Bruce Dickinson

GhostofCain said:
I am tempted to post that review from Roadie Crew for a fourth time today…

OK, here it is:

Not that Bruce Dickinson has been inactive – which he can’t do, there’s to be said – but 19 years is really a lot to listen to a new album. Luckily, The Mandrake Project is exactly what fans expected, especially those who wanted the quality of its previous three records. With the same lineup as Tyranny of Souls (2005) - Roy Z (guilt and bass guitar), Maestro Mistheria (keys), Dave Moreno (drums) and Tanya O'Callaghan who will deal with the four strings on the tour - as well as with a collaboration together with Roy Z in the creative department, Dickinson gives light to a work that transcends music, as you can see from the interview in this issue. In addition, he can boast of having recorded some of the best songs of his career, one of which deserves a special mention: Sonata (Immortal Beloved), the most beautiful song you will hear in 2024 (yes, I bet), with a refrain whose simplicity is a triumph also thanks to the exciting interpretation of Dickinson, together with a conclusion in there Pink Floyd that highlights the skill of Roy Z.... That's great! For those who expected a ballad easier to join Tears of the Dragon and Man of Sorrows there is Face in the Mirror. All satisfied then, especially since the rest of the material is well above average.

Afterglow of Ragnarok does not do justice to the record, believe me, especially with the excellent Many Doors To Hell (hard/classic Rock with a tip of Scorpions at the beginning) and Rain on the Graves (which contains a tip of Alice Cooper both in instruments and in the spoken vocal lines) to follow. The Iron Maiden echo is felt not only in the fantastic Eternity Has Failed, which has turned into If Eternity Should Fail nine years ago at the hands of Maiden, respecting its structure; this is because Mistress of Mercy could comfortably be one of those successful tracks, and the guitar part before the a solo is confirmation.

After all this, there are three songs that stand out: the powerful and surprising Resurrection Men, the short but rich Fingers in the Wounds and Shadows of the Gods, in which Dickinson demonstrates why he is one of the best singers of all time.

P.S. Posted with tongue-firmly-in-cheek. :)
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Hmmm... I think, so far it's the best review. Keep up the good work!
 
Iron Lurker said:
I have a crazy idea, guys. Now stay with me for a minute. I know this is waaaaayyy out there but....

Why don't we wait until the album is released and listen to it before we decide if it sucks or not?

…
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Of course you're right that we don't know whether there are other brilliant songs on the album.

But on the other hand, bands release singles to convince the audience that because of the quality of the singles there will be a strong album coming that they absolutely need in their collection and not for everyone to say, well, let's wait and see...
 
I listened to Ragnarok just now, after a couple days pause. Gotta say that it grew, and I am sort of afraid it grew at the cost of Rain. Like RotG is still an enjoyable one with a nice high pitched chorus, but Ragnarok has the darkness going on, and except for the pre-chorus, the melodies are so strong! Anyhow, come album come come come.

Edit: I listened to RotG right after it and I just like it a lot. I like both for different reasons, so, let's just wait what the future brings.
 
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Both songs grew on me but AOR pre-chorus still sucks. Such singing from Bruce I perceive as whining. Like on Mother of Mercy and some other songs. If I am not mistaken, there's no such bad style on AOB/TCW/TOS. I always thought that Bruce sings like that because of the Steve's lyrics. But now we see that even Bruce's solo work may be infected with whining and repetitive choruses.
 
Terry1958 said:
Some people here liked the new singles but there was also a lot of reasonable critism. That normally doesn't scream masterpiece album without fillers!!!!!
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True, but AOB can be a masterpiece/amazing album with songs like Freak and Welcome To The Pit (one of Adrian's weakest co-written songs imo). Just saying. Rain On The Graves is honestly more enjoyable than both.
 
Meliegree said:
Everyone has it's own taste. I understand that for some it may be hard to believe that someone scored this album as 9.5/10 and yet - for some ToS is great album while for me it's boring AF and nowhere near TCW or Skunkworks. Opinions, right? :)
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TOS is a great album.
Kill devil hill
Power of the sun
Navigate the seas of the sun
River of no return
Devil on a hog
A tyranny of souls
Abduction

Great album. Every song on that album is better than the two songs from TMP that we've heard.
 
