martindavey87 Now, I love Dream Theater, and I love Iron Maiden, but this is just all kinds of silly.

'The Number of the Beast' has never been one of my favourite Maiden albums. Sure, it was the record where they truly started to ascend to the top of the metal world, but in my opinion it's vastly inferior to the likes of 'Powerslave' and 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son', and much of their later output.

So when Dream Theater, one of my all-time favourite groups, decided to do a live cover of the entire album, I was far from enthusiastic, but willing to give the progressive metal icons a chance to make something worthy out of it.

They failed.

Dream Theater's 'The Number of the Beast' just doesn't work. While the band had previously attempted something similar with Metallica's 'Master of Puppets', that live recording had something to it that, while still nothing more than a fun release not meant to be taken seriously, still made it a worthwhile listen. Especially if you're a fan of both bands.

But 'Number...' just doesn't click. Maybe it's James LaBrie's vocals, or John Myung not quite having the energy of Steve Harris, or maybe a guitar/keyboard hybrid just doesn't suit Maiden's sound. Either way, Dream Theater are more than competent as musicians, but this release is a bit of a blunder.

Even as a novelty item, this album is a bit of a stretch. I barely ever listen to the original version, so I'm certainly not going to feel inclined to listen to a cover of it, which is why this is best left for the absolute most die-hard fans of either band. And even then, it's not a release to be taken seriously.

Conor Fynes 'The Number Of The Beast' - Dream Theater (N/A)

Even listening to this as a Dream Theater fan, I find myself yearning to listen to the original version of 'Number of the Beast' by Iron Maiden. This is certainly better than the cover they did of 'Master Of Puppets' however. While the cover of 'Master of Puppets' was abysmal and ear- aching, Dream Theater manages to pull off a decent cover of this album. However, it's nothing special, and in no way does it blow my mind.

James LaBries vocals are also a fair step up from the 'Master Of Puppets' cover, and it's impressive to see him to some of the air-raid screams that Dickenson is so renowned for. However, he comes up short it playing Dickenson at his own game.

Nothing special here, but cool to own as a Dream Theater fan, if only as a bragging right.

Dellinger I haven't heard the original Iron Maiden album, so I can't compare it with this nor say how good the "covers" are. However, I find this album enjoyable. The thing is there are many annoying songs here (about half of the songs I like a lot and half of them are a bit annoying, though still good). Most of the album is very similar between one song and the other, mostly Heavy Metal, except for Gangland, which doesn't have as much metal as the rest, and has a lot of piano (still, the song wouldnt really qualify as a soft song nor a ballad. My favourite songs here are Children of the Damned, 22 Acacia Avenue and Run to the Hills. However, for me the very best is Hallowed be thy name, and it's the one that's closer to Prog Metal.