This week's Wikimetal poll, "What is the best album cover?", resulted in a victory for Iron Maiden's 1982 album *The Number of the Beast*, with 39% of the votes. *Master of Puppets* came in second with 34%, and *Sabbath Bloody Sabbath* in third with 13%.
Like all Iron Maiden album covers from that era, the artwork was done by Derek Riggs. Originally created to be the cover for the single "Purgatory," the image ended up being the album cover on the advice of producer Rod Smallwood, who felt the design was too good for just a single.
Riggs says the band gave him a weekend to create the album artwork, and that he worked on the image for two sleepless nights, inspired by the Marvel comic book Doctor Strange.
The album created controversy, mainly in the United States, not only because of the lyrics but also because of the cover art. The idea of Eddie controlling the devil, who in turn controls a smaller Eddie, incited accusations that the group was satanic. Smallwood explains that the concept is about questioning who is truly the greater evil.
Click here to see the results of the polls already conducted.
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