Maiden Albums: Head to Head

[Forostar]

That's a strangely doomy piece. Weird to have speedy doom, but those chords are damn heavy.

 

[Black Wizard]

'Gangland' sounds like it should be on one of the first two albums.

 

[Srogyy]

Invaders - Futureal
Children of the Damned - The Angel and the Gambler
The Prisoner - Lightning Strikes Twice
22 Acacia Avenue - The Clansman
Prowler '88 - Virus (I love this version of Prowler. Far superior. I always go to this or a live version over the original.)
The Number of the Beast - When Two Worlds Collide
Run to the Hills - The Educated Fool
Gangland - Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (Ugh, I hate Gangland. I really like Don't Look, which is a rather unpopular opinion around here.)
Total Eclipse - Judgement Day
Charlotte '88 - Justice of the Peace
Hallowed Be Thy Name -Como Estais Amigos

No dilemmas here.

 

[SixesAlltheway]

'Gangland' sounds like it should be on one of the first two albums.

Not sure if that's good or bad But to be fair we're only talking about a year between Killers and this...and several other songs from NOTB sounds like they could have been on Killers...Just like some of the tracks on Killers probably wouldn't have sounded out of place on NOTB with Bruce. I could totally have seen Murders in The Rue Morgue open NOTB instead of Invaders and Bruce slays that track

 

[SixesAlltheway]

Then perhaps they could have used that *other* Viking invasion track on Killers and not tried to "update it" and call it Invaders. It's basically the same (almost) track when you look at it.....

 

[Black Wizard]

Not sure if that's good or bad

Just that it's out of place on 'The Number of the Beast'. It fits the "lads from the East End" vibe of much of the first two albums. It's not a great song though and definitely the weakest on 'The Number of the Beast' IMO.

 

[SixesAlltheway]

That's my point though that not all of the "lads from the east end" vibe is gone on NOTB and that if you swapped songs between Killers and NOTB and swapped production + singer too, many of the songs could have gone on either album. Anyways, yes NOTB is a stepping stone album for sure though, but there's definitely still some East End/Killers vibes in 22 Acacia, Children of The Damned, Gangland, Invaders...

Come to think of it...Hearing the 1977-1981 Paul Di'Anno do 22 Acacia would be really interesting and I don't think it would have been bad!

 

[The Flash]

Ugh, Gangland vs Don't Look to the Eyes of the Stranger. Battle of pure crap.

DLTTEOAS is a decent song. It's just overlong due to the infamous part.

 

[Diesel 11]

Then perhaps they could have used that *other* Viking invasion track on Killers and not tried to "update it" and call it Invaders. It's basically the same (almost) track when you look at it.....

Invaders is a masterpiece compared to Invasion, lol.

 

[The Flash]

Invasion doesn't have the only redeeming quality of Invaders, the bassline.

 

[SixesAlltheway]

Invaders is a masterpiece compared to Invasion, lol.

I actually kinda like Invasion

The Norsemen are coming
The Norsemen are coming
The warnings are given
The Norsemen are coming

Raping and pillaging
Robbing and looting the land

But I guess Maiden felt that Invasion deserved better/liked it so much themselves that they used it as a template for Invaders hehe

 

[Srogyy]

DLTTEOAS is a decent song. It's just overlong due to the infamous part.

I enjoy the buildup, but yeah, the title repetition is pretty jarring. Good song, other than that. I remember loving it when I heard it for the first time.

 

[Stardust]

Anyway, the biggest loss of this round will be losing 22 Acacia Avenue to The Clansman. Don't get me wrong, The Clansman is a okay song but honestly I find it pretty boring all things considered. 22 Acacia Avenue is definitely superior in my opinion.

 

[Diesel 11]

22 Acacia Avenue is decent but has a kinda boring ending.

 

[Number 6]

It's a great song, but I think it's a tad overlong.

 

[Lampwick 43]

Damn, I'm shocked at how close 22AA is to the Clansman. Now 22 is a very solid tune and all, but it's not even close to being anywhere near the same league as its opponent.

In fact, this is bound to be controversial, but The Clansman is the best song in this entire group. From either album.

 

[frus]

Maybe not THE best, but close
Certainly better than 22

 

[Confeos]

Invaders vs Futureal
Children of the Damned vs The Angel and the Gambler
The Prisoner vs Lightning Strikes Twice
22 Acacia Avenue vs The Clansman
Prowler '88 vs Virus
Number of the Beast vs When Two Worlds Collide
Run to the Hills vs The Educated Fool
Gangland vs Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger
Total Eclipse vs Judgement Day
Charlotte '88 vs Justice of the Peace
Hallowed Be Thy Name vs Como Estais Amigos

6-5.
Neither of these were particular close. I suppose RTTH vs TEF is a controversial choice, but between two mediocre songs, I think TEF sounds fresh compared to a tired and rehashed RTTH.
Other than that, I think it's obvious why the TXF b-sides ended up as such rather than on the album - they're simply not as strong as the rest (though Judgement Day is nice, but still destroyed by Total Eclipse).

 

[Diesel 11]

I have two favorites here: Run to the Hills is my 2nd favorite Maiden song, and Como Estais Amigos is a close third.

 

[Forostar]

VXI stood well against the biggest CLASSIC album. "Just" a 7-4 loss.