Bruce Dickinson

"and the human race" works better for me in that song like in the maiden version. still wonder who changed the lose your mind, steve or bruce ... hmmm...

and the last brutal part is effective enough i think. probably there are more parts like that in the album, so they kept it short there.

and anyone knows what happened to the song "Nightmares" which Steve wanted to transfer to Maiden's Book of Souls like If Eternity? (but then because that song was written by Bruce and Roy Z, he gave up.)
Did Bruce change the title or didn't include it at all? (I think Bruce might be saving some songs for the future, because there were rumours that this album would be double in the beginning)
 
Skyclad1982 said:
bravewords.com

BRUCE DICKINSON Says He Will Not Play Any Songs From Skunkworks On His Solo Tour

Talking to Sweden’s Bandit Rock, Bruce Dickinson talked about his upcoming Mandrake Project solo album and his upcoming solo tour. During the course of the conversation, Dickinson revealed that he while he is “proud” of the 1996 Skunkworks record, an album that was more in a hard rock vein, he...
bravewords.com bravewords.com
Click to expand...
Unfortunate, Skunkworks is his by far his best "solo" album in my opinion (though it's not really a solo album, but more of a consequence of contracts and marketing).

Starblind said:
and anyone knows what happened to the song "Nightmares" which Steve wanted to transfer to Maiden's Book of Souls like If Eternity? (but then because that song was written by Bruce and Roy Z, he gave up.)
Did Bruce change the title or didn't include it at all? (I think Bruce might be saving some songs for the future, because there were rumours that this album would be double in the beginning)
Click to expand...
Too early to tell. Some believe that it wasn't included since there's no song with that title in the track list, but it could just as well have been reworked into a new song with a different title. Unless Bruce talks about it in an interview we won't find out about that any way soon.
 
Mosh said:
Sounds about right. Maybe they are learning from recent Maiden mistakes and not pressing any more than they know they will sell.
Click to expand...

But by not having physical copies at record stores they are losing all potential sales from people who walk in to browse what is available. I have several mates who like Maiden who are not even aware that Bruce’s new single even exists.

Unsurprisingly, it has not even entered the top 100 in the UK singles chart.
 
Mosh said:
Things like singles are geared more toward collectors and there’s more of a market for that sort of thing on vinyl than on CD. As far as the full album goes, I reckon they expect anyone who cares that much about the graphic novel will buy the vinyl and CD versions of the album. Just a guess tho
Click to expand...
I think your right in that they are trying to maximise sales by assuming collectors will by the cd and the vinyl version of the album, or simply forcing the vinyl collectors to also buy the cd to get the full collectors package.

I was really hoping that there would be a special vinyl version of the full album with the graphic novel.
 
Skyclad1982 said:
bravewords.com

BRUCE DICKINSON Says He Will Not Play Any Songs From Skunkworks On His Solo Tour

Talking to Sweden’s Bandit Rock, Bruce Dickinson talked about his upcoming Mandrake Project solo album and his upcoming solo tour. During the course of the conversation, Dickinson revealed that he while he is “proud” of the 1996 Skunkworks record, an album that was more in a hard rock vein, he...
bravewords.com bravewords.com
Click to expand...
This was expected, very different style and Roy wasn't part of the album. Bruce will favor the metal albums. Most likely his debut solo album will also be omitted. From BTP, I expect 2 songs at most.

I would like to hear at least 1 song from every album, but Bruce omitted Skunkworks in the 90's with Roy and Adrian too. Heavier versions of some of the songs on it would be really interesting.
 
AncientMariner_Essex said:
I was really hoping that there would be a special vinyl version of the full album with the graphic novel.
Click to expand...
I think I read somewhere that since the novels will be released over a span of a year or whatever, they will also be compiled as a single unit after the final part.
 
Skyclad1982 said:
bravewords.com

BRUCE DICKINSON Says He Will Not Play Any Songs From Skunkworks On His Solo Tour

Talking to Sweden’s Bandit Rock, Bruce Dickinson talked about his upcoming Mandrake Project solo album and his upcoming solo tour. During the course of the conversation, Dickinson revealed that he while he is “proud” of the 1996 Skunkworks record, an album that was more in a hard rock vein, he...
bravewords.com bravewords.com
Click to expand...
Good!

