Bruce Dickinson
Accident of Birth
Reviewed by Scott Shemo
A fiery return to old-school form for this seasoned wailer, with collaborator/producer extraordinaire Roy Z kindling a formidable series of smoldering and timeless riffs. Propelled by the first-rate rhythms of bassist Eddie Casillas and drummer Dave Ingraham, Accident of Birth is further stoked by the playing and songwriting contributions of once-and-future Maiden fret wizard Adrian Smith. The result is nothing less than a rumbling, NWOBHM-haunted masterwork. Dickinsons previous album, Skunkworks, mined a modern rock vein, and was marked by a level of soul-baring known to leave some artists spiritually drained. Yet our friend Bruno sounds invigorated from his time off the beaten path, roaring through traditional gothic songscapes with anthems as demonically tuneful and fiercely literate as any in his long career. Freak, Road to Hell, Darkside of Aquarius, The Magician, The Ghost of Cain, Starchildren, and a brimstone-spewing title track shape the black and smoking hulk of this multileveled monolith, with more contemplative tunes such as Man of Sorrows, Arc of Space, and an exceptionally rendered Taking the Queen comprising the finer latticework. Infidels be warned, this record slams the sepulcher lid home with a thunderous crash on every Poison, Warrant, and Firehouse album of the past 15 years. In fact, it makes you sorry you ever heard of those huckleberries in the first place. Matchedand many would argue surpassedin the waning hours of the millennium only by Dickinson himself, who would go on to forge his legendary follow-up, The Chemical Wedding, in 1998.
