A
Anonymous
Guest
I've received a great piece of feedback from a Hungarian fan who I hope will read this post. I tried to answer him, but only got failure notification messages back, which is why I post the message and my answer here. I hope many of you will find it interesting and will join into the debate.
Here is the original message:
]The main reason for writing now is to let you hear (that is, to read) my opinion on two songs, Gangland and Total Eclipse, and about their commentary text. I would really like you to consider the things I am about to share with you, if you mind it.
]
]Gangland's commentary lets us know that the band chose this song for the album so they had to discard Total Eclipse. But, was it really a wrong choice? In a way, it might have been. Especially, if you consider that Total Eclipse is lyrically and musically... well, somewhat deeper. However, in an other way, I think it was the right choice. Because, I think, that this song really fits to the album, its musical theme is close to the style of others on The Number Of The Beast. Moreover, strange or not, it sounds good on the album for me!
]
]What fortifies my opinion written above, are my thoughts on Total Eclipse. To be able to understand them completely, you should know that I only came to know Iron Maiden in early 1999, and from that point I started to get to know the albums one by one, but not progressing in a chronological order. I have all the albums now, all of them are the remastered version, released in 1998. By the time I first had a closer look on the lyrics of Total Eclipse (as you have probably figured out, it was on my The Number Of The Beast CD), I already had listened to all studio albums. Then I said to myself: \"Dear me! That song is a leap to the future! I am sure about it! How amazing it is to find a song like that on a 1982 IM album! Because, by both its lyrics and music, it should rather be on No Prayer For The Dying!\"
]
]That is what I thought. I am not completely mad, am I? [!--emo&
--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'smile.gif\' /][!--endemo--] Total Eclipse truly gave me that feeling. It especially reminded me of some lines in Public Enema Number One:
]
]\"And the people choke with poison, children cry in fear\"
]...
]\"California dreaming as the earth dies screaming\"
]
]Moreover, in Fates Warning:
]
]\"A volcano erupts and sweeps a town away,
]A hurricane devastates the cities in it's way
]The grief and misery for the ones that are left behind,
]The worst is yet to come a hell to face mankind\"
]
]As in Total Eclipse, these lines also try to warn us of the ecological catastrophe that our way of life leads the Earth to. You can see the similarity yourself if you just have a look at these parts of Total Eclipse:
]
]\"Mother Nature's black revenge on those who waste her life\"
]...
]\"Around the world the people stop,
]With terror stricken eyes.
]A shadow cast upon them all,
]To crush them like a fly.
]In the icy rain and whiplashed seas,
]There's nowhere left to run.
]The hammer blows of winter fall like a hurricane.\"
]
]There are also other points in which similarities exist. The commentary for Public Enema Number One says that this is a politically motivated song. Let's see some lines from it:
]
]\"The politicians gamble and lie to save their skins
]And the Press get fed the scapegoats, public enema number one\"
]...
]\" A million network slaves in an advertising new age
]I don't need a crystal ball to sell ya
]Your children have more brains than your drug infested remains\"
]
]Also in Fates Warning, there are (or at least may be) some political references:
]
]\"When the time is up you'll know,
]Not just one power runs the show\"
]
]This possibly means that not only nature can take your life away, it can be the taken by the power that politicians hold (e.g. you are forced to take part in a war started by politicians, and you die in the field).
]
]Then, here is a relevant from Total Eclipse's lyrics:
]
]\"Around the world the nations wait,
]For some wise word from their leading light.
]You know it isn't only madmen who listen to fools.
]Is this the end, the million cried,
]Clutching their riches as they died.
]Those who survive must weather the storm.\"
]
]Of course, I do not need to say that the storm mentioned in the end is only metaphorical, because it is more likely to be a chaos - a battle - in human history, and those people left to live must weather - that is, endure - the ordeals caused by it.
]
]So, as written on the Commentary site:
]\"Total Eclipse is a doomsday song, describing the catastrophic end of the world by ecological distaster. It is possible that the lyrics are making a subtle political statement for the conservation and protection of the Earth.\"
]
]In addition, we can easily find out that these motifs, including the doomsday-theme, the ecological disaster and the political statements for protection of the Earth, are also present in Public Enema Number One and Fates Warning.
