Geoff Tate and JLB

[7thHanyou]

I would say Bruce Dickinson sounds like he did in his 20's. He's honestly the only singer I know whose voice virtually didn't change, and who retained his range while also retaining the same quality he's always had.

He sounds even better.

I can't think of one song in the last four records for which I could honestly say his voice sounds better than his best performances of the 80s.  I mean, I love Brave New World, Passchendale, The Longest Day, and When the Wild Wind Blows, and Bruce does a fantastic job on them, but I'm not sure the performance is comparable to, say, Hallowed Be Thy Name.

[TheGreatPretender]

I can't think of one song in the last four records for which I could honestly say his voice sounds better than his best performances of the 80s.  I mean, I love Brave New World, Passchendale, The Longest Day, and When the Wild Wind Blows, and Bruce does a fantastic job on them, but I'm not sure the performance is comparable to, say, Hallowed Be Thy Name.

Okay, but... Live.

[Ruba]

I would say Bruce Dickinson sounds like he did in his 20's. He's honestly the only singer I know whose voice virtually didn't change, and who retained his range while also retaining the same quality he's always had.

He sounds even better.

Hmmm... I don't think so. He was at his best in the middle of 90s, but has been slowly deteriorating since then. Though he was given too high parts on TFF (Mother of Mercy, The Talisman), so I'd like him to have a new solo album where he can get vocal lines which fit his voice better.

[TheGreatPretender]

Hmmm... I don't think so. He was at his best in the middle of 90s, but has been slowly deteriorating since then. Though he was given too high parts on TFF (Mother of Mercy, The Talisman), so I'd like him to have a new solo album where he can get vocal lines which fit his voice better.

He... Wasn't even IN Iron Maiden in the middle of 90s.

[Ruba]

He had a solo career.

[TheGreatPretender]

Are they any good? Musically, I mean. Vocally, I'll take your word that they're awesome.

[Zydar]

His solo stuff is great, both musically and vocally. IMHO much better than what Maiden did with Blaze while Bruce was gone.

[Ruba]

Yes. The two latter are metal, a bit heavier than Maiden, Skunkworks is sort of alternative rock. Also his earlier solo album, Balls to Picasso is very good. I recommend them very highly for any Iron Maiden fan.

[Scorpion]

Chemical Wedding is all kinds of awesome.

[PowerSlave]

Chemical Wedding is all kinds of awesome.

Best metal album of that decade. Anyone that is an IM fan and isn't aware of his solo work should be ashamed of themselves.

[TAC]

IMO, current era Bruce, for all of the miles on his voice, is excellent. Can he ever duplicate The Number Of The Beast or Piece Of Mind? Probably not, but Bruce sounded pretty rough there for a while. I would say from NPFTD through Balls To Picasso.  But somehere between Skunkworks and Accident At Birth, it seems like Bruce woke up and really rededicated himself to his craft.
Let's not overstate how good Bruce was in the 80's especially live. Those were long tours filled with consecutive nights. A lot of those shows, especially the Somewhere In Time shows sound very rough for Bruce.
I think he is still prone to having off nights, but what Bruce has been able to do at this point in his career, especially compared to Geoff Tate, is nothing short of incredible.

Back on Topic: I&W and O:M are two of the greatest vocal performances that these ears have ever heard.

[Cedar redaC]

Now Chris Collins on the Majesty Demos really sounded like Tate.

The gift we bring, your majesty, YAAAHHHHHH!!!!

[kirksnosehair]

Live.  Anybody can get touched up in the studio.  But let's be honest.  Years of singing kills the vocal chords and Geoff realy pounded it out over the years.  Nobody sounds like they did in their 20's.

Ah, okay. I've never seen Queensryche live, so I wouldn't know.

Also, umm.... Honestly? I would say Bruce Dickinson sounds like he did in his 20's. He's honestly the only singer I know whose voice virtually didn't change, and who retained his range while also retaining the same quality he's always had.

