Bruce's Solo Discography Ranked - The Complete List

[Diesel 11]

Oh, did it grow? Because last time you couldn't pick a favorite among five or so.

It didn't grow, it just stood out most.

 

[Diesel 11]

39: Innerspace
Average Score: 7.8/10
Skunkworks 11/13

Third-highest song from Skunkworks is one of the ones I've always seemed to care about the least. Weird.

Choice comments:

Man, Innerspace is the most metal track from the album. Pounding drums, full force distorted rhythm guitars,
More important, this track is very catchy, especially because of the excellent melodies and solo.

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 5
9 - 3
8 - 6
7 - 2
6 - 1
5 - 2
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 1

Overall:

Spoiler

39 - Innerspace
40 - Strange Death In Paradise
41 - Laughing in the Hiding Bush
42 - Wicker Man
43 - Space Race
44 - Solar Confinement
45 - Machine Men
46 - Killing Floor
47 - The Magician
48 - Devil on a Hog
49 - Acoustic Song
50 - Welcome To The Pit
51 - No Way Out... Continued
52 - Gods of War
53 - Faith
54 - No Way Out... To Be Continued
55 - Sacred Cowboys
56 - 1000 Points of Light
57 - Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter
58 - Hell No
59 - All The Young Dudes
60 - Inside The Machine
61 - Real World
62 - Winds of Change
63 - Meltdown
64 - Gypsy Road
65 - Fire Child
66 - Shoot All The Clowns
67 - Octavia
68 - Dreamstate
69 - Hell On Wheels
70 - Fire
71 - Believil
72 - I Will Not Accept The Truth
73 - Mars Within
74 - Armchair Hero
75 - Toltec 7 Arrival
76 - God's Not Coming Back
77 - Darkness Be My Friend
78 - Confeos
79 - Headswitch
80 - Dive! Dive! Dive!
81 - Rescue Day
82 - No Lies
83 - Re-Entry
84 - Midnight Jam
85 - Over And Out
86 - Dracula
87 - Cadillac Gas Mask
88 - Tibet
89 - Elvis Has Left The Building
90 - Americans Are Behind
91 - Lickin' the Gun
92 - R 101
93 - Ballad of Mutt
94 - Zulu Lulu
95 - The Post Alternative Seattle Fall Out
96 - I'm In A Band With An Italian Drummer

Albums:

Spoiler

Tattooed Millionaire 7/10
Balls To Picasso 7/10
Skunkworks 11/13
Accident of Birth 3/12
The Chemical Wedding 2/10
Tyranny of Souls 3/10
Bonus Tracks 25/31

 

[Jer]

So the bozo outlier who keeps giving all these Skunkworks songs a 1 rating is bringing their average down by ~0.36 points, which makes them roughly 10 spots lower on the list than they otherwise would be.

Once this is all over it would be interesting to see what the final lists would look like if you threw out the highest and lowest individual votes for each entry.

 

[Number 6]

I had a terribly hard time remembering/figuring out who you were because of the avatar.

 

[Jer]

I had a terribly hard time remembering/figuring out who you were because of the avatar.

LOL. If it's that confusing I can go back to Trump The Hutt and Princess Melania...

 

[Number 6]

LOL. If it's that confusing I can go back to Trump The Hutt and Princess Melania...

Oh no, no need to! It was just a little confusing at first. But, after all, everybody (myself included) changes avatars. Besides, I just woke up.

 

[Diesel 11]

LOL. If it's that confusing I can go back to Trump The Hutt and Princess Melania...

I like your new one much better. Even in parodies I don’t usually enjoy seeing hideousness.

So the bozo outlier who keeps giving all these Skunkworks songs a 1 rating is bringing their average down by ~0.36 points, which makes them roughly 10 spots lower on the list than they otherwise would be.

Once this is all over it would be interesting to see what the final lists would look like if you threw out the highest and lowest individual votes for each entry.

