“Woe to You Oh Earth and Sea
For the Devil sends the beast with wrath
Because he knows the time is short
Let him who have understanding
Reckon the number of the beast
For it is a human number
Its number is six hundred and sixty six.”

This is probably the most famous and known spoken introduction to a heavy metal song in history. When we hear the first words (on a record, on the radio, on the internet, in a concert) we immediately know Iron Maiden are starting one of their biggest hits. Barry Clayton, the man who peformed this intro died some days ago at the age of 80 in a care home in the UK. He was certainly not fond or interested in heavy metal music, but he was asked for his voice over by Iron Maiden when they spotted this English actor reading ghost stories at Capital London Radio. The much more famous actor Vincent Price (who's unforgettable voice over appears in Michael Jackson's Thriller song) was first contacted for The Number Of The Beast, but his "cachet" was too high for Iron Maiden. Therefore the band, after listening to him on the radio, asked Barry Clayton to... "imitate" Price's voice for their introduction. And that was the most famous spoken introduction to a heavy metal song in history: R.I.P. Mr. Clayton.