Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Right. This is exactly when the song starts being good, about halfway through.
Bruce Dickinson Solovivor 2024 - Round 13: THE CHEMICAL WEDDING Joins!
- Thread starter Diesel 11
- Start date
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
Freak - Fuzzed-out double tracked guitars slither in through the stereo system like a wyrm rising from its cave of treasures. And what treasures await! I really like all three of Bruce's previous albums but this is absolutely next level. Frankly this is even better than most of Maiden's catalogue. Bruce absolutely lays down the gauntlet on the vocals, detailing mystical lyrics about some sort of demonic surfer whose master, nay, mistress is shrouded in mystery. Everything about this song fucking ROCKS. What the fuck have we just stumbled upon, dude?
Toltec 7 Arrival - A brief interlude that perfectly executes what it sets out to do - add to the mystique of the album.
Starchildren - And then that bulldozer of a riff drops in and LET'S FUCKING GO, DUDE! This is the moment that Accident of Birth really erupts and proves that the magic of "Freak" was not just a fluke, but also not even the biggest highlight on the record. "Starchildren" is AWESOME, a fucking banger with a powerful chorus in which Bruce absolutely uses the full extent of his lungs. Killer, killer, killer.
Taking the Queen - This is where the album's fairy tale themes really take root. Much more subdued at first with its acoustic guitars but Bruce talks about sleeping beauties as though the snow is falling through his eyes and then booms when the hawklords and beasts, not to mention the wraiths of night, make their appearance. The song reaches its soaring peak with a STUNNING guitar solo, followed right after with the bridge, one of Bruce's most jaw-dropping vocal performances. "A STOOONE ROOOLLS CLOOOSED OOON A LIIIFE..." FUCK. IT'S SO GOOD.
Darkside of Aquarius - Kind of the centerpiece of the record, picking up immediately where "Taking the Queen" leaves off, before plunging into an absolutely balls-out metal riff that chugs along like a B-52 about to take off. This is so much heavier than ANYTHING Bruce has done before. And then that performance. Out of this world. The four horsemen of the apocalypse descend and leave you completely devastated. The chorus absolutely soars. The change up at the end disappointed me when I first heard the song because I wanted more of that chorus, but now I think it's a brilliant way to shift gears with the track as Bruce sings about silver surfers and his need to move the Wheel of Dharma. Angelic choirs rise from the heavens and it is glorious, spell-binding, and enthralling all at once. I'm exhausted, man, and we're not even halfway through the album!
Road to Hell - "Darkside" has barely faded out and Dave Ingraham is already kicking off the next monster. "Road to Hell" is as close to Maiden as you're gonna get in the Bruce solo canon, but it still has its own unique sound that sets it apart. This is a classic Smith/Dickinson rocker and, dare I say it, possibly the best example of how well they work together at writing kickass single material. The dual guitar riff is an immediate throwback, I love the vocal effects that makes Bruce sound like he's singing through a jet turbine, the pre-chorus SOARS, and the chorus itself is catchy and punches hard. Not to mention the incredible solo!! Awesome song.
Man of Sorrows - Finally a bit of a breather, as Bruce and co. bring out the synths and the pianos for a ballad about Aleister Crowley. Melodramatic, perhaps, but shit, this song is AWESOME. The chorus astounds, the solo is incredible, the whole thing is both alluring yet tinted in tragedy. Beautiful, powerful, gobsmacking even. If this is how passionate Bruce gets over a weird English magician dude, I'd love to see what he writes for his wife.
Accident of Birth - Could have easily been the album's opening track but instead it's cheekily placed towards the back half of the record. Almost like a second coming in a way, pumping us back up from the previous emotional rollercoaster. This one is firmly a fist-in-the-air, no-fucks-given beast, rising from the depths of hell itself to deliver a killer metallic anthem. The chorus is a show-stopper. Bruce is back, baby. Bruce is fucking back. And he's taking names, he's laying down the gauntlet, he's cutting the Gordian knot and leaving everyone else in his wake. With a song like this it is no wonder that Steve needed to get him back into the fold. He was too powerful.
