The Red and the Black
Ancient Mariner
Eternity Has Failed is my favorite song on this album. I dig the slow heavy pace and the new lyrics. My favorite version of the song, though, is the fast live version on Live Chapter.
Otherwise, only Shadow of the Gods sounds like what I was expecting and wanting from this album. Don't think this album will be getting too many spins from me.
Otherwise, only Shadow of the Gods sounds like what I was expecting and wanting from this album. Don't think this album will be getting too many spins from me.
From what I have heard so far, it works pretty well. I am not intending to buy the comic, but it hangs together as a more straightforward rock abum rather than Maiden's more recent prog influenced albums. 19 years is a long time but he has had quite alot on the interim!
Not so much a return to form as a return to releasing his solo albums, which is very welcome. I will listen to alot more in the next few days and familiarise myself more before trying to rate it, but pretty good so far.
Not so much a return to form as a return to releasing his solo albums, which is very welcome. I will listen to alot more in the next few days and familiarise myself more before trying to rate it, but pretty good so far.
Not sure if this has been posted already, but the Apple Music version of the album has some commentary from Bruce on all songs:
For his seventh solo outing, Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson almost made a concept album. Instead, he made an album with a concept. Some of the songs on The Mandrake Project detail episodes from a 12-issue comic series (also called The Mandrake Project) created by Dickinson, scripted by Tony Lee, and illustrated by Staz Johnson. “It was never intended to be this big,” Dickinson tells Apple Music. “At first, I had an idea about doing one comic only, like a little bit of extra vibe around the album. I was already thinking in the comic world, because originally the title of the album was taken from a Doctor Strange episode called ‘If Eternity Should Fail!’ I came up with these two characters, Dr. Necropolis and Professor Lazarus, and it’s a really dark story. It's not a superhero story. It’s more like a Watchmen-style comic in 12 episodes.”
With longtime producer and guitarist Roy Z, Dickinson wrote songs that tie in with the comic storyline, like “Afterglow of Ragnarok” and “Resurrection Men,” and others that are completely unrelated, like “Many Doors to Hell,” about a female vampire, and “Fingers in the Wounds,” which imagines Jesus resurrected as a social media influencer. And then there’s “Eternity Has Failed,” an earlier version of which was nicked by Iron Maiden for their 2015 album, The Book of Souls. Below, the singer details each track.
“Afterglow of Ragnarok”
“This is meant to be like a hallucination from mandrake juice. Dr. Necropolis is a brilliant scientist, and an orphan. He’s interested in bringing back his brother who died at birth. He’s wondering why he survived and his brother died. And he’s tortured by this voice in his head, which he assumes is his brother. The voice just says, ‘Save me,’ over and over. It hits Necropolis like a depression. He gets into drugs and sex magic and the occult to try and contact his brother and try to figure out a way to bring him back. That’s what drives him and propels him through the story.”
“Many Doors to Hell”
“This is about a female vampire who wants to be human again. She wants to feel what it's like to not just bite people in the neck, but to maybe kiss them or make love. Instead of the weird vampire orgasm of drinking blood and stuff, she wants to feel what it's like to be a woman again. She's fed up with living forever with dead people. So she's waiting for the moment when she can step outside. And that moment is when there's an eclipse. During the eclipse, she can go out and she can be human. And maybe there's a way back for her to be human permanently.”
“Rain on the Graves”
“The title is a phrase I’d written down 10 years before I actually wrote the song. I was in a part of England called the Lake District, a very beautiful area that lots of poets and artists lived in. William Wordsworth had a cottage there and wrote a lot of his best poetry there. He’s buried in the local church, which is where this wedding was that I was invited to, and I decided to find his grave. It was raining and really atmospheric, and I sat there for about 40 minutes just thinking about what an incredible creative mind he had. Years later, Roy and I decided to write this song, which is kind of like ‘Cross Road Blues’ by Robert Johnson, where he meets the devil, but instead of at a crossroads it takes place in a graveyard.”