This is just....not true.  I saw Iron Maiden live less than 6 months ago and while I certain love them and admire Bruce Dickinson he's now a shadow of his 20's self in terms of his ability to deliver a consistent live vocal performance.

[kirksnosehair]

On topic:  I think the similarities between LaBrie and Tate are on par with the similarities between, um, a hammer and a duck.

[WildeSilas]

You have to hold your tongue right to hear it.

[Perpetual Change]

This is just....not true.  I saw Iron Maiden live less than 6 months ago and while I certain love them and admire Bruce Dickinson he's now a shadow of his 20's self in terms of his ability to deliver a consistent live vocal performance.

Yup. I saw Maiden on multiple reunion tours. He's shown some really prominent signs of wear on the last two. He was still pretty good up until A Matter of Life and Death, I think.

[PowerSlave]

This is just....not true.  I saw Iron Maiden live less than 6 months ago and while I certain love them and admire Bruce Dickinson he's now a shadow of his 20's self in terms of his ability to deliver a consistent live vocal performance.

Yup. I saw Maiden on multiple reunion tours. He's shown some really prominent signs of wear on the last two. He was still pretty good up until A Matter of Life and Death, I think.

What the man lacks in the vocal category he more than makes up with his energy and stage presence. As long as he can keep that part up then IM will continue to be worth the price of admission. Also, speaking of singers that kept the bar very high into their later years, Ronnie James Dio was still a powerhouse up til the end. I seen him with sabbath about a year before he passed away and he still sounded amazing.

[TAC]

Yes, Dio was great, especially in the last year, but he also took a huge step down in the 6-8 years preceeding his final year. I believe God gave him the strength vocally to go out the way he did.

[TheGreatPretender]

This is just....not true.  I saw Iron Maiden live less than 6 months ago and while I certain love them and admire Bruce Dickinson he's now a shadow of his 20's self in terms of his ability to deliver a consistent live vocal performance.

Well, I guess it could be that they're not picking the more difficult songs for the tour, like Aces High, etc. But all I know is that when I went to see them back in 2010, all the songs that they did play, he performed them almost flawlessly.

Plus I'm also talking about his whole vocal quality. His voice sounds the same as it did back in the 80's. To be fair, I thought that back in the 80's, his voice sounded like it belonged to someone way older than he actually was, but the point is, the quality stayed consistent, whereas with most singers, their vocal quality usually ages significantly enough that it often sounds very different. Geddy Lee is a major example of this.

[Mladen]

If anyone is into collecting Maiden bootlegs, please try to find a bootleg from Belgrade, Serbia, 2009. I saw them in this concert and, comparing it to other Maiden shows I've seen, different live albums over the years and various bootlegs I've heard, it's his best performance ever. And I mean ever.

Sorry for the offtopic.

[Perpetual Change]

This is just....not true.  I saw Iron Maiden live less than 6 months ago and while I certain love them and admire Bruce Dickinson he's now a shadow of his 20's self in terms of his ability to deliver a consistent live vocal performance.

Yup. I saw Maiden on multiple reunion tours. He's shown some really prominent signs of wear on the last two. He was still pretty good up until A Matter of Life and Death, I think.

What the man lacks in the vocal category he more than makes up with his energy and stage presence. As long as he can keep that part up then IM will continue to be worth the price of admission. Also, speaking of singers that kept the bar very high into their later years, Ronnie James Dio was still a powerhouse up til the end. I seen him with sabbath about a year before he passed away and he still sounded amazing.

I've got to disagree with you. The last time I saw Iron Maiden, I decided that I wasn't going to really bother with them anymore. I still love 'em, but they play so many of the same songs every time. And Bruce isn't getting better at singing them.

[PowerSlave]

This is just....not true.  I saw Iron Maiden live less than 6 months ago and while I certain love them and admire Bruce Dickinson he's now a shadow of his 20's self in terms of his ability to deliver a consistent live vocal performance.

