Bruce Dickinson

Wickerman1204 said:
What did you listen then?
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I'm a journalist, I make reviews and I got it from a contact of mine who has an artist promotion company, he got it from the record company to distribute it to the medias and magazines here, including my webzine. ;) I'll do a review of it soon and post it one week before the official release. :)

For example, I've just finished to write my review of new Saxon today and I'll publish it tomorrow on my webzine. :cool:

You can see my reviews in here :yes:
 
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TheMercenary said:
I'm a journalist, I make reviews and I got it from a contact of mine who has an artist promotion company, he got it from the record company to distribute it to the medias and magazines here, including my webzine. ;) I'll do a review of it soon and post it one week before the official release. :)
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Thanks in advance!!!
 
TheMercenary said:
I'm a journalist, I make reviews and I got it from a contact of mine who has an artist promotion company, he got it from the record company to distribute it to the medias and magazines here, including my webzine. ;) I'll do a review of it soon and post it one week before the official release. :)

For example, I've just finished to write my review of new Saxon today and I'll publish it tomorrow on my webzine. :cool:

You can see my reviews in here :yes:
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We need to know more ASAP :D
 
And honestly I think I’m done reading reviews now. Will just hear the end nature album for myself. Assuming the leak will anyways be out a week/few days before the release.
 
Listened to AoB and TCW so I could join in the song rating discussion. Here we go:

Freak - 10
Toltec - 10
Starchildren - 10
Queen - 10
Darkside - 10
Road - 10
Sorrows - 10
Accident - 10
Magician - 10
Pit - 10
Omega - 10
Arc - 10

King - 10
Wedding - 10
Tower - 10
Floor - 10
Thel - 10
Urizen - 10
Jerusalem - 10
Trumpets - 10
Machine - 10
Alchemist - 10

Well that was elucidating. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
 
I’m bored and here’s my Tyranny of Souls rating:

1.) Mars Within - 8/10
2.) Abduction - 9/10
3.) Soul Intruders - 9/10
4.) Kill Devil Hill - 9/10
5.) Navigate the Seas of the Sun - 9.5/10
6.) River of No Return - 10/10
7.) Power of the Sun - 7/10
8.) Devil on a Hog - 8/10
9.) Believil - 8.5/10
10.) A Tyranny of Souls - 10/10
11.) Eternal (Japanese bonus track) - 9/10

Eternal should have been a part of the original album. Would have made for a perfect album closer
 
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Diesel 11 said:
Yeah in fairness sometimes the song you’re most excited for based on the title alone is the one you end up loving the most.
all the tracks have such enigmatic titles...
The Mandrake Project so far feels like a side project, a way for Bruce to stretch himself creatively without taking the risks he was in the late ‘90s. And that’s okay.
Frankly sometimes a stream of consciousness creation offers great results, and I think the 20% not from the original recording might be what brings the song up from “midnight ramble” to “proper song”.
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I agree with all of this. I think the overall sound of the album will be close to AOB + some heavy rock feel.
Melony said:
The rather "experimental" new work "The Mandrake Project" cannot really be compared with its predecessors, apart from the fact that it exudes a similarly dark aura as "Chemical Wedding" (1998) and "Tyranny Of Souls" (2005) with tracks such as the first single release "AFTERGLOW OF RAGNAROK" or the long track "SHADOW OF THE GODS".
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So Shadow Of The Gods will have a TCW vibe and some orchestral bits. Great. The best song title imo.
Melony said:
"RESURRECTION MEN" also surprises with its unusual rhythms and latin/blues rock/indie coloration.
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It seems Resurrection Men will be a lost BTP song.
Melony said:
That magic of the first attempt cannot be repeated.
Suddenly Steve got back to me and said: "Can't you write a second verse? The song is too short. " (laughs) - "Really? Okay, I'll write you a second verse." And then Maiden made their own song out of it, but roughly copied my original demo, but not in terms of the atmosphere. My demo version is a little slower and has a different groove. More in the vein of "Heaven And Hell" by Black Sabbath than this Maiden gallop.
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The magic of the first attempt is sometimes true.

I think Steve was right about Eternity having a second verse and a gallop feel. We will see the original.
redandtheblack92 said:
Eternal should have been a part of the original album. Would have made for a perfect album closer
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This.
TheMercenary said:
After what I've listened to today, I must admit that I've completely changed my point of view about this album... <3
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That's great to hear. Can you confirm if I was right that Bruce released the ''weakest'' songs as singles?
 
