Such a hugely disappointing album for me. It sounds like exactly what it is: A collection of half baked ideas pulled together from a scrap book covering two decades. Despite having lyrically thematic constants between several songs, the all over the place song writing and production makes it feel like a long lost third disc from "The Best of Bruce Dickinson".
So here's my ranking:
10. Face in the Mirror (1/10)
9. Sonata (Immortal beloved) (1/10)
8. Rain on the graves (2/10)
7. Mistress of mercy (4/10)
6. Fingers in the wounds (5/10)
5. Resurrection Men (5/10)
4. Many doors to hell (7/10)
3. Shadow of the Gods (7/10)
2. Afterglow of Ragnarok (7/10)
1. Eternity has failed (8/10)
Face in the Mirror is an absolute embarrassment. The insipid music, the trite lyrics unconvincingly and insincerely coming via Bruce's voice, the school talent contest bland delivery, the boring and simplistic arrangement and structure... Honestly I'd take Accoustic Song or anything from the Keith Olsen sessions over this.
Sonata is just a jumble of ad-libbed floaty jammy nonsense. Apparently it was Leana's idea to put it on the record. Well done, Yoko.
Rain on the Graves and Mistress of Mercy are rather plodding nothing fillers, although the latter I like more for bringing in the Skunkworks vibe.
Fingers in the Wounds is alright, but unlike Maiden it seems to reach the Arabic sounding part through force rather than organically, like they stitched a different song to it.
Resurrection Men could have been classic Accident of Birth material, if it wasn't for Roy convincing Bruce it needed a chunk of seventies Black Sabbath to bring it crashing down in the middle. It's like your mum walking in on you when you're about to climax and the whole ending is ruined.
Many Doors to Hell sounds like an Adrian Smith B-side which instantly makes it better than 60% of the album.
Shadow of the Gods gives me Omega vibes, but it's pulled down by the 2000's shouty "world of the dead" part, and the generally cheesy lyrics ("I need a necromancer").
Afterglow of Ragnarok sounds almost like Classic Bruce Solo Material except for the overbearing and muddy production.
Eternity has Failed can't hold a candle to the Maiden version. It has some nice sound effects and a bigger vocal section, but really misses that second verse and the solos are a bit superfluous. Still can't help being a well written song, though.
