Bruce Dickinson

enjoyed meeting Bruce last night at the HMV signing.

Although I had limited time with Bruce we did exchange a few words and when I mentioned I’m looking forward to hearing some of these new songs on the upcoming tour he straightaway mentioned exactly what tracks will be played.

His exact response to me was “well we’re definitely playing the first 4 tracks along with 3 from AOB and 3 from TCW plus a few other surprises”

Thought a few who will be attending the solo tour might like to know.
 
AncientMariner_Essex said:
enjoyed meeting Bruce last night at the HMV signing.

Although I had limited time with Bruce we did exchange a few words and when I mentioned I’m looking forward to hearing some of these new songs on the upcoming tour he straightaway mentioned exactly what tracks will be played.

His exact response to me was “well we’re definitely playing the first 4 tracks along with 3 from AOB and 3 from TCW plus a few other surprises”

Thought a few who will be attending the solo tour might like to know.
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Thanks for the information!
 
Now I also have the explanation why only the 6-point editors published their reviews in the Metal Hammer Soundcheck.
Editor Lothar Gerber in the personal playlists section: "What kind of pretentious crap is THE MANDRAKE PROJECT?" (my translation).
Of course, these are not words suitable for a review...:eek:
 
AncientMariner_Essex said:
enjoyed meeting Bruce last night at the HMV signing.

Although I had limited time with Bruce we did exchange a few words and when I mentioned I’m looking forward to hearing some of these new songs on the upcoming tour he straightaway mentioned exactly what tracks will be played.

His exact response to me was “well we’re definitely playing the first 4 tracks along with 3 from AOB and 3 from TCW plus a few other surprises”

Thought a few who will be attending the solo tour might like to know.
Click to expand...
Woof,
I hope he sings Resurrection Men better live than on the record
 
AncientMariner_Essex said:
enjoyed meeting Bruce last night at the HMV signing.

Although I had limited time with Bruce we did exchange a few words and when I mentioned I’m looking forward to hearing some of these new songs on the upcoming tour he straightaway mentioned exactly what tracks will be played.

His exact response to me was “well we’re definitely playing the first 4 tracks along with 3 from AOB and 3 from TCW plus a few other surprises”

Thought a few who will be attending the solo tour might like to know.
Click to expand...
Oof, so two songs I like and two songs I hate guaranteed. Maybe they'll work better live. Thanks for the information.
 
Vaenyr said:
Steve gets a pass from me. Yeah, he's gotten over indulgent as time went on. He doesn't let song length limit his songwriting, which is not necessarily a good thing. That said, he still manages to write brilliant melodies on every album. Take the second half of The Red And The Black or most parts of Hell On Earth; there's a lot to criticize Steve for, like his input on productions or his increasingly nonsensical and even grammatically incorrect lyrics, but damn can the man still write a melody.
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I know what you mean. It troubles me deeply when I think about the fact a man in his sixties wrote some of the sexiest guitar lines I can think of in Hell on Earth. :S
 
AncientMariner_Essex said:
enjoyed meeting Bruce last night at the HMV signing.

Although I had limited time with Bruce we did exchange a few words and when I mentioned I’m looking forward to hearing some of these new songs on the upcoming tour he straightaway mentioned exactly what tracks will be played.

His exact response to me was “well we’re definitely playing the first 4 tracks along with 3 from AOB and 3 from TCW plus a few other surprises”

Thought a few who will be attending the solo tour might like to know.
Click to expand...
The 2 singles and Many Doors To Hell are expected. Resurrection Men is a curious choice because of the instrumentation. And it's probably my least favorite song to hear live. Along with Rain.

Only 3 songs from both AOB and TCW? A few surprises? Ok, 10 songs - plus at least 1 song from TOS, 1/2 from BTP... so 2 surprises to make the set 15 songs. Hope not covers. Rare Maiden songs will be really cool.

from AOB I guess - title track, Road To Hell, Starchildren/Man Of Sorrows/Taking The Queen.
from TCW I guess - title track, Tower, Gates Of Urizen/Jerusalem/Alchemist.

I'm not sure about Book Of Thel and Darkside Of Aquarius. The guitarists should really be on point.

There was a spoiler of the set shared by Tanya, but maybe some of the songs changed because of the 2 new guitarists.

I think Bruce will sing the songs better live.
I feel good live songs are: Many Doors, Rain (theatrical vibe), Wounds, Eternity (ofc), Mistress, Mirror and Shadow. He should definitely play Shadow, Many Doors and Wounds! Ragnarok too I guess, while Resurrection Men will work but not as well as a song like Mistress for example. Sonata is specific, but I think it will be amazing and grand live.
 
Resurrection Men is the only song I fully appreciate. Others could get better after a few listens, but some are not my stuff: too much power ballad sounding stuff.
 
Of course they'll be playing the singles, don't think there was a scenario where they wouldn't be played. Rain's chorus will sound great live, IMO. Think Afterglow is going to be the opener (if not Accident, as it's been teased so much by the band members on IG)
Many Doors to Hell(the most accessible song on the album) and Resurrection Men(chorus is built for live shows/singalongs) will also work live.
Just hoping they'll add Shadow of the Gods as well.
 
harrisdevot said:
Resurrection Men is the only song I fully appreciate. Others could get better after a few listens, but some are not my stuff: too much power ballad sounding stuff.
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Funnily enough, that’s the one I think is the weakest song on the album, although most songs sadly range from average to mediocre. :(
 
The verses in the first 2-3 minutes of Sonata sound very Chemical Wedding (song) to me. Dissonant arpeggios and whatnot. The song itself kind of drags and becomes a jamming session, though. Definitely love this album on my first listen!
 
Personally I think it is a grower. Roy Z's guitar work reminds me of Scott Ian a bit.

I think Resurrection Men is one of the best tracks on the album, FWIW.

I would like him if he does record another solo album to use a full band like Maiden does- although not sure if Roy Z could produce as well as play. Would be an interesting contrast to hear him along side Tanya as bassist.
 
blindpig said:
Speaking of Resurrection Men:

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We should get such short videos for every song now. Cool. The promotional stuff for this album was definitely done very well. It's always great to see Bruce's passion, so much still. Footage with guitar too. I think he will want play the bongos live.

Edit: I wish Maiden would make such videos for every song from a new album. It's something.
 
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Picked up the album. First impression, solid rather than good. Think Bruce is fine on the album but Roy has dropped the ball, very little decent riffs, and the only time my head was nodding was a bit in the second last track but it was an obvious lift from Halford's Silent Screams. I think there's probably a lot of weird stuff in the vein of Navigate the Seas of the Sun and Kill Devil Hill, and these will click after a few listens, but there's very little immediate stuff, and quite a few obvious attempts to write 3 or 4 min Ghost style songs, there's also a Bowie/all the young dudes vibe off one of the tracks too. The final track was pretty good for a while but very obvious they were making shit up when it wouldn't end.

Lastly, Eternity has Failed was laughably bad compared to Maiden.
 
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Jer said:
Picked up my deluxe CD of The Mandrake Project and the packaging is actually quite nice, including an oversized lyric booklet along with the roughly 8" square hardcover comic (which I have not yet read) – but, the CD itself is slipped into such a tight paper pocket that it’s really hard to get out of the sleeve. I was afraid I was going to rip the paper trying to get it out, as turning the book upside down and smacking it wasn’t getting the job done! Firm but careful grabbing of the disc finally won the day.
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Thinking of putting the CD in the booklets section.
 
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