There's nothing bad about hard rock, but it's a different approach. Slower tempo, simpler instrumentation, sillier lyrics, and less heaviness and aggression than metal. Of all the heavy songs on Tyranny Of Souls, one of them stands out as not really fitting in, and it's for this reason.What is so bad about hard rock and how do you define it even.
My thoughts, exactly!"Eternal" feels more like a bonus track, regardless how good it is. "Devil on a Hog" and "Believil" is one of my favorite one/two punches in Bruce's discography.
Since we're there, my favourite from Skunkworks is "Inertia".
That was the first track I ever heard (and saw!) of this album. I got a half heart attack when he performed it with Alex, acoustically on Dutch television. Not because of the song. It was the first revealing of his short haircut!
Inertia is all right
Inertia is a great song.
powerful, emotional and bloody brilliant
majestic.
This song used to do nothing for me, and now it's finally clicked. It's catchy, and has its moments, but still doesn't beat the first 5 songs.
I'd be mad as hell if Gates of Urizen didn't make it to the Top 10. Underrated as hell, 4th in my Bruce rankings.
Gates of Urizen is great, but I don't even think it' in my top 4 off of Chemical Wedding, much less top 4 of Bruce's catalog. I mean, it's great, but when you're up against Jerusalem, King in Crimson, Book of Thel, The Alchemist, The Tower, and Trumpets of Jericho, it's hard to win.
'Gates of Urizen' is a top 10 Bruce song.
I second this.
Does anyone else hear 'Gates of Urizen' as 'Gates of Urinals'? No?
"Inertia" should be in the top 15.27: Inertia
Average Score: 8.15/10
Skunkworks 13/13
And so, at #27, it is Skunkworks and not Tattooed Millionaire that becomes the first album to bow out from our list. I genuinely don't get the Skunkworks hate, but the results of this are proof positive that people objected quite vocally at Bruce's take on alternative rock. In some ways, I think, it's fitting that the last song to go is the one that basically began the album. When Bruce went to Sarajevo, he had to get together a band. Upon their return, they created Skunkworks, which included "Inertia", a song about the horrors they had seen in that city. It's the song I'd introduce to people who want to know what the album's all about. It's dark, it's gloomy, it's a shockingly personal and overall well done album that I hope people will realize in years to come.
Choice comments:
Votes:
10 - 6
9 - 4
8 - 5
7 - 3
6 - 0
5 - 1
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 1
Overall:
27 - Inertia
28 - Power of the Sun
29 - River of No Return
30 - Eternal
31 - Back From The Edge
32 - Trumpets of Jericho
33 - Freak
34 - Soul Intruders
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:
Tattooed Millionaire 8/10
Balls To Picasso 8/10
Skunkworks 13/13
Accident of Birth 5/12
The Chemical Wedding 3/10
Tyranny of Souls 6/10
Bonus Tracks 27/31
What is wrong with you people??? Taking the queen???? It's such a beautifully poetic song. Bah, blasphemy...
And what's fucking wrong with Taking The Queen...the song is amongst Bruce's best?!
Return of the King is a great one too.
All the songs not in my personal top 20.
Return of the King:
You guys:
Cyclops has some good ideas, nice riffage, but it's too stretched, repetitive...
incredible
I am glad to see some mentions for Cyclops in this thread, which is a hideously underrated song. I still remember the first time I heard it, which was on Tom Russell's Friday Rock Show which was on from midnight till 2 in the morning. hehe It was before the album's release, and I remember how stunned I was when that monstrous riff first made it's appearance.... to say it was a shock after Tattooed Millionaire would be a massive understatement! lol I really can't imagine me ever making a top 10 list of Bruce songs without that song in it. It is a catchy song, but in a very dark way...
And I really love Cyclops. I never realized how much of a dreary, heavy song it was until I re-listened to the album last night.
I love all these songs left, except Cyclops
That's one of the best songs from AoB.
an excellent song.
Ghost of Cain is a great song.
Well, on the U.S. edition of the album it is an album track, sandwiched between "Welcome To The Pit" and "Omega". The album definitely flows better with this song in between, and it totally deserved to be on there.21: The Ghost of Cain
[...] Many would rather it be on the album than, say, "Welcome to the Pit".
Hmm, I think you forgot to increment this. In denial? LOL.Tattooed Millionaire 9/10
Geez, what's left -- "Broken" and "Silver Wings"? Kinda surprised "Broken" is still around.Bonus Tracks 29/31
This song one of my favorite on the whole album. It starts with some chords
and a main riff, hard to explain. "what do you want from me" is part of the
chorus lyrics. This is truly a fast paced song with typical Bruce Dickinson
instrumental and lyrically. And to my favorite part - The guitar solo -
I guess that it is Roy Z, because i recognize some of that material. Well,
all i can say is that it is a fast song just the way i like it
Abduction is fantastic
Abduction is a fairly standard opener, not bad, but not particularly great, if you know what I mean; it's a good, nice heavy metal song.
i love abduction
I liked Abduction
I like Abduction
Yep. Fixed!Hmm, I think you forgot to increment this. In denial? LOL.
Yeah... good song but definitely should've been lower. Higher than "Trumpets"? That's just blasphemy!Geez, what's left -- "Broken" and "Silver Wings"? Kinda surprised "Broken" is still around.