MindlessPieces said:
TOS is a great album.
Kill devil hill
Power of the sun
Navigate the seas of the sun
River of no return
Devil on a hog
A tyranny of souls
Abduction

Great album. Every song on that album is better than the two songs from TMP that we've heard.
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Well of course it all depends on person. I don't like Power of the Sun and title track is average too. For me TOS i 6.5/10.

Abduction, Kill Devil Hill, River of No Return, Devil on a Hog > Navigate, Ragnarok, Rain on the Graves > Believil, Soul Intruders, Power of the Sun, Tyranny of Souls
 
chaosapiant said:
There's a whole lot of hot-takes, vitriol, and hand-wringing in this thread for an album no one has heard yet. Afterglow is a good heavy tune in the same vein as something from The Chemical Wedding, and Graverain is its own thing, which is fine. As Bruce has yet to release a bad album, i'm optimistic of a good to great album.
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Spot on.
Vaenyr said:
That's the same interview and like I said, I already disagree with how ROTG and AOR were portrayed. That's, coupled with some really worrying statements in the interview itself... as well as Bruce's endless stories about Sonata (which has the potential to be an absolute clusterfuck in the most negative sense) I'm worried that after such a long time we'll get something that the majority didn't want.
As for the bolded: You say stuff like that sometimes, but we have absolutely no evidence or indication for such a thing. Just going by names isn't helpful in any way
And no, a 10 minute song is most definitely not expected to repeat its chorus a few times. Rime doesn't have a chorus, SSOASS uses it twice, Empire Of The Clouds doesn't have one either. And even if, this is not what I or the interview were talking about. It specifically said the chorus itself is very simple. That, to me, means that it's just going to be like ROTG (or TWOTW for another recent example) where most of the lines of the chorus are just repeated. Not the chorus itself, the lines within the chorus.
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About how Ragnarok and Rain were portrayed: well, the only things I would change are - longer solo and short melodic harmony for the former, while fast and different verses, maybe calm middle part and the same chorus for the outro (not with a different feel) for the latter. Hey, not bad.
Re-Sonata's chorus - with such a title, the chorus is curious. The most important is to work great (like in Rain), hopefully not that simple. And Empire's structure is an exception imo.

For the bolded - if you are implying about some experimental stuff and vibe, I agree. People want classic style from Bruce.

Just going by names isn't helpful, yes, but I also have some interviews in mind.
Iron Lurker said:
Seriously though, I said before it's been so long some fans have built up expectations so high that just won't be met. I like the first two singles okay, but they didn't blow me away. I do think Bruce is sounding pretty damn good though. Hopefully the rest of the album will be up to most fans' liking.
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This.
Melony said:
But on the other hand, bands release singles to convince the audience that because of the quality of the singles there will be a strong album coming that they absolutely need in their collection and not for everyone to say, well, let's wait and see...
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I wonder if we can say that about some of Maiden's singles since 2003... /it was different in the 80's.
Azas said:
Both songs grew on me but AOR pre-chorus still sucks. Such singing from Bruce I perceive as whining. Like on Mother of Mercy and some other songs. If I am not mistaken, there's no such bad style on AOB/TCW/TOS. I always thought that Bruce sings like that because of the Steve's lyrics. But now we see that even Bruce's solo work may be infected with whining and repetitive choruses.
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Such singing (I like it) and repetitive choruses shouldn't be a surprise. We have some examples. Steve is better at them though.
MindlessPieces said:
TOS is a great album. Every song on that album is better than the two songs from TMP that we've heard.
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I agree, but Ragnarok is better than Believil for me.
 
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redandtheblack92 said:
Did he just say Rain on the Graves did justice to the album?
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I think he means that the first 3 songs on the album all do justice. Maybe the overall vibe/style will be more heavy rock, instead of heavy metal. I hope not. I think my biggest disappointment with Rain On The Graves was because I expected something totally different. I hope this won't happen with some of the other songs. It's just Bruce having fun.
 
Kalata said:
True, but AOB can be a masterpiece/amazing album with songs like Freak and Welcome To The Pit (one of Adrian's weakest co-written songs imo). Just saying. Rain On The Graves is honestly more enjoyable than both.
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Damn, heavily disagree with those! Freak is quite good in my opinion (maybe an 8/10, though it really should've had a different name) but Welcome To The Pit is absolutely fantastic! Curious to know what your issues are with those songs.
 
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