Yeah if you wanna do that, go for it. Would be very interesting.

 

[Jer]

Yeah if you wanna do that, go for it. Would be very interesting.

Sure, I can give it a whirl when the time comes.

 

[Diesel 11]

38: Starchildren
Average Score: 7.86/10
Accident of Birth 4/10

AOB's opening trio of "Freak" / "Toltec 7 Arrival" / "Starchildren" is widely liked by many, but the individual songs aren't as high as others. Which is okay. "Starchildren" actually has a nice ranking, though it's interesting to see "Freak" come up ahead; "Starchildren" feels like such a monster I'd have thought it'd be higher than the album's opener. Still, no complaints. Both songs ranked fairly accurately and I'm still not sure which I prefer.

Choice comments:

heavy-as-bulldozer

'Starchildren' is easily my favourite song from 'Accident Of Birth'. That's why it's still in my Bruce top ten song list.

cool track

average

That's it, it really kickstarts the album, after a not-so-stellar start with Freak and some ambient instrumental

That instrumental section is awesome. So much tension and groove. Starchildren is excellent.

Catchy and well built.

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 2
9 - 4
8 - 7
7 - 6
6 - 1
5 - 1
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

38 - Starchildren
39 - Innerspace
40 - Strange Death In Paradise
41 - Laughing in the Hiding Bush
42 - Wicker Man
43 - Space Race
44 - Solar Confinement
45 - Machine Men
46 - Killing Floor
47 - The Magician
48 - Devil on a Hog
49 - Acoustic Song
50 - Welcome To The Pit
51 - No Way Out... Continued
52 - Gods of War
53 - Faith
54 - No Way Out... To Be Continued
55 - Sacred Cowboys
56 - 1000 Points of Light
57 - Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter
58 - Hell No
59 - All The Young Dudes
60 - Inside The Machine
61 - Real World
62 - Winds of Change
63 - Meltdown
64 - Gypsy Road
65 - Fire Child
66 - Shoot All The Clowns
67 - Octavia
68 - Dreamstate
69 - Hell On Wheels
70 - Fire
71 - Believil
72 - I Will Not Accept The Truth
73 - Mars Within
74 - Armchair Hero
75 - Toltec 7 Arrival
76 - God's Not Coming Back
77 - Darkness Be My Friend
78 - Confeos
79 - Headswitch
80 - Dive! Dive! Dive!
81 - Rescue Day
82 - No Lies
83 - Re-Entry
84 - Midnight Jam
85 - Over And Out
86 - Dracula
87 - Cadillac Gas Mask
88 - Tibet
89 - Elvis Has Left The Building
90 - Americans Are Behind
91 - Lickin' the Gun
92 - R 101
93 - Ballad of Mutt
94 - Zulu Lulu
95 - The Post Alternative Seattle Fall Out
96 - I'm In A Band With An Italian Drummer

Albums:

Spoiler

Tattooed Millionaire 7/10
Balls To Picasso 7/10
Skunkworks 11/13
Accident of Birth 4/12
The Chemical Wedding 2/10
Tyranny of Souls 3/10
Bonus Tracks 25/31

 

[Diesel 11]

37: The Breeding House
Average Score: 7.86/10
Bonus Tracks 26/10

Tying with "Starchildren" but getting a higher score because it received more 10s, the other Foro classic hits the list. "The Breeding House" is too good for a B-side, but that only makes it more special. Tackling the subject of Unit 731, the Japanese prison camp whose evil doings were covered up by the American government in exchange for scientific information, it's extremely metal, has an incredible riff, and Bruce is at the top of his game here. It's not exactly his most well-known song, but 731 isn't the most widely-known thing itself; many people forget that the Japanese did some horrible things too, thanks to the prominence of Das Dritte Reich. At any rate, it's an awesome song, and its subject matter is extremely weighty. One of my personal favorites, and a song that Forostar has often brought to the attention of those who don't check out the non-album tracks. Which is great, because this song deserves to be heard more. Incredible song.