The Magician - With guitars that don't crunch so much as they do glide, "The Magician" emerges from the muck left over from the title track and keeps the party going. Another Crowley-inspired song, but this time Bruce is playing the role with some winks and nudges. The chorus is built for an audience to sing along to, one of the most fun choruses Bruce has ever done. He's clearly enjoying this one completely. And yet he is blown completely out of the water as Adrian and Roy drop two of the album's coolest guitar solos one after the other. Talk about putting Jesus in his place, shit! The whole ensemble did not need to go nearly as hard on this track as they did, but dammit they fucking did, and elevated what could have been a solid filler track into an absolute highlight.
Welcome to the Pit - Probably the least beloved song on the record, but I think "Welcome to the Pit" absolutely fucks. There's something deeply disturbing behind the utter groove that it slithers along with. Bruce almost gets twistedly sensual in spots, too. Another track where the performances completely lift what could have been a filler. The chorus is almost psychedelic as it erupts and I love it. Definitely carved from the same block that Psycho Motel emerged from, but these performers are on such a different level here. Killer.
Omega - This song was for a while my least favorite on the album. My logic was that the verses were incredible - beautiful, emotional reminiscences of a survivor of the apocalypse who is left a wanderer in the desert plains. The rest of the song, I thought, didn't quite match up to that same emotive energy. But as time has gone on, not only is this a contender for my favorite song on the album, but it's the rest of the track after the verses that I feel make it really come to life. Bruce's voice is once again incredible, but Z and H truly make this song explode, whether it's with that rolling, rumbling chorus riff to the guitar solos and finally to what is to me the highlight of the song - the dual guitar explosion where they twist and turn around each other like shooting stars and fireworks within my ear drums. After that, Bruce's "TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR FUTURE!" sucker-punches me right back into the wasteland and I have completely lost myself in the spectacle. Fucking brilliant track.
Arc of Space - And finally, given that there's no way your body will be able to handle anything else after "Omega", Bruce and Roy take the stage with a beautiful acoustic finale about hope. Bruce's voice soars, Roy adds some flamenco flair, and the two close out the album with grace, style, and, finesse.
The Ghost of Cain - Leave it to Bruce et al to be on such a roll that one of the best tracks in their discography doesn't even make it onto (most editions of) the album! Another Adrian-penned number, this track is like a Halloween rollercoaster ride, with an incomparable dual guitar riff leading before Bruce just delivers YET ANOTHER CONTENDER for his best vocal performance. God DAMN he does not hold back. The verses rock. The pre-chorus rocks. The chorus itself, FUCKING ROCKS. The solo? IT ROCKS! Dave Ingraham even gets a big drum fill and it... wait for it... yeah, it ROCKS! This song is awesome and could have easily been a single. Chalk it up to the album's high quality that they ended up setting it aside. But fuck, don't overlook it.
This album is superb, pretty much perfect from start to finish. The production is excellent and the entire ensemble give performances that most musicians could only dream of. Picking which songs to vote for really makes me feel like I'm slitting the throat of my darlings, but after much contemplation I think I could go with Toltec 7 Arrival, Welcome to the Pit, and Arc of Space, plus Solar Confinement to bow out Skunkworks. Boy... what a doozy. This album is so good.
Toltec 7 Arrival - A brief interlude that perfectly executes what it sets out to do - add to the mystique of the album.
Starchildren - And then that bulldozer of a riff drops in and LET'S FUCKING GO, DUDE! This is the moment that Accident of Birth really erupts and proves that the magic of "Freak" was not just a fluke, but also not even the biggest highlight on the record. "Starchildren" is AWESOME, a fucking banger with a powerful chorus in which Bruce absolutely uses the full extent of his lungs. Killer, killer, killer.
Taking the Queen - This is where the album's fairy tale themes really take root. Much more subdued at first with its acoustic guitars but Bruce talks about sleeping beauties as though the snow is falling through his eyes and then booms when the hawklords and beasts, not to mention the wraiths of night, make their appearance. The song reaches its soaring peak with a STUNNING guitar solo, followed right after with the bridge, one of Bruce's most jaw-dropping vocal performances. "A STOOONE ROOOLLS CLOOOSED OOON A LIIIFE..." FUCK. IT'S SO GOOD.