Melony said:
Rock Hard Germany 02/2024

My translation

Bruce Dickinson
Even Eternity is Finite

Thinking big has always been one of BRUCE DICKINSON's strengths.
If you add Steve Harris' indomitable will, it is actually only a logical consequence that Iron Maiden are where they are today. 2024, however, is dedicated to the singer's solo activities, and here, too, the focus is on the big picture, not the small stuff. Following the release of "The Mandrake Project" on 1 March, the band will be touring extensively, with Germany not playing an insignificant role with six shows so far in June/July. In addition the story of the album will be revealed piece by piece in a comic series.

The rather "experimental" new work "The Mandrake Project" cannot really be compared with its predecessors, apart from the fact that it exudes a similarly dark aura as "Chemical Wedding" (1998) and "Tyranny Of Souls" (2005) with tracks such as the first single release "AFTERGLOW OF RAGNAROK" or the long track "SHADOW OF THE GODS". "RESURRECTION MEN" also surprises with its unusual rhythms and latin/blues rock/indie coloration.
As "The Mandrake Project" has had what felt like an eternity (19 years) to mature, there is a lot to discover in the ten pieces. The airline captain, fencer, author and beer brewer explains: "In 2014, I got back in touch with Roy Z again and said to him: "Hey Roy, let's do another solo album." One of the songs goes back much further into the past, 20 or even 22 years (laughs). I'm talking about "SONATA". And it's the original version; years ago we decided not to distinguish between a demo and an album version. Of course we record demos, but if we like something we keep it. It's like a painter who makes a sketch and thinks: "I like that, but I'll redraw it again, then it will be even better. " The only problem is that it never gets better in the end. The emotional impression left by the original simply cannot be reproduced. And sometimes you have to admit that. Sometimes you can improve something, but in many cases the original is the best version, even if it contains minor technical errors. That magic of the first attempt cannot be repeated."

Which is a good segue to a piece that occupies a central place and might sound familiar to some: "ETERNITY HAS FAILED ". With 'If Eternity Should Fail ', Iron Maiden opened their excellent 2015 work "The Book Of Souls". The question of original and "fake" arises.
Bruce first has to sort his thoughts a little first:
"Maiden copied the original demo version of "If Eternity Should Fail". There was this spoken passage at the very end, and the band also copied the original intro unaltered. This part, which I played on the keyboard in Roy's living room (sings the melody), and the vocals, which were also recorded there are the elements that Maiden used for the album. Then the band starts to play... Suddenly Steve got back to me and said: "Can't you write a second verse? The song is too short. " (laughs) - "Really? Okay, I'll write you a second verse." And then Maiden made their own song out of it, but roughly copied my original demo, but not in terms of the atmosphere. My demo version is a little slower and has a different groove. More in the vein of "Heaven And Hell" by Black Sabbath than this Maiden gallop. Anything you give to Maiden, no matter what kind of song it is, will end up sounding like Maiden. That's just the way it is."

In fact, the differences between the two versions are interesting. ('Eternity Has Failed' is a reworking by Roy Z and Dickinson.) Bruce chats a little more before the release of 'The Mandrake Project':

"That spoken passage at the end of the Maiden version was simply to test out how it would it would feel if "If Eternity Should Fail" - which is what my new solo album was initially going to be called - was a concept work and there was a narrator. I thought to myself: "I'll just slap a few sentences to the end and then we'll see whether it sounds crazy, stupid or confusing." That was the only reason. In the context of the Maiden album, the narrative makes no sense at all, of course. But Steve didn't care about that, so he went with it (laughs)."
MATTHIAS MADER

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I think Tanya had posted a short video on insta with Bruce and Leana in the studio with a track playing in the background which had a very Tribe of Gypsies vibe. Maybe Resurrection Men? The link for it is below:

 
1. Mars Within - 7/10
2. Abduction - 10/10
3. Soul Intruders - 9/10
4. Kill Devil Hill - 10/10
5. Navigate the Seas of the Sun - 10/10
6. River Of No Return - 9/10
7. Power Of The Sun - 9/10
8. Devil on a Hog - 9/10
9. Believil - 4/10
10. A Tyranny Of Souls - 10/10
11. Eternal - 9/10
 
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