Interesting to note: Despite being a non-album track, I think I dredged up the most quotes for it than I've done for any other song yet. People love to talk about "The Breeding House", and that makes me very happy because, even if they may not like it as much as some, like me, do, it means they're at least giving it a listen. And that's the most important thing of all.

Choice comments:

This is a great song, I don't know why they made it a B'side...

I still remember the day that I heard the CD-single of “Tears of the Dragon” for the first time. No way I expected that b-sides could be as strong as these two! I like Shadow’s pick almost as much as this one, but “The Breeding House” has some nice melodic guitar lines that rock! I also like the “nasty” interval with the “Come to see the carnival, come to witness fear…” lyric. I never understood why these tracks didn’t land on Balls to Picasso.

Very nice song, has some Maiden elements, with more updated production

The Breeding House is great

I'd take The Breeding House over most of Bruce's discography.

brilliant bonus track

Great musically, plus a compelling lyric. (I'd never heard of Unit 731 before the song. Disturbing stuff.)

Breeding House is alright, but nowhere near as good as the really good songs on BTP.

I'm loving "The Breeding house". How did that not make it on the album?

Breeding House is good but seems to be in a different direction than the rest of the album, which is probably why it got cut. Sometimes a better song gets left off the album for the sake of cohesion.

Just heard breeding house for the 1st time. Decent tune, some great parts, reminds me of some gary moore tune (a good thing). But aye, doesnt fit with the rest of Balls and has an unfinishee feel. And also some of terrible lyrics, really terrible lyrics.

among the bonus tracks we find perhaps the two strongest songs to not be included on an album proper - The Breeding House and Fire Child.

Curious to see how far "The Breeding House" has gone.

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 6
9 - 1
8 - 7
7 - 3
6 - 2
5 - 0
4 - 1
3 - 1
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

37 - The Breeding House
38 - Starchildren
39 - Innerspace
40 - Strange Death In Paradise
41 - Laughing in the Hiding Bush
42 - Wicker Man
43 - Space Race
44 - Solar Confinement
45 - Machine Men
46 - Killing Floor
47 - The Magician
48 - Devil on a Hog
49 - Acoustic Song
50 - Welcome To The Pit
51 - No Way Out... Continued
52 - Gods of War
53 - Faith
54 - No Way Out... To Be Continued
55 - Sacred Cowboys
56 - 1000 Points of Light
57 - Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter
58 - Hell No
59 - All The Young Dudes
60 - Inside The Machine
61 - Real World
62 - Winds of Change
63 - Meltdown
64 - Gypsy Road
65 - Fire Child
66 - Shoot All The Clowns
67 - Octavia
68 - Dreamstate
69 - Hell On Wheels
70 - Fire
71 - Believil
72 - I Will Not Accept The Truth
73 - Mars Within
74 - Armchair Hero
75 - Toltec 7 Arrival
76 - God's Not Coming Back
77 - Darkness Be My Friend
78 - Confeos
79 - Headswitch
80 - Dive! Dive! Dive!
81 - Rescue Day
82 - No Lies
83 - Re-Entry
84 - Midnight Jam
85 - Over And Out
86 - Dracula
87 - Cadillac Gas Mask
88 - Tibet
89 - Elvis Has Left The Building
90 - Americans Are Behind
91 - Lickin' the Gun
92 - R 101
93 - Ballad of Mutt
94 - Zulu Lulu
95 - The Post Alternative Seattle Fall Out
96 - I'm In A Band With An Italian Drummer

Albums:

Spoiler

Tattooed Millionaire 7/10
Balls To Picasso 7/10
Skunkworks 11/13
Accident of Birth 4/12
The Chemical Wedding 2/10
Tyranny of Souls 3/10
Bonus Tracks 26/31

 

[frus]

Noooo these two are so much better than that! Love both

 

[Number 6]

"The Breeding House" is a forgotten masterpiece. A hidden diamond in Bruce's discography.