Skunkworks, in my opinion, is not only the worst thing Bruce has ever put his voice too but it’s a contender for the worst album I’ve ever heard.

I wouldn’t even use the skunkworks cd as a drinks coaster, I think it’s utterly piss poor.
 
Starblind said:
"and the human race" works better for me in that song like in the maiden version. still wonder who changed the lose your mind, steve or bruce ... hmmm...

and the last brutal part is effective enough i think. probably there are more parts like that in the album, so they kept it short there.

and anyone knows what happened to the song "Nightmares" which Steve wanted to transfer to Maiden's Book of Souls like If Eternity? (but then because that song was written by Bruce and Roy Z, he gave up.)
Did Bruce change the title or didn't include it at all? (I think Bruce might be saving some songs for the future, because there were rumours that this album would be double in the beginning)
Click to expand...
I think both lines work, it's just the delivery of the one in the demo that makes it stand out. Bruce probably changed it.
He also wanted to change the intro in 2014 (maybe the melody of it), but it seems he kept it for the ''new'' album version.

About the outro of Ragnarok, if a part is effective and brutal (like a chorus), why not repeat it a bit more - especially for not a short song. Or with something different.

I really hope Bruce changed the title of Nightmares and added it to the album, but why would he? It fits. Let's hope Bruce will say in an interview or someone will ask him.

He is definitely saving songs for the future. But rumours about a double album?? Roy had said they had 17 songs as demos for the album.
Vaenyr said:
Unfortunate, Skunkworks is his by far his best "solo" album in my opinion (though it's not really a solo album, but more of a consequence of contracts and marketing).
Click to expand...
A kind of a solo/band project.
GhostofCain said:
But by not having physical copies at record stores they are losing all potential sales from people who walk in to browse what is available.
Unsurprisingly, it has not even entered the top 100 in the UK singles chart.
Click to expand...
Not that I disagree, but Singles Charts are not relevant today.
AncientMariner_Essex said:
Skunkworks, in my opinion, is not only the worst thing Bruce has ever put his voice too but it’s a contender for the worst album I’ve ever heard.
Click to expand...
Give it a chance, it takes some time. It's different, maybe the weakest from Bruce for some, but definitely not the worst. And Bruce and poor/worst don't go together.
 
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Kalata said:
Not that I disagree, but Singles Charts are not relevant today.
Click to expand...

Agreed look at "this weeks" top 10

Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts

The Official UK Singles Chart reflects the UK’s biggest songs of the week, based on audio and video streams, downloads, CDs and vinyl, compiled by the Official Charts Company. The UK Top 40 is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV, the Top 100 is published exclusively on OfficialCharts.com. View the...
www.officialcharts.com www.officialcharts.com
 
Actually read the whole chart, it's laughable :lol:

I wonder how many of these songs are actual new releases. I count 54 that are explicitly christmas songs, or songs that were hits at previous Christmases, and there's probably more there that I don't recognise.
 
GhostofCain said:
But by not having physical copies at record stores they are losing all potential sales from people who walk in to browse what is available. I have several mates who like Maiden who are not even aware that Bruce’s new single even exists.

Unsurprisingly, it has not even entered the top 100 in the UK singles chart.
Click to expand...
Yea, not sure what the tradeoff is there. I'm guessing the potential loss in profits by not making enough copies is more desirable than the cost of manufacturing a bunch and having them sit on the store shelf for months.
 
srfc said:
Actually read the whole chart, it's laughable :lol:

I wonder how many of these songs are actual new releases. I count 54 that are explicitly christmas songs, or songs that were hits at previous Christmases, and there's probably more there that I don't recognise.
Click to expand...

Still one would have thought that Bruce’s single would have entered the top 100!
 
Kalata said:
I really hope Bruce changed the title of Nightmares and added it to the album, but why would he?
Click to expand...
Working song titles frequently change before release, so this is entirely possible.

AncientMariner_Essex said:
Skunkworks, in my opinion, is not only the worst thing Bruce has ever put his voice too but it’s a contender for the worst album I’ve ever heard.
Click to expand...
Kalata said:
Give it a chance, it takes some time.
Click to expand...
Skunkworks didn't hit for me at first, but the best songs on there kept bringing me back, and I warmed to almost everything on there pretty quickly.

For people who aren't keen on Skunkworks, try listening to just this playlist at first:
  1. Solar Confinement
  2. Inside The Machine
  3. Meltdown
  4. Innerspace
  5. Strange Death In Paradise
Once those grab you, try adding in "Space Race", "Faith", "Headswitch", and "Octavia". And once you're on board with those, open it up to the entire album. I think the more explicitly alt/grungy songs are harder to accept if you're coming from a "true metal" mindset, but there's plenty of strong hard rock and metal elements in there that are up front in certain songs, and still lurking around in the background on others. There's also an almost Rush-like element to some of the guitar, with lots of ringing arpeggios and color work around the edges, which is cool. It's worth the investment in the end.
 
Writing on the Wall was two weeks on the chart at number 20 and number 65, and Stratego was 1 week at number 100.

It's a different world from the one where Maiden used to chart regularly.
 
Just in case anyone is interested, a short interview with Bruce. This is the one where the bit about his wedding was picked up by Blabbermouth, but there is more than that:

www.svtplay.se

Carina Bergfeldt – Benita Alexander lurades av skandalkirurgen Macchiarini – Iron Maidens Bruce Dickinson om nya kärleken

Carina Bergfeldt gästas av Iron Maidens sångare Bruce Dickinson, Sveriges främsta näsa Mischa Billing, femfaldige världsmästaren i kampsport Sadibou Sy och från USA har vi besök av Benita Alexander som lurades totalt av skandalkirurgen Paolo Macchiarini. Amason framför Santa´s Comin to Free Them.
www.svtplay.se www.svtplay.se
 
Last edited:

Bandit-intervjuer - Bandit Rock - I LIKE RADIO

Intervjuer från programmen på Bandit.
www.ilikeradio.se www.ilikeradio.se

New interview with Bruce. Very informative.

The curious bits:

At first he wanted to write a follow-up to TOS as his next solo album. He came up with a backstory for it from the ''Accident Of Birth'' song. For the comic too.

Roy likes some of the Skunkworks songs. They could play some songs in the future from it. ''A different rock style''.

At some point he wanted the intro of If Eternity Should Fail's demo to have trumpets and a western vibe. The outro was a 5 minute thing he scrapped. He just wanted to experiment how it sounds with a narrator telling a story at the end of a song.

He wrote 6 songs with Roy in one week for the AOB album. A very traditional heavy album according to him.

He thinks TCW is a very unique album. And BNW is a terrific album.

He loves to sing ''Stranger In A Strange Land'', ''Hallowed Be Thy Name'' (''with the right speed''), ''Sign Of The Cross'', ''Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son'', ''Moonchild''.

His favorite Maiden album is: SSOASS, Powerslave, POM (''a stronger album than TNOTB'').

''Afterglow Of Ragnarok'' and ''Many Doors To Hell'' were written earlier this year. And some other songs!
''Shadow Of The Gods'' has vocals from 2014 and harmonies from now.

Some of the vocals on the new album were recorded in 2014.

In some songs the keyboards are really prominent.

''Sonata (Immortal Beloved)'' is from either 1997, 1998 or 2005. Roy was inspired by Beethoven for it. 80% of the vocals are one take and were improvised on the spot. Some of the vocals are from the 90's! Bruce sings a bit of the verse and the chorus! The story is: the king returns to the frozen queen and the angel of death is also involved. He described it as a bit of a different song, he even forgot about it.
He won't play it on THIS TOUR because they need preparation before they play it.

Another tour is on the track - when people are familiar with the new album.

He will have a video screen for the upcoming tour! Wow. He wants to do something really special. He mentioned that ''Shadow Of The Gods'' and ''Sonata'' would be great with it.

