mike degagne from allmusic retrospectively described "total eclipse of the heart" as "one of the finest ballads ever to hit radio." he noted the "lush instrumentation" and said that tyler's voice "produced the perfect type of 'desperate lovelorn' effect to suit the romantic lyrics." he described roy bittan's piano playing as "dreamy" and described tyler's voice as "wonderfully gritty." donald a. guarisco, also from allmusic, retrospectively reviewed "faster than the speed of night", and noted the song as an "epic ballad," describing the whole album as "rock at its most melodramatic." jim beviglia from "american songwriter" said that tyler's raspy vocals helped to legitimize the "melodrama inherent in the lyrics," and described the song as a "garment-rending, chest-beating [and] emotionally exhausting ballad" that suits the throes of a turbulent relationship.