Controversial Metal Opinions

[Eoin McLove]

There's two clangers on Number of The Beast. Invaders is ridiculous and never cared for Gangland. Total Eclipse should've gone on there.

Invaders is one of their worst songs from the 80s. Awful muck. Gangland is okay, but definitely the weakest of the rest of the album. 22 Acacia Avenue is another one I'm happy to skip.

Totally agree about Total Eclipse too,

Opening old wounds here but... 22 Acacia Avenue... skip? Ah now!!

Invaders is also class!

Yes and yes.

Listening to Justice here at the minute. Man, I love Lars's drumming. It ain't super techy but he knew what he was doing.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

A lot of the lyrics to 22 Acacia Avenue are cringe as hell, but musically it's a great aul tune. Unlike Invaders.

[The Heretic]

The version of 22 Acacia Avenue on Live After Death is class, for me its one of the highlights of the album, I'm not as keen on the studio version though, its sluggish as fuck

[Bürggermeister]

If you find fault with Number of the Beast you need to have a good, long talk with yourself. You're crying for help.

Fuck Total Eclipse, too, it has no business on any version of the album.

[Mooncat]

There's two clangers on Number of The Beast. Invaders is ridiculous and never cared for Gangland. Total Eclipse should've gone on there.

Invaders is one of their worst songs from the 80s. Awful muck. Gangland is okay, but definitely the weakest of the rest of the album. 22 Acacia Avenue is another one I'm happy to skip.

Totally agree about Total Eclipse too,

Opening old wounds here but... 22 Acacia Avenue... skip? Ah now!!

Invaders is also class!

Yes and yes.

Listening to Justice here at the minute. Man, I love Lars's drumming. It ain't super techy but he knew what he was doing.

His double kick part on One is probably the most influential drum part in metal. He wasn't the first to do it, but he sure was the most famous. Even in the 2000s all the teenage metal drummers would talk about that part and it would inspire them to get the double kick pedal, before they then pushed on and discovered heavier styles of metal and drummers who were beasts at it.

[Bürggermeister]

I think Phil Taylor and then Stefan Kaufmann would be mentioned first, Lombardo too. As kids, the double bass bit in Angel of Death was the benchmark. I think One gets credit because of the video, the way it was shot showing his feet was genius, but I don't recall it getting so much attention before the video. It remains cool as fuck, though, to be fair.

[open face surgery]

One has the guitar and kicks played together so it's different beast.

[Mooncat]

I think Phil Taylor and then Stefan Kaufmann would be mentioned first, Lombardo too. As kids, the double bass bit in Angel of Death was the benchmark. I think One gets credit because of the video, the way it was shot showing his feet was genius, but I don't recall it getting so much attention before the video. It remains cool as fuck, though, to be fair.

I imagine 99% of metal kids have no idea who any of those people are, bar a smallish percentage of them knowing Lombardo. Kids weren't flocking to buy double kick pedals because of Stefan Kaufmann, they were flocking to buy them because they saw Lars do it. Fair point though about the video, that's definitely what popularized it.

[Thorn]

Metal Warfare factions over Invaders? Count me an Invader, deadly tune .

[Eoin McLove]

Icon is a cunt of an album. Bar a couple of songs it's just so boring. True Belief is almost brilliant, but Holmes keeps reverting back to his tuneless Hetfield impression when the crooning parts are the best moments in the song. Embers Fire is a beast of a song but it sounds to me like they spent the rest of the album trying to recapture its magic rather than exploring other possibilities.

Also, what's the fucking craic with Aaron Aedie (no idea how to spell that). A near 40 year career of playing Greg Mackintosh's rhythm parts. Has he contributed anything creatively to the band I wonder.

[Thorn]

Icon is a cunt of an album. Bar a couple of songs it's just so boring. True Belief is almost brilliant, but Holmes keeps reverting back to his tuneless Hetfield impression when the crooning parts are the best moments in the song. Embers Fire is a beast of a song but it sounds to me like they spent the rest of the album trying to recapture its magic rather than exploring other possibilities.

Also, what's the fucking craic with Aaron Aedie (no idea how to spell that). A near 40 year career of playing Greg Mackintosh's rhythm parts. Has he contributed anything creatively to the band I wonder.

He does come across as the most likable of them on stage but yeah, seems content just being a functional player. God I remember Icon was huge at the time, it was everywhere ,Can't get down with calling it a cunt of an album at all but preference is for Shades..

[Eoin McLove]

Shades is so much better. I even struggle with Draconian. It's just too samey.

[Carnage]

My girlfriend at the time was obsessed with Icon which meant that I was hearing it practically every day for a few years, I'd die happily without hearing it again. It was good, but not great and the guitar tone has always sounded off to me, so it's a weird one for sure.

[Mithrandir]

I agree NOTB is 10/10 but my only gripe with it is since Alan mentioned it on the podcast, the fact they didn't open with the title track is madness and now I can't stop thinking about that when I listen to it.

Also Killers would come last for me out of the first 7 if I were to rank them, even though Purgatory is one of the best they've ever written.

[Thorn]

Hmm, never thought of that , Invaders does seem like more of a deep cut and the title track would have made some opener, still though, would I knock half a point of it for that? Nah, still 10/10 here too.