| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Invaders" | 3:20 | |
| 2. | "Children of the Damned" | 4:34 | |
| 3. | "The Prisoner" |
| 5:34 |
| 4. | "22 Acacia Avenue" |
| 6:34 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "The Number of the Beast" | 4:25 | |
| 6. | "Run to the Hills" | 3:50 | |
| 7. | "Gangland" |
| 3:46 |
| 8. | "Hallowed Be Thy Name" | 7:08 | |
| Total length: | 39:11 | ||
As with all of Iron Maiden's albums during the 1980s and early 1990s, the sleeve artwork was painted by Derek Riggs. The cover was originally created for the song "Purgatory", but manager Rod Smallwood deemed it of too high a calibre for the release of a mere single, and decided to save it for The Number of the Beast
The album attracted controversy, particularly in the United States, due to the lyrics of the title track and the cover art depicting Eddie controlling Satan like a puppet, while Satan is also controlling a smaller Eddie.
Smallwood explains that the concept was to ask "who's the really evil one here? Who's manipulating who?"
According to Riggs, this was inspired by a Doctor Strange comic book, "which had some big villain with Doctor Strange dangling on some strings like a puppet – it was something I read as a child back in the 1960s, I think," while the images of hell were "taken from my knowledge of medieval European Christian art which was full of such scenes".
In addition, Satan was supposed to have wings made out of lightning and smoke (which can still be seen vaguely in the final piece) but due to time constrain, Riggs was unable to complete it as intended. He also made Satan look like Salvador Dalí as a joke
"Children of the Damned" is based on the films Village of the Damned and Children of the Damned, which in turn were adapted from the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham.
On his last radio show for BBC Radio 6, during a segment in tribute to the late Ronnie James Dio, Dickinson mentioned that Children of the Damned was inspired by Black Sabbath's "Children of the Sea"
"The Prisoner" was inspired by the British TV show of the same name, and features dialogue from its title sequence.
The band's manager, Rod Smallwood, had to telephone Patrick McGoohan to ask permission to use the audio clips for the song and was extremely hesitant during his conversation with whom Smallwood himself describes as "a real bona fide superstar actor". McGoohan was reported to have said "What did you say the name was? A rock band, you say? Do it."
Iron Maiden later made another song based on the series, "Back in the Village" from 1984's Powerslave.
"22 Acacia Avenue" is the second song in the "Charlotte the Harlot" saga,