 

[mckindog]

Catching up here.

I get that Devil on a Hog appeals to very particular taste (mine) and that we are now to a point where there are a lot of good songs to choose from.
But Solar Confinement is ridiculously underrated.

And the excrable Laughing in the Hiding Bush occupying similar territory to gems like Starchildren and the Wicker Man?

The Breeding House has everything you could hope for from a metal song.
Could be top 10 for me and certainly top 25.

 

[Diesel 11]

36: Change of Heart
Average Score: 7.86/10
Balls To Picasso 8/10

I know @Jer has been stressing over where this one placed. I'm sorry to have disappointed you so long. "Change of Heart", a little ballad which I and many others enjoy, is the third-highest song from BTP on this list. I'm just as surprised as you are. I'm also surprised at how high it's ranked, but I'm fine with it. Also, if it looks like we just had a three-way tie here, we didn't. "Starchildren" and "The Breeding House" had their average score rounded-up.

Choice comments:

An emotionally powerful, atmospheric slow songs.

well... it's a great, great song. On certain days, in a certain mood, that would find it's way into my top 10! lol

I'll be there, cats in your tears
before they fall to the ground.

"Change Of Heart" has some cringeworthy parts

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 2
9 - 4
8 - 9
7 - 5
6 - 1
5 - 0
4 - 1
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

36 - Change of Heart
37 - The Breeding House
38 - Starchildren
39 - Innerspace
40 - Strange Death In Paradise
41 - Laughing in the Hiding Bush
42 - Wicker Man
43 - Space Race
44 - Solar Confinement
45 - Machine Men
46 - Killing Floor
47 - The Magician
48 - Devil on a Hog
49 - Acoustic Song
50 - Welcome To The Pit
51 - No Way Out... Continued
52 - Gods of War
53 - Faith
54 - No Way Out... To Be Continued
55 - Sacred Cowboys
56 - 1000 Points of Light
57 - Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter
58 - Hell No
59 - All The Young Dudes
60 - Inside The Machine
61 - Real World
62 - Winds of Change
63 - Meltdown
64 - Gypsy Road
65 - Fire Child
66 - Shoot All The Clowns
67 - Octavia
68 - Dreamstate
69 - Hell On Wheels
70 - Fire
71 - Believil
72 - I Will Not Accept The Truth
73 - Mars Within
74 - Armchair Hero
75 - Toltec 7 Arrival
76 - God's Not Coming Back
77 - Darkness Be My Friend
78 - Confeos
79 - Headswitch
80 - Dive! Dive! Dive!
81 - Rescue Day
82 - No Lies
83 - Re-Entry
84 - Midnight Jam
85 - Over And Out
86 - Dracula
87 - Cadillac Gas Mask
88 - Tibet
89 - Elvis Has Left The Building
90 - Americans Are Behind
91 - Lickin' the Gun
92 - R 101
93 - Ballad of Mutt
94 - Zulu Lulu
95 - The Post Alternative Seattle Fall Out
96 - I'm In A Band With An Italian Drummer

Albums:

Spoiler

Tattooed Millionaire 7/10
Balls To Picasso 8/10
Skunkworks 11/13
Accident of Birth 4/12
The Chemical Wedding 2/10
Tyranny of Souls 3/10
Bonus Tracks 26/31

 

[Jer]

36: Change of Heart
Average Score: 7.86/10
Balls To Picasso 8/10

I know @Jer has been stressing over where this one placed. I'm sorry to have disappointed you so long.

LOL. Based on your earlier comment I was afraid it was going to crack the top 10! 36 is a number I can live with. Like I said before, it's not a bad song, it just has some cringeworthy parts and isn't on the same level as his better work. The lyrics are a bit trite, and that "oh I need your love so bad" during the final fade out makes me want to stick an icepick in my ear, but I've heard much worse.

 

[Diesel 11]

the top 10

Speaking of which, how do you guys think the Top 10 is gonna turn out, given we've eliminated so many already?

 

[Jer]

Speaking of which, how do you guys think the Top 10 is gonna turn out, given we've eliminated so many already?

It's a great question. I think "Darkside Of Aquarius", "Book Of Thel", "The Tower", "Tears Of The Dragon", and "Kill Devil Hill" are pretty much guaranteed to be up there. The other slots will probably be filled with songs from Accident Of Birth and The Chemical Wedding, though a little part of me hopes that "Eternal" will find a way to squeak in there.

 

[Diesel 11]

On another note, this is shockingly awesome:

 

[Diesel 11]

35: Son of a Gun
Average Score: 7.9/10
Tattooed Millionaire 8/10

Holy was the preacher
Riding on his rig of steel in the rising sun
This was no grim reaper
Just a man with a smile who took a pride in a job well done
Oh, in a blood red sunrise
He's preaching conversion as you lay down and DIE, DIE, DIE!!!​

Tattooed Millionaire opens with a piece that never fails to send chills. Wasn't my favorite when I first heard it, but it really has grown. I don't think anyone should've been surprised by the top 3 from TM (though maybe by the order). "Son of a Gun" is an awesome song, but TM's two highest are also awesome. Also, this has the distinction of being @Number 6 's least favorite album track from Bruce. Go figure.

Choice comments:

Son of a Gun was the only song I like from this album. I also like it better than every song off of No Prayer, which was a big deal back then.

Best song here is Son of a Gun

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 3
9 - 4
8 - 5
7 - 6
6 - 0
5 - 2
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

35 - Son of a Gun
36 - Change of Heart
37 - The Breeding House
38 - Starchildren
39 - Innerspace
40 - Strange Death In Paradise
41 - Laughing in the Hiding Bush
42 - Wicker Man
43 - Space Race
44 - Solar Confinement
45 - Machine Men
46 - Killing Floor
47 - The Magician
48 - Devil on a Hog
49 - Acoustic Song
50 - Welcome To The Pit
51 - No Way Out... Continued
52 - Gods of War
53 - Faith
54 - No Way Out... To Be Continued
55 - Sacred Cowboys
56 - 1000 Points of Light
57 - Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter
58 - Hell No
59 - All The Young Dudes
60 - Inside The Machine
61 - Real World
62 - Winds of Change
63 - Meltdown
64 - Gypsy Road
65 - Fire Child
66 - Shoot All The Clowns
67 - Octavia
68 - Dreamstate
69 - Hell On Wheels
70 - Fire
71 - Believil
72 - I Will Not Accept The Truth
73 - Mars Within
74 - Armchair Hero
75 - Toltec 7 Arrival
76 - God's Not Coming Back
77 - Darkness Be My Friend
78 - Confeos
79 - Headswitch
80 - Dive! Dive! Dive!
81 - Rescue Day
82 - No Lies
83 - Re-Entry
84 - Midnight Jam
85 - Over And Out
86 - Dracula
87 - Cadillac Gas Mask
88 - Tibet
89 - Elvis Has Left The Building
90 - Americans Are Behind
91 - Lickin' the Gun
92 - R 101
93 - Ballad of Mutt
94 - Zulu Lulu
95 - The Post Alternative Seattle Fall Out
96 - I'm In A Band With An Italian Drummer

Albums:

Spoiler

Tattooed Millionaire 8/10
Balls To Picasso 8/10
Skunkworks 11/13
Accident of Birth 4/12
The Chemical Wedding 2/10
Tyranny of Souls 3/10
Bonus Tracks 26/31

 

[Number 6]

I think it's boring, pointless and goes on for far too long. "Tattooed Millionaire" would've been a much better opener; "Son of a Gun" should've been scrapped off the album. Honestly, I'm surprised it's actually generally considered one of the album's best. The chorus is the only good thing about it.