“Resurrection Men”
“This one is related to the comic. The Resurrection Men are Professor Lazarus and Dr. Necropolis. While I was doing the beginning bit with these open guitar chords, I noticed the tremolo button on the amp. I went, ‘Hang on, what does this button do?’ It was the full-on Dick Dale surf sound, so I thought, ‘What would a Tarantino heavy metal opening sound like?’ So I played that on guitar. I thought Roy would redo it, but he decided to keep mine. And then I put the bongos on it later, because if you’ve got a Tarantino thing, you’ve got to have bongos on it as well.”
“Fingers in the Wounds”
“The fingers in the wounds are the stigmata of Christ. I think it was St. Francis who had the stigmata appear, which proved that he was holy. The song is about the wonderful world of influencers, but with a twist: What if Jesus came back as an influencer? Like, ‘Put your fingers in your iPhones, put your fingers in my wounds, I’ll sell you a piece of my cloth. I can sell pearls to oysters, feed them to swine.’ It’s the way that everything on the internet now is just degraded by trolls and idiots and fake news and all that stuff. And all these influencers are just worthless, fake people. What have they done in their lives to justify all these people following them around like little dogs? I hate all that. That’s why I’m not part of it.”
“Eternity Has Failed”
“Originally, it was entitled ‘If Eternity Should Fail.’ The title comes from a Doctor Strange episode. It was going to be the title track to the record, but then Maiden co-opted it onto their record. By the time I returned to it, I'd already got this idea for the comic series pretty well developed, so I thought I'd just tweak a couple of the words to make it reflect the story more. So we did that, and then stuck a few more bits on, like the flutes and percussion at the beginning that give it that spaghetti western type of feel. The last bit of spoken word is the last slide of episode one of the comic.”
“Mistress of Mercy”
“Who is the mistress of mercy? It’s music. I wrote this on acoustic guitar, but the middle bit, the funny little Jeff Beck-type guitar riff, I wrote on a keyboard. And then Roy played it on guitar. I wanted a mashup of something that was really thrashing, like some garage band going apeshit, along with the acoustic feel. The idea is that the music is the dominatrix. She holds you, pins you down, but you can’t help but adore her and love her. The ecstasy, the harmony, the melody drives you absolutely crazy. That’s what the song is about.”
“Face in the Mirror”
“This is a melancholy tune. It's about alcoholism, but also it's about the way people judge other people and judge themselves. It's sung from the point of view of somebody who is a drunk, but he's turning around and saying, ‘You're laughing at me because I'm lying on the ground, but when I hold my glass up, I can see right through you. I can see all your bullshit. I can see all your lies. You’re going to judge me because I’m an alcoholic, but take a look in my mirror, because you might see yourself as well.’”
“Shadow of the Gods”
“This one goes back to just after Tyranny of Souls. This and the title track from that album were written as a pair for a project that never happened called The Three Tremors, which was supposed to be three metal singers, like The Three Tenors in classical music. It was going to be me, Rob Halford, and Ronnie James Dio. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen because Ronnie passed away. So I recorded ‘A Tyranny of Souls’ for myself and then kept this one. When I revisited it, I put a couple references to the comic in it. There’s a part two-thirds of the way through that sounds very reminiscent of Judas Priest because that’s who was supposed to sing it.”
“Sonata (Immortal Beloved)”
“This is the oldest song on the record. It’s almost 25 years old. There’s a sample of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ running underneath the drum machine, so Roy and I were just calling it ‘Sonata’ for a while. Roy later told me it was inspired by the film Immortal Beloved. He went to the movies, came home, and pulled an all-nighter, layering keyboards and guitars just for the hell of it. When he sent it to me, I didn’t have any ideas, but I just gave it a try and what came out was about 80% of the vocal, including the spoken word. I just did it freestyle, with no notes or anything. I don’t think that’s happened to me ever again in that way, with that level of detail.”
