Bruce Dickinson

Poto said:
The real crime of Sonata is that it's boring.
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Because it's 10 minutes long and slow the whole time. This is a very specific and very theatrical song, and while there could have been more melodies, or solos, or activity, the dreamy vibe is presented quite well. Not sure if it would have if it was half its length. It would be a copy of Eternal then and we see that the ranking of a similar song like Face In The Mirror (which is half the length) are mixed. The song definitely won't appeal to every fan, it's one of a kind, that's why Bruce was hesitant to add it to the album - but its magic is the emotion. It's simple.
Poto said:
The best part about it is that Bruce's solo career is revived
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Plus, Bruce continues to make quality and interesting music, with ease, I'd say.
 
Kalata said:
Because it's 10 minutes long and slow the whole time. This is a very specific and very theatrical song, and while there could have been more melodies, or solos, or activity, the dreamy vibe is presented quite well. Not sure if it would have if it was half its length. It would be a copy of Eternal then and we see that the ranking of a similar song like Face In The Mirror (which is half the length) are mixed. The song definitely won't appeal to every fan, it's one of a kind, that's why Bruce was hesitant to add it to the album - but its magic is the emotion. It's simple.
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Its magic should have included some actual vocal compositions and a pitch check.
 
Helmuth Von Moltke said:
My turn now after I have listened to the album about ten times.

Afterglow: 7
Many Doors: 8
Rain on the Graves: 8
Resurrection Men: 6
Fingers: 6
Eternity: 6
Mistress: 7
Mirror: 6
Shadow: 8
Sonata: 4

I quite like the first three tracks but it goes downhill for me.

Eternity feels superfluous here. Sonata is dire.

Very average album with a few forgettable tracks.
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As of today, this is how I rate the different tracks:

Afterglow of Ragnarok: 6
Many Doors to Hell: 8
Rain on the Graves: 5
Resurrection Men: 3
Fingers in the Wounds: 5.5
Eternity has Failed: 6
Mistress of Mercy: 6.5
Face in the Mirror: 6
Shadow of the Gods: 8
Sonata: 1
 
Donner said:
Can anyone with any firm understanding of drumming confirm if there is in fact a real human playing drums on this album? Of all the sonic choices made for the base musical part of this album I think the drums have it the worst. Why do they sound super boomy like an electric kit or something? Sure I guess it's modern and whatnot, but I don't think it sounds natural at all.
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The drums sound is weird, even for a modern approach. It's like they're very low in the mix and can't shine (some songs really needed a better mix for them). They were recorded a long time ago now by Dave, iirc (maybe 2019), maybe in parts. We also saw his kit in the recent studio videos. Most of the drum parts are simple due to the style of the songs. The album definitely sounds better on headphones. But it doesn't have the organic sound of Maiden.

Songs with the best drumming on the album are imo: Eternity, Mistress and Ragnarok.
 
GhostofCain said:
As of today, this is how I rate the different tracks:

Afterglow of Ragnarok: 6
Many Doors to Hell: 8
Rain on the Graves: 5
Resurrection Men: 3
Fingers in the Wounds: 5.5
Eternity has Failed: 6
Mistress of Mercy: 6.5
Face in the Mirror: 6
Shadow of the Gods: 8
Sonata: 1
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Man, I cannot stand Sonata too. Where you able to listen to It without Falling asleep? Many Doors To Hell Is a very good simple, but effective, Shadow Of The Gods Is really solid, I like the heavy part, It sounds like something Tony Iommi Would have done. I like also Face In The morror, a Little ballad, "Change Of Heart Style", but that Song was a bit more catchy. Eternity Has Failed is cool even in this version, it's the best Song on the album and One of the best post Réunion Song by Maiden
 
Kalata said:
#2! Great achievement. I think all these good reviews and rankings will inspire Bruce to really continue with his solo career this time.
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I think it’s positive among the critics and mixed (with a slight tilt towards negative) among the fans
 
A real drummer is credited for the drums on the record, so I'm wondering what the hell went wrong for the end product to sound so digital and robotic. Was everything sample-replaced? Digital triggers? No idea, but it sounds awful.

As for Sonata: it's just a demo. There are some cool ideas in there, but it needed some serious editing, as in cut half the song because what we have is not enough to fill 10 minutes of music. The lyrics had the potential for an interesting story, but the music doesn't take advantage of that. There is no evolution.

Hell, time for a controversial take: The Angel And The Gambler, another song that is commonly seen as being too long and that shouldn't have been ten minutes long, has more variation and dynamics, and evolves more throughout its timespan than Sonata does.
 
Eddieson said:
Mandrake Project is tough. I feel like every time I listen to it I like it, and I feel like I should like it more as a whole, there are great individual songs and parts, but overall it feels a little disjointed. I sadly think it's in sixth place right now, but maybe it could climb a little when I've been sitting on it for a few more months. Except for 1 Chemical, 2 Skunkworks, and 7 Tattooed, the rest of the places are very close to each other!

1: The Chemical Wedding
2: Skunkworks
3: Tyranny Of Souls
4: Balls To Picasso
5: Accident Of Birth
6: The Mandrake Project
7: Tattooed Millionaire
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How dare you disrespect Tattooed Millionaire like that! :mad:
 
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Vaenyr said:
A real drummer is credited for the drums on the record, so I'm wondering what the hell went wrong for the end product to sound so digital and robotic. Was everything sample-replaced? Digital triggers? No idea, but it sounds awful.

As for Sonata: it's just a demo. There are some cool ideas in there, but it needed some serious editing, as in cut half the song because what we have is not enough to fill 10 minutes of music. The lyrics had the potential for an interesting story, but the music doesn't take advantage of that. There is no evolution.

Hell, time for a controversial take: The Angel And The Gambler, another song that is commonly seen as being too long and that shouldn't have been ten minutes long, has more variation and dynamics, and evolves more throughout its timespan than Sonata does.
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Fact, I fully enjoyed the single version of TAATG. FUN track
 
Kalata said:
#2! Great achievement. I think all these good reviews and rankings will inspire Bruce to really continue with his solo career this time.
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Good on Bruce although I dont know much about the charts these days. Do millenials even buy albums or just download sampled hip hop tracks and post stuff on Tiktok?
 
Now I have listened to it often enough and analysed it enough to contribute
my rating: 5/10

- Biggest Plus: Bruce has restarted his solo career
- Biggest Minus: Songs at a stage where the next round of reimagining, adding, deleting, correcting in my opinion should begin (no, not like Maiden where I can hear issues but not to that extent)
Mostly run-of the-mill guitar work. Adrian must be extremely busy if they couldn't even ask him to contribute a short solo like Chris Declercq and Gus G.
 
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