Bruce Dickinson

Why do I have a feeling that Bruce had the idea for the comic first, and then decided to shoehorn an album around it? Rather than the other way around.
 
Do you want Bruce's authograph? Want to ask a question? What would you ask?

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=743884857763582&set=gm.731406778575372
Someone should ask him why there is no bonus song for the album and what happened to the song Nightmares.
Why do I have a feeling that Bruce had the idea for the comic first, and then decided to shoehorn an album around it? Rather than the other way around.
Bruce said that at first he just wanted to write a follow-up to TOS, but then after he wrote If Eternity Should Fail (and especially its outro), he decided to do a comic (instead of a movie). Maiden had comic covers for TFF album and he had a lot of time to come up with the characters and the story. Maiden's The Writing On The Wall video probably inspired him even more. But he said that in a way the album and the comic are separate worlds.

Speaking about the comic, this recurring background makes me wonder if there will be another cover in the booklet and that cover to include a garden?
 

Attachments

  • tmp coin.jpg
    tmp coin.jpg
    58.5 KB · Views: 13
This looks new. In your opinion, is it real or fake? (EDIT sounds like an embryo of "Welcome To The Pit" at times)
Idk, but it would be a cool short bonus songs to Skunkworks. The style is the same. I dig the vocals and the riff. No solo, but maybe a leftover from back then? Edit: it has the vibe of the b-sides Rescue Day and Fire Child (*Bruce played the original version of the 1996's Armchair Hero live in 1994).
 
Last edited:
This looks new. In your opinion, is it real or fake? (EDIT sounds like an embryo of "Welcome To The Pit" at times)

I think it could well be one of the Skunkworks pre-production demos uploaded by Chris Dale or Alex Dickson some time ago. Skunkworks rehearsed at Nomis studios in 1994 (in August for the Balls to Picasso tour and in December before their trip to Sarajevo for Skunkworks pre-production) and in 1995 (in February for Skunkworks pre-production).

Edit: I originally posted that the demos were uploaded by Chris Dale, but I think Alex Dickson might have been the one who did that. I think his Youtube channel was deleted though.
 
Last edited:
The light blue vinyl looks great. I noticed something - the track list sequence is really good and clever. I mean:

Side A - the two singles and two of the songs are written this year. Also, all of them are around 5 minutes. I expect both to be faster than Ragnarok.
Side B - one of the songs was called a standout track from the album (it is a bit longer than the previous songs), the other (given its length) should be like Maiden from the 80's and of course the reworked version of Eternity for an even more curious experience.
Side C - the first one is probably a calm/slow song after the heavy metal onslaught, then one short and one long song.
Side D - and the last song is a special 10-minutes piece as a surprise.
 
The light blue vinyl looks great. I noticed something - the track list sequence is really good and clever. I mean:

Side A - the two singles and two of the songs are written this year. Also, all of them are around 5 minutes. I expect both to be faster than Ragnarok.
Side B - one of the songs was called a standout track from the album (it is a bit longer than the previous songs), the other (given its length) should be like Maiden from the 80's and of course the reworked version of Eternity for an even more curious experience.
Side C - the first one is probably a calm/slow song after the heavy metal onslaught, then one short and one long song.
Side D - and the last song is a special 10-minutes piece as a surprise.
The standout song is Resurrection Men. It’s the song I look forward to listening to the most after Sonata.
 
Last edited:
The standout song is Resurrection Men. It’s the song I look forward to listening to the most after Sonata.
I'm looking forward to all songs, but probably the most to Sonata, Shadow Of The Gods, Resurrection Men and Wounds. Rain and Many Doors too.

It's interesting that we have: two songs from 2023, one song from 2022, one song from 2014 (reworked) and another that has vocals from 2014, one song from the 90's and one song that has an idea for its lyrics since 2008.
I think there are probably more songs written in 2022/2023, like Resurrection Men for example.
I predict Rain on the Graves will release on the 16th of Feb just 2 weeks before the album. Guessing this will be a fast paced banger. Hoping for a good video too.
Not sure if it will be a fast paced, but it should be. If it's not, then Many Doors is for sure, if it is, then Many Doors could be mid-tempo.

I wonder if it will has a single cover, released online along with the announcement (like for Ragnarok, or Stratego), not only video? Probably not.
 
So not just harmonies. This means that songs with 2 solos should also be expected. Songs with only solo by Adrian too. Harmonies are one thing (it shouldn't be bad), but Adrian's solos on keys... idk, I hope these new arrangements are at least nice. It seems Roy won't be playing Adrian's solos.
I am trying to imagine Man of Sorrows with Mistheria doing Adrian's parts. He is immensily talented but I don’t know..
 
Maybe it’s better not to have a second guitarist, because he would just be negatively compared to Adrian by the fans, even if he’s good. There would be a built-in disappointment factor. This new approach isn’t trying to replace Adrian; it’s something new.
 
Won't the fans of his former albums who want to hear them represented live properly be disappointed?

One could argue that it might be difficult to represent live properly all different phases of Bruce's solo career, from the hard rock on Tattooed Millionaire to the alternative-influenced hard rock on Skunkworks, the hard rock/heavy metal on Balls to Picasso, the more straightforward metal on Accident of Birth, etc. Different line-ups, different sounds...

That being said, as a massive fan of the line-up that gave us Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding (oh, what a masterpiece the latter is! :notworthy: ) I am somewhat glad I have not forked out more than £50 to see a gig on the forthcoming tour.
 
Back
Top