With longtime producer and guitarist Roy Z, Dickinson wrote songs that tie in with the comic storyline, like “Afterglow of Ragnarok” and “Resurrection Men,” and others that are completely unrelated, like “Many Doors to Hell,” about a female vampire, and “Fingers in the Wounds,” which imagines Jesus resurrected as a social media influencer. And then there’s “Eternity Has Failed,” an earlier version of which was nicked by Iron Maiden for their 2015 album, The Book of Souls. Below, the singer details each track.
“Afterglow of Ragnarok”
“This is meant to be like a hallucination from mandrake juice. Dr. Necropolis is a brilliant scientist, and an orphan. He’s interested in bringing back his brother who died at birth. He’s wondering why he survived and his brother died. And he’s tortured by this voice in his head, which he assumes is his brother. The voice just says, ‘Save me,’ over and over. It hits Necropolis like a depression. He gets into drugs and sex magic and the occult to try and contact his brother and try to figure out a way to bring him back. That’s what drives him and propels him through the story.”
“Many Doors to Hell”
“This is about a female vampire who wants to be human again. She wants to feel what it's like to not just bite people in the neck, but to maybe kiss them or make love. Instead of the weird vampire orgasm of drinking blood and stuff, she wants to feel what it's like to be a woman again. She's fed up with living forever with dead people. So she's waiting for the moment when she can step outside. And that moment is when there's an eclipse. During the eclipse, she can go out and she can be human. And maybe there's a way back for her to be human permanently.”
“Rain on the Graves”
“The title is a phrase I’d written down 10 years before I actually wrote the song. I was in a part of England called the Lake District, a very beautiful area that lots of poets and artists lived in. William Wordsworth had a cottage there and wrote a lot of his best poetry there. He’s buried in the local church, which is where this wedding was that I was invited to, and I decided to find his grave. It was raining and really atmospheric, and I sat there for about 40 minutes just thinking about what an incredible creative mind he had. Years later, Roy and I decided to write this song, which is kind of like ‘Cross Road Blues’ by Robert Johnson, where he meets the devil, but instead of at a crossroads it takes place in a graveyard.”
“Resurrection Men”
“This one is related to the comic. The Resurrection Men are Professor Lazarus and Dr. Necropolis. While I was doing the beginning bit with these open guitar chords, I noticed the tremolo button on the amp. I went, ‘Hang on, what does this button do?’ It was the full-on Dick Dale surf sound, so I thought, ‘What would a Tarantino heavy metal opening sound like?’ So I played that on guitar. I thought Roy would redo it, but he decided to keep mine. And then I put the bongos on it later, because if you’ve got a Tarantino thing, you’ve got to have bongos on it as well.”
“Fingers in the Wounds”
“The fingers in the wounds are the stigmata of Christ. I think it was St. Francis who had the stigmata appear, which proved that he was holy. The song is about the wonderful world of influencers, but with a twist: What if Jesus came back as an influencer? Like, ‘Put your fingers in your iPhones, put your fingers in my wounds, I’ll sell you a piece of my cloth. I can sell pearls to oysters, feed them to swine.’ It’s the way that everything on the internet now is just degraded by trolls and idiots and fake news and all that stuff. And all these influencers are just worthless, fake people. What have they done in their lives to justify all these people following them around like little dogs? I hate all that. That’s why I’m not part of it.”
“Eternity Has Failed”
“Originally, it was entitled ‘If Eternity Should Fail.’ The title comes from a Doctor Strange episode. It was going to be the title track to the record, but then Maiden co-opted it onto their record. By the time I returned to it, I'd already got this idea for the comic series pretty well developed, so I thought I'd just tweak a couple of the words to make it reflect the story more. So we did that, and then stuck a few more bits on, like the flutes and percussion at the beginning that give it that spaghetti western type of feel. The last bit of spoken word is the last slide of episode one of the comic.”
