 'til 1996. Let's leave the bad things behind, 5 stars anyway. UP THE IRONS!

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable, January 4, 2003
Iron Maiden, for those who don't know, are the best British metal band ever! Steve Harris, the bass player and songwriter, is one of the most unbelievable musicians I have ever heard. The driving bass that plays as fast as the guitars (there are three now, Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, and Janick Gers), and the ripping guitar solos, along with the amazing voice of Bruce Dickinson, combined with Nicko McBrain's crazy drumming style make one hell of a memorable compilation. While lifelong Maiden fans may say that some of the songs should not have been put on this cd, I think it shows the different things the band has tried. While 34 tracks may be a bit much for the part-time metal head, songs like "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" (which they do as well live as the recording) show why Maiden has lasted this long. If you own all of Maiden's other cds, WHY DON'T YOU OWN THIS ONE? It has tracks that don't appear anywhere else. For those of you who own no Maiden albums, this is one hell of a good start. Maiden is the best metal band still in existance, and it is my humble opinion that they could kick Metallica's [behind] (in music AND soccer) any day.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to the best heavy metal band ever!, January 11, 2002
By pomororro (Somewhere in Time) - See all my reviews
This double CD is an excellent compilation of the things that Iron Maiden did from 1978 to 1996. It contains very good material from all their albums, the CD artwork is excellent and it has the lyrics from all the songs there. I think that true fans maybe disappointed for the omission of "Flight Of Icarus", "Revelations", "Infinite Dreams", "Killers", among others, but people new to Maiden will really enjoy this magnificent compendium of songs.

My favorite songs are here, including the epic "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner (Live)", "Aces High" and Di'Anno's years masterpiece: "Phantom Of The Opera". "The Trooper" stands out along with "The Number Of The Beast". The "Running Free" live cut is awesome, even better than the original one (Bruce proves that he is an excellent singer on stage).

The 90's stuff has a lot of power on it. "Be Quick Or Be Dead" is a true Maiden song and "Fear Of The Dark" was recorded with an audience that the band hardly will never forget.

The Bayley's songs are outstandings. They show the full writing ability of the band on "Virus" and Harris's supremacy on "Sign Of The Cross".

This CD is a sample of some of the best Maiden songs ever, despite several tracks missing, such as: "Children Of The Damned", and the aforementioned ones.

It's a shame that this CD is out of print. However, try to get the live albums for a true Maiden experience. "Live After Death" and "Rock In Rio" are just OK!

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
Ad
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Beast is the best
The 2 cd Best of the Beast is awesome. With this one 2 cd set, this is the only Iron maiden cd you'll need.
Published on October 22, 2004 by Frank Acosta

4.0 out of 5 stars It's a best of album...
Sure, it is just a "Best Of" album, but I enjoy it. There are some real good songs on this album; Can I Play With Madness, Fear Of The Dark, Running Free, Wasted Years,... Read more
Published on June 15, 2001 by Ryan

4.0 out of 5 stars It's not all the "best" from the beast
I picked this up at a Best Buy store for 20 bucks and I was mostly pleased. My only complaint is the two Blaze Bayley tunes, this compilation could have really done without both... Read more
Published on June 14, 2001 by N. Durham

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect... what omissions??
A magnificent retrospective of twenty-odd years of the beast. I don't now what the "editorial reviewer" was smoking when he was listening to this but I don't think... Read more
Published on June 7, 2001 by DaRkSoL

4.0 out of 5 stars Goog choice if your new to the band
This is an exellent album if your just gettig into Iron Maiden, however a box set would of been better because there are alot of great tunes not on this album. Read more
Published on April 30, 2000

3.0 out of 5 stars Hmm... They must learn how to make good compilations
This is the album that introduced me to Iron Maiden. But at this time, especially due to the cover, I really thought that Iron Maiden was a joke band : beasts everywhere, immature... Read more
Published on April 26, 2000 by nixx

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Cd Of 1996!
"That's it! So, Maiden released a new album called "Best Of The Beast". What's it? Of Course, it's the best of Maiden. EVERY fan must buy it. Read more
Published on March 13, 2000 by Kats

5.0 out of 5 stars rich
if you are maiden fan you should already have this
Published on July 24, 1999 by RICHFORTGRAT@WEBTV.NET

5.0 out of 5 stars This is great for anyone who is new to Iron Maiden
This is the first Iron Maiden album that I bought. Being only 14 years old means that I was not about when Maiden were REALLY huge, and seeing as my taste in music is quite old it... Read more
Published on May 29, 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Album - ever
This CD is an absolute classic, and a great introduction to one of the worlds premier metal bands. It features almost all of the best songs Maiden has done. A must have!
Published on March 16, 1999

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   


SoundUnwound Says...

Best of the Beast opens new browser window by Iron Maiden opens new browser window is mainly Heavy Metal, quite Alternative Rock, with hints of Pop”

Disagree? Cast your vote now! opens new browser window

Share your knowledge and explore the rest of the music world at SoundUnwound.com opens new browser window

SoundUnwound Logo

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Best of the Beast
39% buy the item featured on this page:
The Best of the Beast 4.6 out of 5 stars (17)
The Best of the Beast
25% buy
The Best of the Beast 4.2 out of 5 stars (8)
$22.99
The Essential Iron Maiden
19% buy
The Essential Iron Maiden 3.5 out of 5 stars (50)
$24.98
Best Of The Beast
9% buy
Best Of The Beast 4.1 out of 5 stars (47)



Look for Similar Items by Category


Music You Should Hear™: Artists' Picks

Music You Should Hear
Want to know what Norah Jones, Sting, and Il Divo are listening to? Find out in Music You Should Hear™, where these and other artists tell you about the music they love.
 
Music Deals
Music Deals Find over 3,500 CDs under $10--some as low as $5.99--in our Music Deals Store.
 
Music Essentials
Greats from the Greatest Explore our Music Essentials Store and find music from over 500 essential artists and composers, watch videos, and vote for the most essential artist.
 
Read Our Blog
For more about music, check out ChordStrike, a minor blog for major music lovers™.
 
Ad

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.



Where's My Stuff?

Shipping & Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue shopping: Top Sellers
Free
Free by Chris Anderson
Paranoia
Paranoia by Joseph Finder
My Soul to Lose
My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent
Darkfever
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates