Dream Theater - Official Bootleg: Covers Series: The Number of the Beast (2005)Release ID: 37371

Dream Theater - Official Bootleg: Covers Series: The Number of the Beast (2005) Cover
MartinDavey87 MartinDavey87 / March 04, 2023 / Comments 0 / 0

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.


Read more...

Release info

Release Site Rating

Ratings: 1 | Reviews: 1

2.0

Release Clan Rating

Ratings: 1 | Reviews: 1

2.0

Cover Site Rating

Ratings: 0

0.0

Cover Clan Rating

Ratings: 0

0.0
Release
Official Bootleg: Covers Series: The Number of the Beast
Year
2005
Format
Live
Clans
The Guardians
Genres
Heavy Metal
Sub-Genres

Heavy Metal (conventional)

Voted For: 0 | Against: 0

Dream Theater chronology

When Dream and Day Unite (1989)
Images and Words (1992)
Live at the Marquee (1993)
Awake (1994)
A Change of Seasons (1995)
Falling Into Infinity (1997)
Once in a Live Time (1998)
Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory (1999)
Live Scenes From New York (2001)
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)
Train of Thought (2003)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: The Majesty Demos: 1985-1986 (2003)
Official Bootleg: Studio Series: The Making of Scenes From a Memory (2003)
Official Bootleg: Live Series: Los Angeles, California: 5/18/98 (2003)
Official Bootleg: Live Series: Tokyo, Japan: 10/28/95 (2003)
Live at Budokan (2004)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: When Dream and Day Unite Demos: 1987-1989 (2004)
Official Bootleg: Covers Series: Master of Puppets (2004)
Octavarium (2005)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: Images and Words Demos: 1989-1991 (2005)
Official Bootleg: Live Series: When Dream and Day Reunite (2005)
Official Bootleg: Covers Series: The Number of the Beast (2005)
Score: 20th Anniversary World Tour (2006)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: Awake Demos: 1994 (2006)
Official Bootleg: Covers Series: Dark Side of the Moon (2006)
Official Bootleg: Live Series: Old Bridge, New Jersey: 12/14/96 (2006)
Official Bootleg: Covers Series: Made in Japan (2006)
Systematic Chaos (2007)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: Falling Into Infinity Demos (2007)
Official Bootleg: Live Series: New York City: 3/4/93 (2007)
Greatest Hit (...And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs) (2008)
Official Bootleg: Cover Series: Uncovered 2003-2005 (2009)
Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
Official Bootleg: Studio Series: The Making of Falling Into Infinity (2009)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: Train of Thought Instrumental Demos 2003 (2009)
A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011)
Happy Holidays (2013)
Live at Luna Park (2013)
Dream Theater (2013)
Breaking the Fourth Wall (2014)
The Astonishing (2016)
Distance Over Time (2019)
Distant Memories - Live in London (2020)
Lost Not Forgotten Archives: Images and Words - Live in Japan, 2017 (2021)
Lost Not Forgotten Archives: A Dramatic Tour of Events – Select Board Mixes (2021)
A View From the Top of the World (2021)
Lost Not Forgotten Archives: ...And Beyond - Live in Japan, 2017 (2022)