I am a huge Iron Maiden fan, however, I think that the meaning of this song and for that matter of the whole album, has been constantly exaggerated and distorted. I also believe that most people that have rejected the band and this song, and the album, have never actually bother to listen and pay attention to it. In my opinion, the 'beast' in the song itself is actually a symbolism for greed and sin, and the fact that we are all tempted and seduced by this (Most of the songs in the album are like that). However, like most heavy metal, it is very subliminal and surrealist, but in that sense the song has a very positive message about being strong and resisting temptation, while being mindful that sin and temptation is all around us, we've just got to forgive the boys from the band for the theatrics of the whole thing and the way they presented their work, but this is how most British bands have always been, they have always been more dramatic and they have always wanted to have greater scenic presence, at least a bit more than American musicians who are more about the entertainment aspect of the whole thing.
I am a huge Iron Maiden fan, however, I think that the meaning of this song and for that matter of the whole album, has been constantly exaggerated and distorted. I also believe that most people that have rejected the band and this song, and the album, have never actually bother to listen and pay attention to it. In my opinion, the 'beast' in the song itself is actually a symbolism for greed and sin, and the fact that we are all tempted and seduced by this (Most of the songs in the album are like that). However, like most heavy metal, it is very subliminal and surrealist, but in that sense the song has a very positive message about being strong and resisting temptation, while being mindful that sin and temptation is all around us, we've just got to forgive the boys from the band for the theatrics of the whole thing and the way they presented their work, but this is how most British bands have always been, they have always been more dramatic and they have always wanted to have greater scenic presence, at least a bit more than American musicians who are more about the entertainment aspect of the whole thing.