I don't think I've ever done research on a beer before I drank it, until now. When I saw this can of beer at IGA a week ago, I had to stop and think for a second—"Wait, Iron Maiden is a band, right?" Like, I knew they were a musical artist, but they have never taken up a single cell of headspace in my brain at any point in my life. I've never actively listened to them, I've never read about them, I've never discussed them with anyone, I've never thought about them in any capacity. So if there has been times when music has inspired me to explore a beer, let this be known as the first time a beer has inspired me to explore some music.
The first question I ask when I start with a band I'm not familiar with is: Am I familiar with any of their songs without knowing that it was that band that sings it? The answer is usually "yes," and Iron Maiden is no exception. The best way to figure it out, if you're trying to do this exercise with a band, is to google "[artist] best songs." Usually there will be websites with various rankings. If you know the song, then usually that means it's at least semi-popular, and semi-popular songs usually end up near the top of those lists. The first list I clicked on had "The Number of the Beast" ranked as the #1 song. I recognized it.
So then I had to research how the fuck I knew it, and that usually involves a separate google search like "[song title] featured in." I guess the timing was fortunate, with the videos games being rereleased recently and on everyone's mind, but "The Number of the Beast" was featured in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4, a game I played religiously on GameCube.
I have no idea if it was nostalgia or what, but "The Number of the Beast" was hitting me in just the right spot, so I went ahead and downloaded the whole album on which this song is the title track. The Number of the Beast was Iron Maiden's third album, released in 1982, and I can tell you now, dear reader, that is kicks so much motherfucking ass. It's so good.
This is heavy metal in its nascent days, when it was all power chords and shitkicking drums and vocals that were bombastic but who lyrics you could actually understand. I love it. (It's also probably a good warm up for when Record Club finally tackles a metal album next week.)
It's also corny, as all metal must be, because metal doesn't care about you, and doesn't care if you think it is cool or not. It is not cool. I am okay with that. I'm just happy to finally listen to an album this heavy that I actually appreciate.
I talked to my dad about, since he was 21 when this album came out, so I figured he'd have some perspective on it. He said that him and his friends hated Iron Maiden, because they were on the other side of the divide that they had drawn for themselves. Iron Maiden and Def Leppard and all those bands existed in a completely different realm from my dad's Yes and Genesis and all those prog-rock-esque bands.
We were talking about all this as we listened to pop country music on his Alexa, so that should show you that I traditionally don't take much stock in my father's musical opinions, but it did get me thinking. I've been thinking about how blessed I am to have found this beer, with this picture of Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie on the label, and to go into this new-to-me band with a completely fresh slate. Had I been familiar with Iron Maiden—say, a shitty neighbor used to blast it in his backyard, or maybe WMGK decided to beat it to death—then maybe I would never have liked it.
I wish I could approach every band like I did Iron Maiden, but it's so difficult. Every band that I've ever known brings with them preconceived notions, snap judgments, unearned baggage. I read about music all day. Had I read about Iron Maiden, I would've had a preconceived notion about them (e.g. that they are boomer hard rock trash), and I wouldn't have bought the beer, or listened to The Number of the Beast.
But sometimes things just work out for the best. They just do. Sometimes I get to write about The Number of the Beast for the 666th blog post to be published on Puke on Your Birthday this year. Sometimes I get to drink a delicious English bitter because I'm stupidly drinking a beer every day and comb through dozens of beer fridges a month. Sometimes a band's name rings a bell. Sometimes everything clicks into focus and I discover a band that I just know for a fact that I will always appreciate, even if I've literally only been listening to them for two days now.
NOTES
BEER: Iron Maiden Trooper
GENRE: English Bitter (extra special bitter strength)
ABV: 4.7%
BREWED BY: Robinsons Family Brewers
LOCATION: Stockport, England
PURCHASED AT: IGA
PAIRED WITH: The sights and sounds of Penn Treaty Park (okay, and also some of Willow's Goldfish)
GRADE: 4 pukes out of 5
BEER COUNT: 351.5
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