]
]Nevertheless, these themes are not peculiar to other early Maiden albums. The songs of Iron Maiden, Killers, The Number Of The Beast (except Total Eclipse) and Piece Of Mind do not show that the band is aware of the world's fate, the present and future state of the Earth and politics of our time and the flaws our current society. To put it simply, these songs do not go into our real present life, but instead they lead us to the past, to an imaginary future, or to a mythological or fantastical story. In their lyrics, the band does not care about the outlooks of humans. Not until 2 Minutes To Midnight, which is surely a reality-aware, society-related song, but it is only a spark without a flame, because the theme is again hid until the 1990's, with No Prayer For The Dying and Fear Of The Dark, both of which contain quite a few songs with lots of society-related references.
]
]So, what do you say? Does it make some sense to you? At least, now you can understand why I was taken aback at first when realized what the lyrics of Total Eclipse meant. It was a feeling like, when you know a person who never tells his true feelings or deeper thoughts, so you start to think he does not have any kind of them. And then, there comes a moment when he starts to speak limitlessly about life and feelings and things about people and the way we live, all kinds of deep, intelligent thoughts inspired by his sense and deep emotions. Can you see? Now that feeling was what made me think Total Eclipse was not like other songs on the album, while Gangland was.
My answer was:
Thanks a lot for your long email, it was a very interesting reading. In fact, I'll keep it in mind next time I get to update these pages of the Commentary.
I tend to agree with you about the similarity between 'Total Eclipse' and 'Public Enema Number One', as they are both somehow ecologically-oriented. The only difference is maybe that in the former, the ecological disaster is due to possibly a global thermonuclear war (it was written during the Cold War and everyone expected the USA and the USSR to seriously damage the planet), whereas the latter is more an accusation of the so-called \"Flower-Power generation\" that had ideals, then forgot about them and let the planet rot. The political implications in both songs are pretty obvious.
I also agree about 'Gangland' fitting more to the atmosphere of violence that prevails on Number of the Beast, although the end of the world as described in 'Total Eclipse' may be considered as the ultimate scene of violence. Both views are quite valid.
I have unfortunately very little time to write much more right now, but I'll save your email and retrieve it when I'll update the relevant commentaries. I need to re-write quite a lot of them, and feedback like yours is always welcome.
Any further comments, IMC visitors? [!--emo&^_^--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/happy.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'happy.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
Here is the original message:
]The main reason for writing now is to let you hear (that is, to read) my opinion on two songs, Gangland and Total Eclipse, and about their commentary text. I would really like you to consider the things I am about to share with you, if you mind it.
]
]Gangland's commentary lets us know that the band chose this song for the album so they had to discard Total Eclipse. But, was it really a wrong choice? In a way, it might have been. Especially, if you consider that Total Eclipse is lyrically and musically... well, somewhat deeper. However, in an other way, I think it was the right choice. Because, I think, that this song really fits to the album, its musical theme is close to the style of others on The Number Of The Beast. Moreover, strange or not, it sounds good on the album for me!
]
]What fortifies my opinion written above, are my thoughts on Total Eclipse. To be able to understand them completely, you should know that I only came to know Iron Maiden in early 1999, and from that point I started to get to know the albums one by one, but not progressing in a chronological order. I have all the albums now, all of them are the remastered version, released in 1998. By the time I first had a closer look on the lyrics of Total Eclipse (as you have probably figured out, it was on my The Number Of The Beast CD), I already had listened to all studio albums. Then I said to myself: \"Dear me! That song is a leap to the future! I am sure about it! How amazing it is to find a song like that on a 1982 IM album! Because, by both its lyrics and music, it should rather be on No Prayer For The Dying!\"
]
]That is what I thought. I am not completely mad, am I? [!--emo&
--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'smile.gif\' /][!--endemo--] Total Eclipse truly gave me that feeling. It especially reminded me of some lines in Public Enema Number One: ]
]\"And the people choke with poison, children cry in fear\"
]...
]\"California dreaming as the earth dies screaming\"
]
]Moreover, in Fates Warning:
]
]\"A volcano erupts and sweeps a town away,
]A hurricane devastates the cities in it's way
]The grief and misery for the ones that are left behind,
]The worst is yet to come a hell to face mankind\"
]
]As in Total Eclipse, these lines also try to warn us of the ecological catastrophe that our way of life leads the Earth to. You can see the similarity yourself if you just have a look at these parts of Total Eclipse:
]
]\"Mother Nature's black revenge on those who waste her life\"
]...
]\"Around the world the people stop,
]With terror stricken eyes.