Yup. I saw Maiden on multiple reunion tours. He's shown some really prominent signs of wear on the last two. He was still pretty good up until A Matter of Life and Death, I think.

What the man lacks in the vocal category he more than makes up with his energy and stage presence. As long as he can keep that part up then IM will continue to be worth the price of admission. Also, speaking of singers that kept the bar very high into their later years, Ronnie James Dio was still a powerhouse up til the end. I seen him with sabbath about a year before he passed away and he still sounded amazing.

I've got to disagree with you. The last time I saw Iron Maiden, I decided that I wasn't going to really bother with them anymore. I still love 'em, but they play so many of the same songs every time. And Bruce isn't getting better at singing them.

Yes, they do have a problem with not mixing up the setlist enough but, that wasn't really the point that I was making. My point is/was that for a man that's quickly approaching 60 years of age Bruce still gives you a helluva show each and every night. I don't think that it would be fair to expect anyone to be at the top of their game vocally beyond a certain amount of years. For him to be as close as he is performance-wise and still exibiting the amount of energy that he does is something that should be celebrated.

[Perpetual Change]

Okay, but just because Bruce still gives 100 percent of his effort doesn't mean he's as good as he was in the 80s, or even when he reunited with Maiden. He's not.

[PowerSlave]

Okay, but just because Bruce still gives 100 percent of his effort doesn't mean he's as good as he was in the 80s, or even when he reunited with Maiden. He's not.

I never made that claim. Others may have but, I can't speak for their opinion. However, I will say that he's a million times better now than he was from No Prayer through Balls. That's my opinion of course and that begins in the late 80's.

[Perpetual Change]

Yeah, I'd agree. Notwithstanding the fact he was really, really sick on the No Prayer tour. (IIRC)

[Samsara]

I'm probably the biggest Queensryche fan on this board, and to be frank - Tate and JLB sound nothing alike -- even in Tate's hay day.

I think Tate's operatic style was an influence on many tenor singers, JLB included. But the way JLB and Tate sing in terms of technique and delivery are completely different. As are their voices. Tate is horrendous now, but back say in the Mindcrime/Empire years, Tate had a much richer tone than JLB. JLB's voice is thinner.

I don't want to continue the off topic banter about Bruce Dickinson, but I will contribute this minor thought -- Bruce has lost range, but seeing him live, while I notice it, it doesn't detract from his performance because of the amount of energy he has and his interaction. He's completely into what he's doing when on stage. Tate, on the other hand, has lost all of his range, sounds horrendous, but still prances around the stage like a diva who can't back it up. Big, big difference.

I'm interested to see where Todd La Torre goes vocally and in a couple years, how that stacks up against a guy like Labrie...particularly if QR goes back to a progressive hard rock/metal sound for the next 15 years and I hope, four or five records to finish their career.

/off topic

[Lowdz]

What? Bruce sounds like he did in his prime? If it's not fan boy statement then what is it? Don't say it's reality. I don't mean he is not good anymore. Even though I don't like his voice and style I think he is really consistent trough the years but his live quality is never same as it used to be.

This. Thought I was going to have to be the one that breaks the bad news. Bruce sounds painful to listen to on the last album and certainly nowhere near how he did in the 80s. I don't expect him to either. He's still decent live, and it's not like it's an easy job.

Tate was the best for me in the 80s, JLB took over the mantle when GT didn't want it anymore. A singer smoking is career suicide and he's got what he deserved. Unfortunately he dragged the band down with him.

[Samsara]

Back on Topic: I&W and O:M are two of the greatest vocal performances that these ears have ever heard.

Agreed, TAC.

[slycordinator]

Interesting how views change so much relatively quickly.

Not too long ago I said that Bruce didn't sound as good as he did in his prime and everyone said I was wrong. They all mentioned having seen him give performances without any major problems or that he was fine, ignoring that giving a good performance is demonstrably not the same as giving one as good as your prime.