“Mistress of Mercy”
“Who is the mistress of mercy? It’s music. I wrote this on acoustic guitar, but the middle bit, the funny little Jeff Beck-type guitar riff, I wrote on a keyboard. And then Roy played it on guitar. I wanted a mashup of something that was really thrashing, like some garage band going apeshit, along with the acoustic feel. The idea is that the music is the dominatrix. She holds you, pins you down, but you can’t help but adore her and love her. The ecstasy, the harmony, the melody drives you absolutely crazy. That’s what the song is about.”
“Face in the Mirror”
“This is a melancholy tune. It's about alcoholism, but also it's about the way people judge other people and judge themselves. It's sung from the point of view of somebody who is a drunk, but he's turning around and saying, ‘You're laughing at me because I'm lying on the ground, but when I hold my glass up, I can see right through you. I can see all your bullshit. I can see all your lies. You’re going to judge me because I’m an alcoholic, but take a look in my mirror, because you might see yourself as well.’”
“Shadow of the Gods”
“This one goes back to just after Tyranny of Souls. This and the title track from that album were written as a pair for a project that never happened called The Three Tremors, which was supposed to be three metal singers, like The Three Tenors in classical music. It was going to be me, Rob Halford, and Ronnie James Dio. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen because Ronnie passed away. So I recorded ‘A Tyranny of Souls’ for myself and then kept this one. When I revisited it, I put a couple references to the comic in it. There’s a part two-thirds of the way through that sounds very reminiscent of Judas Priest because that’s who was supposed to sing it.”
“Sonata (Immortal Beloved)”
“This is the oldest song on the record. It’s almost 25 years old. There’s a sample of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ running underneath the drum machine, so Roy and I were just calling it ‘Sonata’ for a while. Roy later told me it was inspired by the film Immortal Beloved. He went to the movies, came home, and pulled an all-nighter, layering keyboards and guitars just for the hell of it. When he sent it to me, I didn’t have any ideas, but I just gave it a try and what came out was about 80% of the vocal, including the spoken word. I just did it freestyle, with no notes or anything. I don’t think that’s happened to me ever again in that way, with that level of detail.”
Azas
Muted
I dunno, after hearing Maiden's version of the song about gazillion times (it's one of my reunion song favorites), Eternity Has Failed to me feels almost like a parody. There definitely are great parts (prominent keys, Bruce's repeating at the end Eternity Has Failed, etc.) but overall, so far I can't take this version of the song for serious. Cognitive dissonance of sorts.
Meliegree
Evening The Odds.
I like how short this album is. My copy is in the mailbox now so I will receive it tomorrow while shopping. Then I will dig into lyrics. However i must say that there is something about Bruce's artistic style that connect with me more than Maiden.
As fan of soundtracks in general - I like the sound of this album.
As fan of soundtracks in general - I like the sound of this album.
Azas
Muted
I wholeheartedly agree about Bruce's artistic style/lyrical themes/ideas being better/interesting than Maiden's. Steve, to some degree, has lost his lyrical mojo after 1988, imo. I will take TCW style lyrics instead of Steve's about religion and war any time of the day. From new Bruce's album: Many Doors To Hell, Resurrection Men, Fingers in the Wounds, Shadow of the Gods, Sonata are interesting.
TheMercenary
Ancient Mariner
Bruce Dickinson with the host of Planet Rock. 
MindlessPieces
Educated Fool
My favourite song on the album is Eternity has failed. No wonder Steve Harris wanted that song. Bruce's version is better than Maidens. I much prefer one less verse section and a longer instrumental/solo section. That very first high pitched note just lingers in the mind and is spectacular. The intro sounds so much more Japanese themed that the garbage tones that Maiden used on their Japanese themed album. The one negative with Bruce's version is the ending spoken words sound cut off/incomplete.
My second favourite song is Ressurection Men. It has a really neat story, I like the different parts, its like a very short and succinct Opus. Love the Flaminco style at the beginning and end, love the Black Sabbath style riff in the middle.
My third favourite song is Sonata, it's really cool, nice story again, with a king pining over the loss of his queen. Love the part where it says "Love has brought you here, and love will tear you apart" Love the spoken word parts.