]A shadow cast upon them all,
]To crush them like a fly.
]In the icy rain and whiplashed seas,
]There's nowhere left to run.
]The hammer blows of winter fall like a hurricane.\"
]
]There are also other points in which similarities exist. The commentary for Public Enema Number One says that this is a politically motivated song. Let's see some lines from it:
]
]\"The politicians gamble and lie to save their skins
]And the Press get fed the scapegoats, public enema number one\"
]...
]\" A million network slaves in an advertising new age
]I don't need a crystal ball to sell ya
]Your children have more brains than your drug infested remains\"
]
]Also in Fates Warning, there are (or at least may be) some political references:
]
]\"When the time is up you'll know,
]Not just one power runs the show\"
]
]This possibly means that not only nature can take your life away, it can be the taken by the power that politicians hold (e.g. you are forced to take part in a war started by politicians, and you die in the field).
]
]Then, here is a relevant from Total Eclipse's lyrics:
]
]\"Around the world the nations wait,
]For some wise word from their leading light.
]You know it isn't only madmen who listen to fools.
]Is this the end, the million cried,
]Clutching their riches as they died.
]Those who survive must weather the storm.\"
]
]Of course, I do not need to say that the storm mentioned in the end is only metaphorical, because it is more likely to be a chaos - a battle - in human history, and those people left to live must weather - that is, endure - the ordeals caused by it.
]
]So, as written on the Commentary site:
]\"Total Eclipse is a doomsday song, describing the catastrophic end of the world by ecological distaster. It is possible that the lyrics are making a subtle political statement for the conservation and protection of the Earth.\"
]
]In addition, we can easily find out that these motifs, including the doomsday-theme, the ecological disaster and the political statements for protection of the Earth, are also present in Public Enema Number One and Fates Warning.
]
]Nevertheless, these themes are not peculiar to other early Maiden albums. The songs of Iron Maiden, Killers, The Number Of The Beast (except Total Eclipse) and Piece Of Mind do not show that the band is aware of the world's fate, the present and future state of the Earth and politics of our time and the flaws our current society. To put it simply, these songs do not go into our real present life, but instead they lead us to the past, to an imaginary future, or to a mythological or fantastical story. In their lyrics, the band does not care about the outlooks of humans. Not until 2 Minutes To Midnight, which is surely a reality-aware, society-related song, but it is only a spark without a flame, because the theme is again hid until the 1990's, with No Prayer For The Dying and Fear Of The Dark, both of which contain quite a few songs with lots of society-related references.
]
]So, what do you say? Does it make some sense to you? At least, now you can understand why I was taken aback at first when realized what the lyrics of Total Eclipse meant. It was a feeling like, when you know a person who never tells his true feelings or deeper thoughts, so you start to think he does not have any kind of them. And then, there comes a moment when he starts to speak limitlessly about life and feelings and things about people and the way we live, all kinds of deep, intelligent thoughts inspired by his sense and deep emotions. Can you see? Now that feeling was what made me think Total Eclipse was not like other songs on the album, while Gangland was.
My answer was:
Thanks a lot for your long email, it was a very interesting reading. In fact, I'll keep it in mind next time I get to update these pages of the Commentary.
I tend to agree with you about the similarity between 'Total Eclipse' and 'Public Enema Number One', as they are both somehow ecologically-oriented. The only difference is maybe that in the former, the ecological disaster is due to possibly a global thermonuclear war (it was written during the Cold War and everyone expected the USA and the USSR to seriously damage the planet), whereas the latter is more an accusation of the so-called \"Flower-Power generation\" that had ideals, then forgot about them and let the planet rot. The political implications in both songs are pretty obvious.
I also agree about 'Gangland' fitting more to the atmosphere of violence that prevails on Number of the Beast, although the end of the world as described in 'Total Eclipse' may be considered as the ultimate scene of violence. Both views are quite valid.
I have unfortunately very little time to write much more right now, but I'll save your email and retrieve it when I'll update the relevant commentaries. I need to re-write quite a lot of them, and feedback like yours is always welcome.
Any further comments, IMC visitors? [!--emo&^_^--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/happy.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'happy.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/sad.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'sad.gif\' /][!--endemo--] Apparently there was enough space and time to put both on vinyl!
--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/cool.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'cool.gif\' /][!--endemo--] 
--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/wink.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'wink.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--] ) but that's what I think about the song.