Darkside of Aquarius - Kind of the centerpiece of the record, picking up immediately where "Taking the Queen" leaves off, before plunging into an absolutely balls-out metal riff that chugs along like a B-52 about to take off. This is so much heavier than ANYTHING Bruce has done before. And then that performance. Out of this world. The four horsemen of the apocalypse descend and leave you completely devastated. The chorus absolutely soars. The change up at the end disappointed me when I first heard the song because I wanted more of that chorus, but now I think it's a brilliant way to shift gears with the track as Bruce sings about silver surfers and his need to move the Wheel of Dharma. Angelic choirs rise from the heavens and it is glorious, spell-binding, and enthralling all at once. I'm exhausted, man, and we're not even halfway through the album!
Road to Hell - "Darkside" has barely faded out and Dave Ingraham is already kicking off the next monster. "Road to Hell" is as close to Maiden as you're gonna get in the Bruce solo canon, but it still has its own unique sound that sets it apart. This is a classic Smith/Dickinson rocker and, dare I say it, possibly the best example of how well they work together at writing kickass single material. The dual guitar riff is an immediate throwback, I love the vocal effects that makes Bruce sound like he's singing through a jet turbine, the pre-chorus SOARS, and the chorus itself is catchy and punches hard. Not to mention the incredible solo!! Awesome song.
Man of Sorrows - Finally a bit of a breather, as Bruce and co. bring out the synths and the pianos for a ballad about Aleister Crowley. Melodramatic, perhaps, but shit, this song is AWESOME. The chorus astounds, the solo is incredible, the whole thing is both alluring yet tinted in tragedy. Beautiful, powerful, gobsmacking even. If this is how passionate Bruce gets over a weird English magician dude, I'd love to see what he writes for his wife.
Accident of Birth - Could have easily been the album's opening track but instead it's cheekily placed towards the back half of the record. Almost like a second coming in a way, pumping us back up from the previous emotional rollercoaster. This one is firmly a fist-in-the-air, no-fucks-given beast, rising from the depths of hell itself to deliver a killer metallic anthem. The chorus is a show-stopper. Bruce is back, baby. Bruce is fucking back. And he's taking names, he's laying down the gauntlet, he's cutting the Gordian knot and leaving everyone else in his wake. With a song like this it is no wonder that Steve needed to get him back into the fold. He was too powerful.
The Magician - With guitars that don't crunch so much as they do glide, "The Magician" emerges from the muck left over from the title track and keeps the party going. Another Crowley-inspired song, but this time Bruce is playing the role with some winks and nudges. The chorus is built for an audience to sing along to, one of the most fun choruses Bruce has ever done. He's clearly enjoying this one completely. And yet he is blown completely out of the water as Adrian and Roy drop two of the album's coolest guitar solos one after the other. Talk about putting Jesus in his place, shit! The whole ensemble did not need to go nearly as hard on this track as they did, but dammit they fucking did, and elevated what could have been a solid filler track into an absolute highlight.
Welcome to the Pit - Probably the least beloved song on the record, but I think "Welcome to the Pit" absolutely fucks. There's something deeply disturbing behind the utter groove that it slithers along with. Bruce almost gets twistedly sensual in spots, too. Another track where the performances completely lift what could have been a filler. The chorus is almost psychedelic as it erupts and I love it. Definitely carved from the same block that Psycho Motel emerged from, but these performers are on such a different level here. Killer.
Omega - This song was for a while my least favorite on the album. My logic was that the verses were incredible - beautiful, emotional reminiscences of a survivor of the apocalypse who is left a wanderer in the desert plains. The rest of the song, I thought, didn't quite match up to that same emotive energy. But as time has gone on, not only is this a contender for my favorite song on the album, but it's the rest of the track after the verses that I feel make it really come to life. Bruce's voice is once again incredible, but Z and H truly make this song explode, whether it's with that rolling, rumbling chorus riff to the guitar solos and finally to what is to me the highlight of the song - the dual guitar explosion where they twist and turn around each other like shooting stars and fireworks within my ear drums. After that, Bruce's "TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR FUTURE!" sucker-punches me right back into the wasteland and I have completely lost myself in the spectacle. Fucking brilliant track.