What I like most about this album is the experimentation, the willingness to put so much variety in here rather than to just appease the narrow and limited tastes of many metalheads. Bruce's voice is spectacular, has a really interesting an unique tone and quality to it which is different to what I've heard from him before.
What I don't like is some of the doubled up layering in many of the choruses on Bruce's voice, and I don't like the videos that came with the singles.
My second favourite song is Ressurection Men. It has a really neat story, I like the different parts, its like a very short and succinct Opus. Love the Flaminco style at the beginning and end, love the Black Sabbath style riff in the middle.
My third favourite song is Sonata, it's really cool, nice story again, with a king pining over the loss of his queen. Love the part where it says "Love has brought you here, and love will tear you apart" Love the spoken word parts.
What I like most about this album is the experimentation, the willingness to put so much variety in here rather than to just appease the narrow and limited tastes of many metalheads. Bruce's voice is spectacular, has a really interesting an unique tone and quality to it which is different to what I've heard from him before.
What I don't like is some of the doubled up layering in many of the choruses on Bruce's voice, and I don't like the videos that came with the singles.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Picked up my deluxe CD of The Mandrake Project and the packaging is actually quite nice, including an oversized lyric booklet along with the roughly 8" square hardcover comic (which I have not yet read) – but, the CD itself is slipped into such a tight paper pocket that it’s really hard to get out of the sleeve. I was afraid I was going to rip the paper trying to get it out, as turning the book upside down and smacking it wasn’t getting the job done! Firm but careful grabbing of the disc finally won the day.
PhantomOfTheOpera
Ancient Mariner
PhantomOfTheOpera
Ancient Mariner
From Apple Music streaming, there are notes for many albums on the album pages.
PhantomOfTheOpera
Ancient Mariner
I have to say, it was actually this late time today that I finally have had time to listen to the album.
The first 2 singles/videos (AOR and ROTG) took few spins when they were released, and I was kinda scared now what if this album proves to be failure somehow? So it kinda left me wondering about the final album and how it will be.
Now that I have heard it in full for the first time, I have to say the album was better than what I expected when I was initially scared and cautious.
So based on just 1 listening I like it and waiting for further spins to even open more..
Seeing Bruce live in 3 months, so it will be excellent evening!
The first 2 singles/videos (AOR and ROTG) took few spins when they were released, and I was kinda scared now what if this album proves to be failure somehow? So it kinda left me wondering about the final album and how it will be.
Now that I have heard it in full for the first time, I have to say the album was better than what I expected when I was initially scared and cautious.
So based on just 1 listening I like it and waiting for further spins to even open more..
Seeing Bruce live in 3 months, so it will be excellent evening!
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
Thanks for sharing. Funny how Bruce says he wrote Rain on the Graves with Roy Z, yet the song is only credited to Dickinson on the album!
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
On my second listen I am finding the album less interesting than on the first one. My favourite track is Many Doors to Hell. The overhyped Sonata is really mediocre although it is great to hear Bruce’s late 90s voice again.
Oh well, let’s hope we don’t have to wait 19 years for the next solo album.
Oh well, let’s hope we don’t have to wait 19 years for the next solo album.
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Black Bart
Ancient Mariner
My only disappointment in browsing the collector's edition is that there is no mention of Merlin the Parrot and Sufi the Cat in the credits.
The_7th_one
Ancient Mariner
Listening for third time.
I can say it is a very good album but not complete in my opinion. I like the dark atmosphere the album has like the previous two albums Bruce shines in many of the songs but he sings like he would be jamming or recorded in one take and ok, that's it, next. Some melody line in the verses have lack of rehearsals and sounds too plains like Many Doors to Hell but the chorus are fine. Rain on the Graves is a good one with that killer riff. Resurrection men is one of my favorites. Fingers in the Wounds has Deep Purple vibes. Each song has a different vibe but into the same dark atmosphere. Eternity has failed has better effects than Maiden and here Roy Z dares with guitar solos and it has better arrangements. Mistress of Mercy is another favorite of mine, it has vibes to 'Freak' from Accident of Birth. However Face in the mirror is dull and it doesn't fit into the album (good lyrics but unisnspired melody in the verses and chorus and sounds like it was use the only 1 take recorded I think someone here said the vocals were recorded in 1 take, that's clear). Shadow of the Gods sounds to the Chemical Wedding (not just for the first line) and The Alchemist but is a good song. Sonata the melody lines are the same as Believil of Tyranny of Souls and The Alchemist, the end of the song is very good with Roy Z shining there.
