''Best of the Beast'' was

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

's first "best of" album, released in 1996 in three formats: a 34 track (four disc) vinyl, a 27 track (two disc) CD, a 16 track (single disc) CD and MiniDisc. The vinyl edition is, to date, the band's longest record release, running for over three hours.

Background

The track listing differs slightly between the various editions of the compilation album, but consists mainly of the band's singles and most well-known songs from their 1980–1995 albums. Also included are a new single, entitled "

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

", as well as previously unreleased live versions of "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" and "Revelations" (the latter exclusive to the vinyl edition). Both "Virus" and "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" had promotional music videos created, the latter of which was filmed during The X Factour with new lead vocalist

Blaze Bayley Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 (and currently since 2010, following reunions in 2007 and 2009). He was also the lead singer of Ir ...

replacing Bruce Dickinson, who sang the original studio recording. The two-CD edition contains two songs from the band's 1979 demo tape/EP ''

The Soundhouse Tapes ''The Soundhouse Tapes'' is the debut EP by Iron Maiden, and features the first recordings by the band. Released on 9 November 1979, it features three songs taken from the demo tape recorded at Spaceward Studios on 30 and 31 December 1978. The t ...

'' ("Iron Maiden" and "Strange World," of which the latter was previously unreleased). The 4-disc vinyl pressing, meanwhile, contains the entire ''Soundhouse Tapes'' EP on its final side, again with the addition of "Strange World" from the same sessions. The vinyl edition has become quite rare and has increased in value steadily over the years in music stores and on online auction sites. The standard edition's value has not changed much although the Japanese pressings continue to rise in value. ''Best of the Beast'' has long since been out of print and has been "replaced" by '' Edward the Great'' in most countries as a greatest hits package for the band. The cover art was designed by

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, known for having created most of Iron Maiden's early album covers. It is an amalgamation of his most famous works with the band, featuring

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from the ''

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'', ''

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'', '' Somewhere in Time'' and ''

No Prayer for the Dying ''No Prayer for the Dying'' is the eighth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is their first album to feature Janick Gers on guitar, who replaced Adrian Smith. Smith left the band during the pre-production phase, unhappy ...

'' eras, as well as those from "

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", ''

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'' and a redesign of the '' Killers'' album cover.

Track listing

Standard edition CD and MD

Limited edition CD

Limited edition vinyl

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best of the Beast 1996 greatest hits albums Albums produced by Martin Birch Albums produced by Wil Malone EMI Records compilation albums Heavy metal compilation albums Iron Maiden compilation albums