Invaders

Invaders opens The Number of the Beast with a sharp strike: it is the first time that Iron Maiden sounds with Bruce Dickinson at the helm, and the change is noticeable from the first chord. The song wastes no time on introductions; in less than three and a half minutes, it paints a scene of chaos and resistance, as if the listener were in the midst of a battle against a horde of invaders. Steve Harris, the bassist and main composer, later admitted it was not his favorite: they recorded it in a tight timeframe, with no room for redoing it, and he himself acknowledged that it "should have been replaced by something better." Yet there it is, like a sonic prologue that sets the tone for the album.The song was born at a key moment for the band: just as Iron Maiden was solidifying its sound in the heavy metal of the early 80s.

The Number of the Beast was released in March 1982, first in the United States under the Harvest and Capitol Records labels, and days later in the United Kingdom with EMI. That album not only marked Dickinson’s debut but also the final recording with drummer Clive Burr. Though Harris did not consider it perfect, the song fit perfectly on an album that, against all odds, climbed to the top of the British charts and entered the Billboard top 40 in the United States. Martin Birch, the recording engineer and producer, gave it that raw and direct edge that still defines the track today. Curiously, despite being the gateway to a historic album, Invaders never graced a live stage.