I have enjoyed all the songs , very cinematic and atmospheric many of them. Except Face in the Mirror. (could have been better done). Some songs reminds to other previous works, some uninspired melodies in certain verses. The songs are catchy many of them, some of them with killer riffs. Bruce shines holding the notes but I have to say that he sounded me a little bit tired and strangled sometimes. Anyway the whole album is not a masterpiece for me but it's a very good album as a whole. Just one filler or poor worked (Face in the mirror).
Deluxe version on Apple Music just came with the 2 videoclips. It could be came with If Eternity should Fail Demo from the Ragnarok single. Fail.
I can say it is a very good album but not complete in my opinion. I like the dark atmosphere the album has like the previous two albums Bruce shines in many of the songs but he sings like he would be jamming or recorded in one take and ok, that's it, next. Some melody line in the verses have lack of rehearsals and sounds too plains like Many Doors to Hell but the chorus are fine. Rain on the Graves is a good one with that killer riff. Resurrection men is one of my favorites. Fingers in the Wounds has Deep Purple vibes. Each song has a different vibe but into the same dark atmosphere. Eternity has failed has better effects than Maiden and here Roy Z dares with guitar solos and it has better arrangements. Mistress of Mercy is another favorite of mine, it has vibes to 'Freak' from Accident of Birth. However Face in the mirror is dull and it doesn't fit into the album (good lyrics but unisnspired melody in the verses and chorus and sounds like it was use the only 1 take recorded I think someone here said the vocals were recorded in 1 take, that's clear). Shadow of the Gods sounds to the Chemical Wedding (not just for the first line) and The Alchemist but is a good song. Sonata the melody lines are the same as Believil of Tyranny of Souls and The Alchemist, the end of the song is very good with Roy Z shining there.
I have enjoyed all the songs , very cinematic and atmospheric many of them. Except Face in the Mirror. (could have been better done). Some songs reminds to other previous works, some uninspired melodies in certain verses. The songs are catchy many of them, some of them with killer riffs. Bruce shines holding the notes but I have to say that he sounded me a little bit tired and strangled sometimes. Anyway the whole album is not a masterpiece for me but it's a very good album as a whole. Just one filler or poor worked (Face in the mirror).
Deluxe version on Apple Music just came with the 2 videoclips. It could be came with If Eternity should Fail Demo from the Ragnarok single. Fail.
DJMayes
Ancient Mariner
Had my first listen tonight:
- Fingers in the Wounds is an early highlight;
- I'm really torn on Eternity Has Failed. The intro, verses, and chorus are all much weaker than the Maiden version for me, but the instrumental section is much better and it doesn't waste nearly as much time with the necropolis nonsense. My ideal version would likely be somewhere between the two.
- Shadow of the Gods is my favourite track here so far.
Overall I feel similarly about this album to pretty much every other one of Bruce's solo albums - it's enjoyable throughout and there are a couple of highlights but it's nothing special.
- Fingers in the Wounds is an early highlight;
- I'm really torn on Eternity Has Failed. The intro, verses, and chorus are all much weaker than the Maiden version for me, but the instrumental section is much better and it doesn't waste nearly as much time with the necropolis nonsense. My ideal version would likely be somewhere between the two.
- Shadow of the Gods is my favourite track here so far.
Overall I feel similarly about this album to pretty much every other one of Bruce's solo albums - it's enjoyable throughout and there are a couple of highlights but it's nothing special.
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
Merlin the Parrot is no more! It has ceased to be!