what do you expect of a new Bruce Dickinson solo album?

____no5 said:
Tyranny of Souls is good album, but it always felt rushed to me. I'd like an approach like Chemical Wedding more on the poetic side.
Something like taken out of Milton's Paradise Lost, this kind of stuff. If an inspiring concept is there the music will follow and it will be great. Bruce has the potential to present a comprehensive solution, i.e. rich booklet filled with stories, or an interesting rock opera. Though not sure he has the passion for music anymore the way Adrian and Steve have. So in the end even if I wish for an enhanced Chemical Wedding I do expect a reprise of Tyranny of Souls.
Click to expand...

My thoughts too.
 
srfc said:
Laughing at the idea Roy has any say in the matter given it's nearly two decades since the last half assed album was thrown out, with Bruce lying on his back singing in the two weeks he allowed for recording.
Click to expand...
Wasn’t he lying down because he had fallen off a stage and it was the only way he could sing comfortably?
 
I remember something like that from an interview in a magazine. His ribs hurt like hell, he had to rest inbetween songs too. What a beast.
 
srfc said:
But, it's hardly an opportune way to record an album, and I imagine if it was a priority the recording would have been delayed until he was fit rather than squeezed in.
Click to expand...
I feel the same. I still can't believe that Bruce not only wanted to record the vocals right away but got it all done in 3 days with broken ribs.
And what’s more, he picked literally the first 10 out of 20 song ideas to work on for TOS in the same order that Roy had sent him in the first place, which I assume was also due to time constraints on his part from the very beginning.
 
Zubeley said:
And what’s more, he picked literally the first 10 out of 20 song ideas to work on for TOS in the same order that Roy had sent him in the first place, which I assume was also due to time constraints on his part from the very beginning.
Click to expand...
I didn't know that. Now I'm really curious about the unused songs. TOS is such a fantastic album.
 
Kalata said:
I didn't know that. Now I'm really curious about the unused songs. TOS is such a fantastic album.
Click to expand...
And we can't rule out the possibility that Roy saved the best for last... Poor Z :D

By the way, the source is this podcast episode (dated April 8, 2021) where Roy recounts all kinds of things including Tribe of Gypsies, meeting and working with Bruce, Adrian, Rob H, and so on. TOS part starts at around 34:00.
metalmayhemroc.podbean.com

Roy Z- From Writing n Jamming with Solo Bruce Dickinson to Working with HALFORD and Producing Reunion Judas Priest - A true Heavy Metal Fairy Tale | Metal Mayhem ROC: Your go to source for everything metal.

Good evening #metalheads! We have a VERY fun and informative show for you. For the last 20 years, Metal Forever Mark has been good friends with Roy Z, a veteran metal guitarist and contributing writer of Bruce Dickinson's solo material from 1996-2005. Tonight, Roy Z shared on how he and Bruce...
metalmayhemroc.podbean.com metalmayhemroc.podbean.com
 
Iron Lurker said:
Senjutsu sounds fine to me. Best production since BNW. I know it's not the "modern metal" sound that everyone seems to do these days but I like it
Click to expand...
For the most part Senjutsu sounds great to me. My only issue is with Bruce’s vocals. Some songs he sounds buried in the mix and I find myself turning up the volume to hear what he’s singing and then turning down again on the following song.
 
AncientMariner_Essex said:
For the most part Senjutsu sounds great to me. My only issue is with Bruce’s vocals. Some songs he sounds buried in the mix and I find myself turning up the volume to hear what he’s singing and then turning down again on the following song.
Click to expand...
True, you are correct about the vocals, they do get muddy at times.
 
Jer said:
I think it will be a lot like Tyranny Of Souls — all Roy, no Adrian. Half a concept album per recent interviews with Bruce. Probably not much progginess, though I’d expect a couple of somewhat longer (>6 minute) songs, since we’ll already have “If Eternity Should Fail”, and Roy usually does 1 or 2 slightly longer songs per album.
Click to expand...
Pretty much what I’m expecting as well. A good album but no Accident or Chemical wedding
 
Zubeley said:
I feel the same. I still can't believe that Bruce not only wanted to record the vocals right away but got it all done in 3 days with broken ribs.
And what’s more, he picked literally the first 10 out of 20 song ideas to work on for TOS in the same order that Roy had sent him in the first place, which I assume was also due to time constraints on his part from the very beginning.
Click to expand...
I'm not that surprised: I still like TOS a lot but it clearly feels (to me at least) less conscientious than The Chemical Wedding or Skunkworks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jer
I'm expecting the same as most here--something in the vein of Tyranny of Souls. Might end up being a bit rushed, since it sounds like he gave himself 3 weeks in LA to finish it up (or just demos for the 2nd half?), but we'll see. It could turn out great, but overall I think we're lucky to be getting another studio album from Bruce at all. I found it incredible how he (relatively, when compared with other aspects of his life) glossed over his solo career in his autobiography, so I do wonder how much his solo career means to him nowadays considering it (financially, not creatively) failed.

All in all, a new Bruce solo album makes me a happy clam. I'm amazed he's back at it after leaving it in that sad, half-demoed purgatory for years, since so many other things have seemed to have taken priority in his life.
 
Last edited:
I've never heard any of the solo projects.
Are there any of the solo albums - by anyone from the band - as good or better than the band's?
 
el diablo said:
I've never heard any of the solo projects.
Are there any of the solo albums - by anyone from the band - as good or better than the band's?
Click to expand...
Yes. Most people consider Dickinson’s Accident Of Birth and The Chemical Wedding on par with Maiden’s higher-end work. Adrian Smith is a band member on both of those. Skunkworks, Tyranny Of Souls, and even Balls To Picasso have a lot of fans, too.

Smith’s solo work is more polarizing, but it’s also more eclectic. He’s done a heavy AOR album (A.S.A.P. - Silver And Gold), a grungy album (Psycho Motel - Welcome To The World), a few bluesy hard rock albums (Psycho Motel - State Of Mind, both Smith/Kotzen albums), and a very heavy rock album with a rougher vocalist (Primal Rock Rebellion - Awoken Broken). Depending on people’s tastes they may really like some and not like others. I like all of his solo work, but Welcome To The World and Awoken Broken are probably his best from my perspective, and they’re better than most of Maiden’s albums to me.

I haven’t listened to Harris’s solo albums.
 
el diablo said:
I've never heard any of the solo projects.
Are there any of the solo albums - by anyone from the band - as good or better than the band's?
Click to expand...

Yeap, I second Jer. Chemical Wedding & Accident of Birth are better than many Maiden albums. Chemical Wedding is breathtaking. Take this masterpiece for one:

Book of Thel is based on the work of English romantic-era poet William Blake
 
CA Bryers said:
Might end up being a bit rushed, since it sounds like he gave himself 3 weeks in LA to finish it up (or just demos for the 2nd half?), but we'll see.
Click to expand...
Rushed? He started writing for the album since 2015 (plus he is still writing more songs) and definitely will not finish the album during those 2-3 weeks in LA (he said that in an interview, iirc).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top