Bruce's voice during the years

dickinson1978

Ancient Mariner
Im sure we all think like this,there are like 3 phases

1. Number of the beast,piece of mind,powerslave,somewhere in time
2. Seventh son,No prayer for the dying, Fear of the dark
3. Brave new world,Dance of death,a matter of life and death,final frontier,Book of souls

I dont know but nowadays i like more 2-3 than 1. Back in 90s i remember thinking while listening donington 92 ......he is singing like really soft the clasics.

Im not sure if im explaining it well.... sorry
 
Don´t forget the voice on his solo albums.
well the solo albums are a bit different. Tattoed millionare would be with the 90s voice for sure,balls to picasso album that i love dont know where to put it,and skunkworks..... but for sure Accident,Chemical and Tyranny would be with post reunion albums.
 
well the solo albums are a bit different. Tattoed millionare would be with the 90s voice for sure,balls to picasso album that i love dont know where to put it,and skunkworks..... but for sure Accident,Chemical and Tyranny would be with post reunion albums.
Bruce´s voice on Skunkworks is amazing. That chorus of Inertia for instance. Or the verses of Octavia.
 
I disagree with your classification. Bruce's voice in SSOSS is totally different to his NPFTD era as he was experimenting with a new sound of his voice which, by the way, almost damaged his voice for good. That is one of the reasons why the FOTD vocal work is a mixture between what can be called his "natural" voice and the raspier voice of the 90's.

On the other hand, Bruce's voice was maturing all the time in the 80's (remember he was very young) so each album brings a new complete sound. Of course, this voice suffered by the extensive touring and could have harm him for good. Examples for this, his voice at the middle of the Slavery Tour and when they filmed the LAD video.

Bruce's voice since he came back to Maiden (and even before that, during his Accident Of Birth era) hasn't changed that much as it is his natural mature tone.
 
This is how I categorize Bruce's voice through the years:

*this is only for his studio performances.

TNOTB - unique voice.
POM-Powerslave - pretty similar.
SIT-SSOASS - different to the ones before.
NPFTD-FOTD (+ TM, BTP) - more raspier voice.
BNW/DOD/AMOLAD (+ AOB, TCW and TOS) - the best era for his voice (and 1982 too) - he found his full voice during AOB.
TFF-TBOS - a little different from the previous period.

for live performances:
1982 - again, unique voice.
1983-1985 - different from during 1982.
1986-1988 - his voice was damaged from the tours during this period, otherwise we can say -> 1983-1986.
1990-1992 (+ 1994, and maybe 1996) - raspier voice.
1997-2011 - golden era for his voice.
2012-2014 - just a little different from the period above.
2016-onwards- a bit different... - though his voice in 2018 was as good as his voice during the early 2000's.
 
Not true. Bruce’s voice was damaged in the late 80s, it was in much better shape in the early 90s.

Nope. You're mixing two different facts. In the mid 80's Bruce voice was affected by long touring and enduring sickness when he should have been resting, however, during the resting period/album it would heal.

In the 90's he started singing in a raspier way which wasn't is natural tone, therefore forcing his vocal chords to do something which (in none medical terms) was like putting sand into the throat a producing sma tears to the tissue.
 
Unfortunately, I think we can create a period -the current one- that started roughly in 2013, in which he seems to struggle more, especially live. Part of it was/is probably due to his cancer. Yet, I saw LOTB at Hellfest in 2018, and I think he had managed to recover a little.
 
This is how I categorize Bruce's voice through the years:

*this is only for his studio performances.

TNOTB - unique voice.
POM-Powerslave - pretty similar.
SIT-SSOASS - different to the ones before.
NPFTD-FOTD (+ TM, BTP) - more raspier voice.
BNW/DOD/AMOLAD (+ AOB, TCW and TOS) - the best era for his voice (and 1982 too) - he found his full voice during AOB.
TFF-TBOS - a little different from the previous period.

for live performances:
1982 - again, unique voice.
1983-1985 - different from during 1982.
1986-1988 - his voice was damaged from the tours during this period, otherwise we can say -> 1983-1986.
1990-1992 (+ 1994, and maybe 1996) - raspier voice.
1997-2011 - golden era for his voice.
2012-2014 - just a little different from the period above.
2016-onwards- a bit different... - though his voice in 2018 was as good as his voice during the early 2000's.
It is also interesting to listen to the 1981 Italian boots, when he was literally searching for his 'Maiden' voice, especially in the low register.
(besides, the "Remember Tomorrow" from the NOTB single is not a real live, it is Bruce overdubbing the Maiden Japan version)
 
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NPFTD-FOTD (+ TM, BTP) - more raspier voice.
BNW/DOD/AMOLAD (+ AOB, TCW and TOS) - the best era for his voice (and 1982 too) - he found his full voice during AOB.
You’re missing his Skunkworks voice, but that was really at the transition point between these two eras, where he still had rasp in places but was finding his strong Accident Of Birth voice in others. I actually felt like Skunkworks made the best use of his rasp, using it sparingly for effect while going clean everywhere else.
 
I disagree with your classification. Bruce's voice in SSOSS is totally different to his NPFTD era as he was experimenting with a new sound of his voice which, by the way, almost damaged his voice for good. That is one of the reasons why the FOTD vocal work is a mixture between what can be called his "natural" voice and the raspier voice of the 90's.

On the other hand, Bruce's voice was maturing all the time in the 80's (remember he was very young) so each album brings a new complete sound. Of course, this voice suffered by the extensive touring and could have harm him for good. Examples for this, his voice at the middle of the Slavery Tour and when they filmed the LAD video.

Bruce's voice since he came back to Maiden (and even before that, during his Accident Of Birth era) hasn't changed that much as it is his natural mature tone.
i understand your point different singing on seventh son and no prayer and fear,but im talking about maybe the tone.Dont know how to explain it.Yes more mature.
 
i understand your point different singing on seventh son and no prayer and fear,but im talking about maybe the tone.Dont know how to explain it.Yes more mature.

Oh well, if you're referring to tone then I would definitely think you'll have to put almost every 80's album in a category.

As we all know, when Bruce entered the band he was just 23 and haven't fully develop his voice as a singer. In every Maiden album of the 80's his tone changes a little because he is getting older and more professional about the use of his voice. It happens to all of us in our life.

In the 90's his voice probably peaked and it is when he decided to experiment with it, thus giving us his raspier sound.

Since the 2000 an onward I don't think his tone has changed that much, however, it is evident that he can no longer reach the higher notes of old, but without a doubt his mature voice is still great
 
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