Yeah, it would've made a great opener. But I think Sign Of The Cross was outstanding as the first song. Of course it'd be great wherever it's placed.
I think it just goes to show how what a near miss this album was. This album could've been a masterpiece, but it really suffers from some bad arrangements and a lack of balance between Steve and the rest of the band.
They always talk about how Bruce brought in 3 songs, and Steve took the best parts of all three and made Powerslave. You could take The Edge Of Darkness, The Aftermath, and Fortunes Of War and really come up with a GREAT songs as opposed to 3 samey ones.
Oh..and I love 2AM.