Which song is a better addition to TNOTB album ?

Which song is better - Gangland or Total Eclipse

  • Gangland

    Votes: 12 23.1%
  • Total Eclipse

    Votes: 40 76.9%

  • Total voters
    52

Kalata

Out of the Silent Planet
The band has said several times, especially Steve and Bruce that they still regret of adding Gangland instead of Total Eclipse to The Number Of The Beast '82 album. They're both good songs (co-written by Clive), but I think Gangland is the better one.... so underrated song !

Gangland - I like the drum intro a lot, the speed of the song, the tempo, Bruce's mad screams and the chorus is good. Great twin-lead guitar harmony before the solo starts (which is the only weak thing, because is so short).

Total Eclipse - maybe this song fits better in the theme of the album. Fantastic riff, both songs have good pre-chorus. The calm/slow part of the song is great. Creepy end of the song with repeating the riff again. Both solos are crazy (not quite fit with the flow of the song, especially the Dave one). Very weak chorus.
 
Total Eclipse because it’s the better song, but ideally I like both on their best.
 
What is done is done, but switching them around would make the album, for me at least, a bit more enjoyable to listen thorought. Gangland does balance and pace the whole thing maybe just well enough and is definitely very memorable onet; thatchorus sticks after the first listen, but I never really want to go back to it or make me feel like "I want to listen Gangland now!"

So, Total Eclipse for the win.
 
Gangland has all the ingredients for song I should like, but I much prefer Total Eclipse, mainly because of the chorus.
 
I regard both songs about equally but Total Eclipse would’ve fit the album better thematically and Gangland is more of a b-side type of song.

Aside from Gangland, Invaders is the other TNOTB song that I think doesn’t fit with the other tracks on the album. To me, Invaders sounds like a remnant from Killers.

TNoTB (minus TE) has the least fillers of any album of the 1982-1984 era. I consider it 2/8 filler level (G, I) material whereas PoM is 3/9 (QfF, SaS, TTaL) and Powerslave 4/8 (LW, FotB, TD, BitV).
 
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TNoTB has the least fillers of any album of the 1982-1984 era. I consider it 2/8 filler level material whereas PoM is 3/8 and Powerslave 4/8

I personally wouldn't use the term fillers but I get your point. I am curious to what the 3rd track from PoM is? (presuming QFF and SAS are two of the tracks)
 
I personally wouldn't use the term fillers but I get your point. I am curious to what the 3rd track from PoM is? (presuming QFF and SAS are two of the tracks)

Perhaps “filler” is too harsh but relatively 2nd tier songs that wouldn’t be considered the band’s best work . To tame a Land is my 3rd in that category from PoM. I like Still Life. I meant 3/9 rather than 3/8 by the way.

From Powerslave, I like how FotB starts but not into where it goes from there. That album offsets 4 of Maiden’s best songs with 4 of their least memorable.

I’m digressing a lot here, I realize.
 
Aside from Gangland, Invaders is the other TNOTB song that I think doesn’t fit with the other tracks on the album. To me, Invaders sounds like a remnant from Killers.

I also think like you. Maybe that is because it is an upgrade version of the song ''Invasion''.

Actually, I think Invaders is fit well in the album. The only weak thing in it is the chorus. Everything other is great. Short rocker full of energy (like Gangland) with great riff, tempo and especially the very good solos.
 
This album came out in the US for me, which means Total Eclipse is the only addition. I don’t think it fits in at all.
 
Still Life also fit the 80’s metal mold

The only thing Still Life has in common with other songs you listed is that it's, well, a Maiden song.

It's really a 70s type track. 80s? Maybe the harmonized chorus, which is the only thing in that song that's not top notch. The song is mostly natural minor and when it goes pentatonic it's over a heavy, downpicked, hi-hat driven groove. I don't feel 80s in that at all.

Trooper, Sun and Steel, and QFF are pretty 1980s tho.
 
For me Gangland is the weaker song by a distance, good to have as a b-side but not really worthy of sitting on the album.

Total Eclipse is definitely good enough to sit on the album, and I think would improve it.
 
I prefer "Total Eclipse" but I don't dislike "Gangland" at all. I also think it is better than "Invaders".
By the way, have you all heard Dream Theater's jazzy take on "Gangland"? If you mentally block James LaBrie, it is rather enjoyable:
 
It’s Gangland. No way to compare for me due to the fact I wore this cassette out on the Walkman back in the day. Not having that drum intro/ song exactly where it goes on the album is unthinkable. As good as Eclipse is, no way it replaces GL.
 
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