The idea is: drums on one side (not in the middle), keyboards on the other side and space in the middle for solos. For the vocalist too.

The core of the setlist will probably consist of songs from AOB and TCW - with only around 4 songs from the new album. That's a surprise. What about TOS? They might swap songs like ''Navigate The Seas Of The Sun'' and ''Jerusalem''.
''Tears Of The Dragon'' is certain and maybe one more from BTP.
He also mentioned a ''surprise song'' for the tour. Hmm... a Maiden one?
They might have 3 or 4 songs that they don't play every night (''like Starchildren''). He doesn't want to play a lot of mid-tempo songs.

2 guitarists are not needed on tour because Roy alone is like having ''one and a half guitar players'' and Mistheria is a beast with the keyboards. He mentioned a keytar! ''The keyboards gives an extra dimension to the songs''.

They haven't played together yet, so they have to see what will work.
 
Kalata said:

Bandit-intervjuer - Bandit Rock - I LIKE RADIO

Intervjuer från programmen på Bandit.
www.ilikeradio.se www.ilikeradio.se

New interview with Bruce. Very informative.

The curious bits:

At first he wanted to write a follow-up to TOS as his next solo album. He came up with a backstory for it from the ''Accident Of Birth'' song. For the comic too.

Roy likes some of the Skunkworks songs. They could play some songs in the future from it. ''A different rock style''.

At some point he wanted the intro of If Eternity Should Fail's demo to have trumpets and a western vibe. The outro was a 5 minute thing he scrapped. He just wanted to experiment how it sounds with a narrator telling a story at the end of a song.

He wrote 6 songs with Roy in one week for the AOB album. A very traditional heavy album according to him.

He thinks TCW is a very unique album. And BNW is a terrific album.

He loves to sing ''Stranger In A Strange Land'', ''Hallowed Be Thy Name'' (''with the right speed''), ''Sign Of The Cross'', ''Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son'', ''Moonchild''.

His favorite Maiden album is: SSOASS, Powerslave, POM (''a stronger album than TNOTB'').

''Afterglow Of Ragnarok'' and ''Many Doors To Hell'' were written earlier this year. And some other songs!
''Shadow Of The Gods'' has vocals from 2014 and harmonies from now.

Some of the vocals on the new album were recorded in 2014.

In some songs the keyboards are really prominent.

''Sonata (Immortal Beloved)'' is from either 1997, 1998 or 2005. Roy was inspired by Beethoven for it. 80% of the vocals are one take and were improvised on the spot. Some of the vocals are from the 90's! Bruce sings a bit of the verse and the chorus! The story is: the king returns to the frozen queen and the angel of death is also involved. He described it as a bit of a different song, he even forgot about it.
He won't play it on THIS TOUR because they need preparation before they play it.

Another tour is on the track - when people are familiar with the new album.

He will have a video screen for the upcoming tour! Wow. He wants to do something really special. He mentioned that ''Shadow Of The Gods'' and ''Sonata'' would be great with it.

The idea is: drums on one side (not in the middle), keyboards on the other side and space in the middle for solos. For the vocalist too.

The core of the setlist will probably consist of songs from AOB and TCW - with only around 4 songs from the new album. That's a surprise. What about TOS? They might swap songs like ''Navigate The Seas Of The Sun'' and ''Jerusalem''.
''Tears Of The Dragon'' is certain and maybe one more from BTP.
He also mentioned a ''surprise song'' for the tour. Hmm... a Maiden one?
They might have 3 or 4 songs that they don't play every night (''like Starchildren''). He doesn't want to play a lot of mid-tempo songs.

2 guitarists are not needed on tour because Roy alone is like having ''one and a half guitar players'' and Mistheria is a beast with the keyboards. He mentioned a keytar! ''The keyboards gives an extra dimension to the songs''.

They haven't played together yet, so they have to see what will work.
Click to expand...

Thanks for summarising the main bits.

Roy Z is one hell of a guitar player, but I disagree with the bit on 2 guitars not being needed for the material off Accident of Birth or The Chemical Wedding. Anyway, who am I to have an opinion on his choices? :)
 
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