Bruce Dickinson

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Black Bart said:
Bruce is pretty lucid about Metallica's Black Album :
"It's one of those seminal albums that just gets it right," he continued. "It's extremely well-produced, and every note on that album is totally under control. I admire how they did it, and what they did with the songs, and it was very effective: it undoubtedly did help push metal into the mainstream. I know it wasn't Mutt Lange who produced it, but Bob Rock had that similar thing where the producer was very much in control.

We could never do an album like that, because we're not that under control, and we don't want to be," he said. "With us, the wheels would fall off the bus and we'd end up firing the producer."
https://blabbermouth.net/news/bruce...erestimate-their-achievement-with-this-album/
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This is also a curious quote:

''Ourselves, JUDAS PRIEST and PANTERA all reached a crossroads where we had the chance to really step up to the next level. But none of us had the balls to do it. METALLICA did, though. You have to give them huge credit for grabbing the opportunity when it came up, taking the risk and deservedly reaping the enormous rewards. You cannot underestimate their achievement with this album''.
 
He's 100% right about Pantera, I can't attest to Judas Priest because I don't know that much about the band.
Pantera did not "change its sound and image". Sound was a natural evolution and image was just about being kids and growing up.

Maybe balls isn't the best description about them because they were still young and wanted to be kings of the metal world only, unlike Metallica where Lars' upbringing and influences meant he also wanted to have status that Purple Sabbath and Zep had in the early 70s.

And maybe the problem with Maiden was that Harris' vision of a GOAT band is Yes, Genesis, 70s Floyd, things that were really, really out of fashion by the time Maiden reached that particular bracket (1988 - #1 album, concept album, progressive, grand stage and stuff - mocked for it)
 
Meliegree said:
He's strong so I hope that Covid will not affect him mentaly.
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Recycling some old Chuck Norris jokes, I hope he'll affect the virus mentally.
On the other hand, being infected by a verbose virus that insists to tell you a story isn't much fun either, admittedly.
 
I like this comment under article about Bruce's opinion on TBA:

"This proves that most bands would benefit from the guidance of a very good producer. Most people think they can pull it off themselves but they usually mess everything up. Working with a good producer doesn't equal turning yourself into a sell-out commercial act, unless this is what you want to do."

So true. When Maiden had a great producer and let him do his job, studio recordings sounded so much better and varied. Even in novel writing there's one rule that applies to songwriting: "Trim the fat."
 
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Azas said:
studio recordings sounded so much better and varied.
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I actually disagree? I think that the CD era has helped Maiden craft better album experiences than in the ‘80s. Sure, there’s some fat that could be trimmed here and there, but the longer runtimes means the balance works better. 1 filler among 8 songs stands out more than 1 among 11 if that makes sense.

And also IMO Bob Rock isn’t the best standard to hold producers up to when it comes to hands on approaches. Some of the outros on TBA just go on forever (“Unforgiven” and “Wherever” in particular). And by Reload and St Anger they were just running with whatever shit they were coming up with.

Also wasn’t it established that Birch didn’t do much if at all when it came to compositions? I still have yet to hear a great argument about how he’s the savior of Maiden.
 
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Kalata said:
''Ourselves, JUDAS PRIEST and PANTERA all reached a crossroads where we had the chance to really step up to the next level. But none of us had the balls to do it.
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As much as I love Bruce’s voice, the way he typically uses it in Maiden is not an approach that would have broad mainstream appeal. Same thing with Phil Anselmo, minus the “I love” part.

Just as Metallica never could have gone full mainstream with Hetfield’s 1980s vocal delivery, I think Bruce would have had to lean into a less tremulous singing style to have broad appeal. Something more like “Tears Of The Dragon”, where the tremolo is just extra flavor on long notes. He’s done more of this in the reunion era, but I can’t immediately recall an example of him doing this for an entire song outside of a ballad.

And as far as Pantera goes, barking and growling are a hard barrier to diamond sales status. To get there you need the super-casual pop listener to be willing to play the music in front of their friends without feeling embarrassed. That’s why niche metal genres and albums with songs over 140bpm usually couldn’t get there.
 
Jer said:
And as far as Pantera goes, barking and growling are a hard barrier to diamond sales status.
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Wrong and right at the same time. Domination, Cowboys From Hell, Cemetary Gates, The Sleep, they all show how the band can play different things. Pantera could've gone anywhere from there, but they chose to build non-wide appealing elements of their music.

You need to take the time frame into the account. 1991/92.

Far Beyond Driven was a statement album, Trendkill was the stamp and seal. The opening scream tells you everything. This is not my conjecture but things taken from interviews. So yes, barking and growling was a hard barrier, put there by the band itself.

That's why I don't agree with Dickinson's choice of wording. "Balls" isn't it.

Also they were unfashionable all the way even when they were commercially successful. Dime and Vinnie interviewed in 1993, interviewer babbling about Pantera being refreshing and new approach and b.s. like that, asking them where does it all come from, Dime just says, "the usual, Maiden, Sabbath, some Van Halen, early KISS"
 
And I'm not in agreement with Bruce about black album overall. For all its great soundscapes the material is heavily lacking. I was never able to digest songs such as Enter Sandman, Sad but True or Nothing Else Matters. They do have their good parts, Enter Sandman starts well, Nothing Else Matters has a good solo section by Hetfield and the drum work on Sad but True is seminal to the genre. But as songs? Nah, 2 bullshit lyrics generic crap and a Lidl Harvester of Sorrow.
 
I could have never imagined that Bruce would state something like this. Also admiotting that Maiden would never do something like this. I guess that growing older also makes you wiser after all.
 
jazz from hell said:

New solo album tease... is this Eddie Trunk in the beginning?
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Yes, that's Eddie Trunk.

A solo album that has been in the works for 8 years now (not 3 or 4) and he still needs to finish the writing with Roy Z and start the recording process? Does anyone really believe a new solo album is going to happen any time soon?

I'd love to know what Roy Z thinks about the whole thing. :devil2:
 
Anyone have the whole interview?

There was never any reason to think all they had finished was more than some demos and rough ideas.
 
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