Arc of Space - And finally, given that there's no way your body will be able to handle anything else after "Omega", Bruce and Roy take the stage with a beautiful acoustic finale about hope. Bruce's voice soars, Roy adds some flamenco flair, and the two close out the album with grace, style, and, finesse.
The Ghost of Cain - Leave it to Bruce et al to be on such a roll that one of the best tracks in their discography doesn't even make it onto (most editions of) the album! Another Adrian-penned number, this track is like a Halloween rollercoaster ride, with an incomparable dual guitar riff leading before Bruce just delivers YET ANOTHER CONTENDER for his best vocal performance. God DAMN he does not hold back. The verses rock. The pre-chorus rocks. The chorus itself, FUCKING ROCKS. The solo? IT ROCKS! Dave Ingraham even gets a big drum fill and it... wait for it... yeah, it ROCKS! This song is awesome and could have easily been a single. Chalk it up to the album's high quality that they ended up setting it aside. But fuck, don't overlook it.
This album is superb, pretty much perfect from start to finish. The production is excellent and the entire ensemble give performances that most musicians could only dream of. Picking which songs to vote for really makes me feel like I'm slitting the throat of my darlings, but after much contemplation I think I could go with Toltec 7 Arrival, Welcome to the Pit, and Arc of Space, plus Solar Confinement to bow out Skunkworks. Boy... what a doozy. This album is so good.
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
Darkside Of Aquarius is probably the only song with such a great chorus that I can accept without another repetition in the second half of it - only because the second half is so effective, captivating and athemic (as well). Good job, Bruce. Just an epic song! Shadow Of The Gods has a similar approach.
Indeed. Legendary songs. I'm not a big fan of 2 of the songs, but AOB is one of my top favorite albums as a whole piece. There is a certain magic. Lyrics, melodies, vocals/ideas, guitar parts, vibe.
I mean, excluding Arc Of Space, Welcome To The Pit and the heaviness of the title track, Starchildren and Freak - it's basically a Maiden album (with less longer instrumental sections and) with so strong material. Good summary.
Diesel 11
As you scream into the web of silence...
Eliminated after Round 12:
Toltec 7 Arrival - 16 votes
Welcome to the Pit - 13 votes
Inertia - 10 votes
Freak - 10 votes
The Ghost of Cain - 10 votes
Promoted after Round 12:
Back from the Edge
Solar Confinement
Innerspace
Strange Death in Paradise
ROUND 13
 | The Chemical Wedding (1998) 1. King in Crimson (4:43) Dickinson/Z 2. Chemical Wedding (4:06) Dickinson/Z 3. The Tower (4:45) Dickinson/Z 4. Killing Floor (4:29) Dickinson/Smith 5. Book of Thel (8:13) Dickinson/Z/Casillas 6. Gates of Urizen (4:25) Dickinson/Z 7. Jerusalem (6:42) Dickinson/Z/Blake 8. Trumpets of Jericho (5:59) Dickinson/Z 9. Machine Men (5:41) Dickinson/Smith 10. The Alchemist (6:00/8:27 w/bonus track) Dickinson/Z Bonus track: 11. Return of the King (5:06) Dickinson/Smith 12. Real World (3:59) Dickinson/Z 13. Confeos (5:09/7:35 w/bonus track) |
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
Well, it seems The Ghost Of Cain is an underrated song. Quality album material! The traditional strong solo rocker of Bruce, every part is great.
I'm glad Solar Confinement is promoted, but Inertia is such a cool song and one of the album's highlights. Typical of the album, awesome verses and a nice soaring chorus. I guess it's considered a classic from the album.
Votes:
Starchildren (great verses and effective chorus, but it lacks something... I guess in the instrumental section)
Arc Of Space (very nice acoustic ballad, but I think it's my ''least'' favorite of his ballads, which says a lot about the quality)
Killing Floor (I like it a lot more now, a very moving song, but that chorus...)
Confeos (Roy's solo is great, but that's it)
The competition is brutal now.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
The three best songs on the album got promoted in the end, so I can’t complain…
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Man of Sorrows
The Magician
Killing Floor
Gates of Urizen (the single weakest song on CW)
Machine Men
Real World
Confeos
The Magician
Killing Floor
Gates of Urizen (the single weakest song on CW)
Machine Men
Real World
Confeos
