Nature of the Beast is the debut and sole studio album by American pop singer Maureen Steele, released in April 1985 by Motown.

It was produced by Steve Barri and Steele's brother Bobby Sandstrom, the former of whom was the vice-president of A&R at Motown at that time, and oversaw big-selling releases by Lionel Richie and Rick James, among others.

[3][4][5] In a contemporary review for The Michigan Daily, critic John Logie described the album as "ridiculously derivative, with Steele sounding like virtually every singer to crack the Top 10 in the past three years.

Teena Marie, DeBarge, Madonna, Pat Benatar, Survivor, and Sheena Easton are all aped in rapid succession, making this record forgettable unless you consider Steele's chameleon-like ability to sound like a generic Top-40 radio station artistry.

"[8] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Justin Kantor wrote that "Steele possesses a solid pop/rock bounce, and the lyrical content of Nature of the Beast certainly isn't limited to the usual formulas employed in the genre.