BRUCE DICKINSON - New Solo Album Title!

[Wyvern]

Drooling over the possibilities. I hope this is redemption from BNW and DOD (just my opinion, not starting a flame war) and a true follow up to TCW.

IRON MAIDEN fan site MaidenFans.com (www.maidenfans.com) reports that frontman BRUCE DICKINSON’s new solo album will be titled A Tyranny Of Souls, and will be released in Europe via a Spanish distribution company on May 23rd. It remains unknown if the rest of the world will get a simultaneous release.



Britain’s Classic Rock report, Bruce Dickinson's sixth studio album has now been mixed. A Tyranny Of Souls is the singer's first solo work since The Chemical Wedding in 1998 and his subsequent return to Iron Maiden. Overseen by Tribe of Gypsies guitarist Roy Z, who came to Dickinson having finished Priest's Angel of Retribution, it sees Bruce picking up where he left off seven years ago.



"With this album, Maiden were completely off my radar scope," he told Classic Rock at an exclusive preview of the album, due on May 23. "I was worried that I couldn't follow ...Wedding, which was a real statement of identity for me. It needed to be very heavy, which it is, but also to throw a few different elements into the mix."



Typically for Dickinson, the album was born in unusual circumstances. Having been supplied with a set of Roy Z riffs, the singer wrote the lyrics in various hotel rooms while touring with Maiden. The music and vocals were recorded at Roy's house - in a room containing just one bed. Bruce explains: "I'd ripped some muscles falling off stage and was in absolute agony. I had to lie down every few minutes."



Roy Z plays all the guitars, and an associate - secretively called Maestro Mysterioso - contributed the keyboard parts by email.



While Chemical Wedding was largely inspired by the occult science of alchemy, a loose theme of aviation and sci-fi binds together 'Kill Devil Hill', 'Abduction' and a number of others.



With summer commitments to Iron Maiden, it's unknown when Dickinson will find the time to play any solo dates. He says: "A few years ago, I did some summer festival gigs. That might be another window of opportunity."


Read also what Roy Z, the producer, has to say about the new Bruce album at http://forum.maidenfans.com/index.php?showtopic=7745

 

[desert_demon]

FANTASTIC NEWS!!! Bruce's solo stuff was way better than anything Maiden was doing at the time. The Chemical Wedding is a metal classic!

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

Hey Wyvern, you and I seem to have similar taste in music. Somehow I've glossed over Bruce's solo career with the exception of seeing him live with Vinnie Vincent on the Tatoo Millionaire tour. I've downloaded a few mp3s and I really like what I hear. The songs I've heard remind me of the Fear of the Dark and No Prayer for the Dying albums by Maiden (more mid-tempo, awesome melodies). Unlike many Maiden fans, I really enjoyed those two albums mainly because of the killer songwriting.

What album would you recommend starting with? I don't care how heavy or fast it is, I just want the album with the best songwriting -- catchy, melodic, and emotional.

 

[Wyvern]

I've downloaded a few mp3s and I really like what I hear. The songs I've heard remind me of the Fear of the Dark and No Prayer for the Dying albums by Maiden (more mid-tempo, awesome melodies).

What album would you recommend starting with? I don't care how heavy or fast it is, I just want the album with the best songwriting -- catchy, melodic, and emotional.

Oh no, in my opinion Bruce solo stuff goes light-years above Maiden stuff since SSOASS.

If you want to start building Bruce collection I can give two basic recommendations:

a) "Accident Of Birth": that album is the peak, a wonderful bear trap that starts witt some heavy non-Maiden stuf just to let you into 'Taking The Queen''and once there there is no escape. The songs afterwards are an orgasmic asphixia kind like syren's song for Ulysses. By the time you hit 'Arc of Space' tears must be running from your eyes...and you go to replay the album

b) "The Best Of Bruce Dickinson": the 2CD version have a good cover of all his material, plus some demos, live versions and unknown stuff. I have it for thse sake of completism and because I got it at single CD price at the time, so it worth it for the rare material ( 'Silver Wings', 'Broken', 'I'm In A Band With An Italian Drummer').

If you gor for (a) then you have to pick "The Chemical Wedding". If you get solid with him try afterwards "Balls To Picasso" and "Skunkwoks" (which I like a lot and is pretty underrated even by Bruce).

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

Thanks Wyvern, appreciate sharing your views and expertise. I was looking on Amazon at those Bruce albums and they are amazingly popular. Chemical Wedding is rated at 5 stars with 122 reviews! That almost never happens. Accident at Birth is 4.5 stars with 64 reviews. Apparently these albums are well thought of!

Now I have decisions to make as to where to start. Best of makes the most sense, but I don't care for best ofs or live tracks. I think I'll go with Chemical Wedding or Accident at Birth first. I am tempted to slip over to the dark side and just buy used versions (most are available around $5). I could get the whole Bruce collection for not much more than I'd pay for one at full price!

 

[SoundMaster]

Recent Bruce Dickinson solo IS better than post 1988 Maiden, IMO (although the last two records are stellar).



Anyway, Accident is a great place to start...it's his masterwork, followed closely by the amazing "Chemical Wedding".

Accident's has two of the BEST tunes Bruce has EVER sung on:

Darkside of Aquarius and Taking the Queen. These are epic masterpieces (not necessarily epic in length, but CLEARLY epic in songwriting).

 

[wdiv]

Chem Wed & Accident are killer! Picasso and Skunkworks are kinda forgetable.

 

[SickBoy]

Let's hope for the best...

 

[Igor_Cavalera]

Fuck yes!!!!
I can't wait for the next release from my favourite vocalist of all time!

It's kind of dissapointing that Adrian isn't on this one but I guess you can't have everything. I'm just so happy that the new album's nearly here!

TSO, you have to get "Accident Of Birth" it's one of my most favourite albums EVER.
And Wyvern described it beautifully.

In fact, I'm gunna put it on now. Bruce is a God!

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

Okay, you've all convinced me! I just ordered Accident of Birth. :hotjump: