The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[WardySI]

They say strike while the iron is hot but unfortunately by the time of Tyranny it had been far too long between drinks.

Had Bruce not rejoined Maiden when he did and there was a follow-up solo from him a year or so after Chemical, there's every chance it could've been on par with CW (and Accident for that matter).

Personally if this new solo is as good as or close to Tyranny I will be happy.  Of course anything more will be huge 

[wolfking]

They say strike while the iron is hot but unfortunately by the time of Tyranny it had been far too long between drinks.

Had Bruce not rejoined Maiden when he did and there was a follow-up solo from him a year or so after Chemical, there's every chance it could've been on par with CW (and Accident for that matter).

Personally if this new solo is as good as or close to Tyranny I will be happy.  Of course anything more will be huge 

Yeah, this is good point mate.  I guess if the reunion didn't happen, there may have been able to keep the momentum going.

[TAC]

What makes Bruce's solo career great is that every album has a different style. Going from CW to ToS was a step back in originality (I'm not even sure that's the word I want to use, but I don't find it to stand on its own like every other Bruce album does) , so who knows where the next album would've gone.

[wolfking]

What makes Bruce's solo career great is that every album has a different style. Going from CW to ToS was a step back in originality (I'm not even sure that's the word I want to use, but I don't find it to stand on its own like every other Bruce album does) , so who knows where the next album would've gone.

I think the diversity in the albums makes TOS a bit safe.  AOB and CW were obviously the most similar out of the albums so far, but the quality makes that a non issue.

[TAC]

What makes Bruce's solo career great is that every album has a different style. Going from CW to ToS was a step back in originality (I'm not even sure that's the word I want to use, but I don't find it to stand on its own like every other Bruce album does) , so who knows where the next album would've gone.

I think the diversity in the albums makes TOS a bit safe.  AOB and CW were obviously the most similar out of the albums so far, but the quality makes that a non issue.

There's a straightforwardness about AOB and an epicness of CW, and they both stand on their own. Like you say, TOS is a bit safe.

[wolfking]

What makes Bruce's solo career great is that every album has a different style. Going from CW to ToS was a step back in originality (I'm not even sure that's the word I want to use, but I don't find it to stand on its own like every other Bruce album does) , so who knows where the next album would've gone.

I think the diversity in the albums makes TOS a bit safe.  AOB and CW were obviously the most similar out of the albums so far, but the quality makes that a non issue.

There's a straightforwardness about AOB and an epicness of CW, and they both stand on their own. Like you say, TOS is a bit safe.

i like that take.

[MirrorMask]

Yeah, Tyranny of Souls didn't reinvent the wheel, but where do I have to sign to have "safe albums" with songs up to par with the title track, Soul Intruders, Kill Devil Hill (note to Steve Harris: you can make an epic song without stretching it to 10 minutes) an Navigate the Seas of the Sun?

Also the oddball of the album, Devil on a Hog, is quite nice and catchy.

[Zydar]

I've always been a big fan of Abduction from that album.

[MirrorMask]

Yup, that's another great track. But in the end, all the album is  great, Believil is the only expendable and boring song.

Also, the japanese bonus track, Eternal, is fantastic and dreamy and Floyd-ish.

[wolfking]

Yup, that's another great track. But in the end, all the album is  great, Believil is the only expendable and boring song.

Also, the japanese bonus track, Eternal, is fantastic and dreamy and Floyd-ish.

Totally agree.  Eternal should have replaced Believil.

The title track is a top 10 Bruce track for me.....maybe top 5.

[Mladen]

I'm always saddened about the lack of appreciation for Skunkworks. 

[wolfking]

I'm always saddened about the lack of appreciation for Skunkworks. 

3rd best Bruce album after AOB and CW.

[Mladen]

I'm always saddened about the lack of appreciation for Skunkworks. 

3rd best Bruce album after AOB and CW.

Finally someone! I absolutely agree. 

[MirrorMask]

I'd still rank Tyranny of Souls behind the big two, and Skunkwors, Tattoed and Picasso are so different from each other that it's hard to rank them.

However I've always loved Skunkworks so, regardless of rankings, you won't find any crticism to the album from me  Innerspace and Solar Confinement, in an ideal world where Bruce tours relentlessly for each of his solo albums, should be setlist staples, but also Back from the Edge, Faith, Strange Death in Paradise and Inertia are great tracks. The whole album has a specific and unique vibe and is best enjoyed from start to finish.

[Stadler]

I love Skunkworks.

[Grappler]

  FREAK 

[WardySI]

+1

LOVE Skunkworks and Solar Confinement is badass! Probably a Top10 Bruce solo tune fer me 

Edited to add; Always subject to change but in no particular order...

Tears Of A Dragon
Darkside Of Aquarius
The Tower
Road To Hell
Return Of The King
The Magician
Solar Confinement
Soul Intruders
Chemical Wedding
Book Of Thel


DAMN! That was harder than expected 

[wolfking]

Nice mention of Return to the King.  Incredible bonus track.

[Mladen]

Nice to see some appreciation for Skunkworks. It's a really unique record for Bruce.

Come to think of it, the only album of his I dislike is Tattooed millionaire. He just didn't crack it yet.

[MirrorMask]

Come to think of it, the only album of his I dislike is Tattooed millionaire. He just didn't crack it yet.

The album starts with the best song, Son of a Gun, and goes quickly downhill after that. Title track and Born in '58 are cool but the second half of the record..... geeez.

Even the wacky B-Sides of the Balls to Picasso era are better than Zulu Lulu 

(Quick reminder: what we know as Balls to Picasso is the third attempt by Bruce to make his first solo record after leaving Iron Maiden, out of the many songs recorded for projects eventually scrapped, we can find some cool metal tracks like The Breeding House and No Way Out.... to be Continued, and some atrocities like Cadillac Gas Mask, listen at your own risk)

[cramx3]

Nice mention of Return to the King.  Incredible bonus track.

Yup, one of my favorite Bruce solo songs.  Also Silver Wings is another b-side type song that is incredible IMO.

Nice to see some appreciation for Skunkworks. It's a really unique record for Bruce.

Come to think of it, the only album of his I dislike is Tattooed millionaire. He just didn't crack it yet.

Yup.  I don't love Skunkworks, but there's some good stuff there including Solar Confinement (likely my favorite from the album).  Also yeah, Tattooed Millionaire is my least favorite Bruce album. 

[Mosh]

IMO the problem with Tyranny of Souls is that it was a side project that was quickly put together while Maiden was on a break. It's a different experience when Maiden is the main project compared to Chemical Wedding when his solo career was the main focus. There are some good songs on ToS but it doesn't have the same consistency or craft as the other Roy Z albums. I'll be curious to see how his approach differs on this one.

[wolfking]

Silver Wings would make make a Bruce top 10, it's like Aces High 2.0, brilliant.

Actually Bruce has some of the best b-sides/bonus tracks I have come across.  So much quality;

Return of the King
The Ghost of Cain
Winds of Change
Armchair Hero
The Breeding House
Both No Way Outs
Darkness Be My Friend
Acoustic Song

Plus more really great stuff.

[Zydar]

Is anyone up for doing a "Bruce Dickinson Top whatever" list? Someone who is familiar enough with his solo stuff. I'd be up for following along if so.

[Mladen]

I remember doing a Bruce Dickinson survivor a decade ago. It was fun. Maybe I should give some sort of a countdown a shot.

[wolfking]

I remember doing a Bruce Dickinson survivor a decade ago. It was fun. Maybe I should give some sort of a countdown a shot.

Yeah I remember that, had a decent following too from memory.

A countdown would be interesting.  Not sure I have the time though personally.

[wolfking]

https://blabbermouth.net/news/blaze-bayley-iron-maiden-is-the-most-important-heavy-metal-band-in-the-world

Blaze just saying some nice things about Maiden.  All class this guy.

[MirrorMask]

I remember doing a Bruce Dickinson survivor a decade ago. It was fun. Maybe I should give some sort of a countdown a shot.

I would be all in! 

We'd have to pass time somehow until The Mandrake Project drops, after all 

[MirrorMask]

Speaking of passing time, these talks about bonus tracks prompted me to imagine how the early albums could have taken form taking advantage of the extra songs created in that time.

So, without absolutely no one asking or needing this, here I bring you.... my own personal "ultimate editions" of the early albums!


TATTOED MILLIONAIRE Ultimate Edition

1.   Tattooed Millionaire   4:28
2.   Son of a Gun       5:55
3.   Hell on Wheels      3:39
4.   Born in '58       3:40
5.   Dive! Dive! Dive!   4:41

6.   Gypsy Road       4:02      
7.   Lickin' the Gun      3:17
8.   All the Young Dudes    3:50
9.   Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter (original version) 5:01
10.   Winds of Change   4:14
11.   No Lies         6:17

                    49:02


My rationale: even though Son of a Gun is the best song of the album to start off the record, it's weird to open an album with a slow piece, so I completely rearranged the order by having the fast song first, followed by the mellow song later.

I sacked Zulu Lulu and created a stronger second half of the record, including the original version of Bring your Daughter... and the excellent Winds of Change.

I would have also discarded Lickin' the Gun but there wasn't any other non-slow, original b-side to replace it with. Darkness Be My Friend is fantastic, but is totally out of place on the record so I didn't include it.


BALLS TO PICASSO Ultimate Edition

01.   Cyclops          7:58
02.   Hell No          5:11
03.   Gods of War       5:02
04.   1000 Points of Light   4:25
05.   The Breeding House   5:18
06.   Change of Heart       4:58

07.   No Way Out...To Be Continued   7:31
08.   Laughing in the Hiding Bush   4:20
09.   Shoot All the Clowns   4:24
10.   Fire Child               6:24
11.   Sacred Cowboys   3:53
12.   Tears of the Dragon   6:24

               66:48

My rationale: well, first of all, Balls to Picasso is fine as it is. It has a very unique style and there's no need to "metalize it" further. I can see why Bruce kept the most metal songs off the record, and they belonged to the projects before the Tribe of Gypsies came along anyway.

Having said that, and playing make believe, I strech out the album by including some amazing B-Sides: the epic, eerie No Way Out, the ballsy Breeding House, and the folk-ish Fire Child.

The original song Fire paid the price for it. I don't hate the song, I just find it expendable. Not a fan of Shoot All the Clowns either but it was a single and it has that funky vibe that only could have come from the Tribe so I kept it. The slightly rearranging of songs it was for better pacing and balancing.



SKUNKWORKS Ultimate Edition

1.   Space Race       3:47
2.   Back from the Edge   4:17
3.   Inertia          3:04
4.   Faith                  3:35
5.   Solar Confinement    3:20
6.   Re-entry               4:05
7.   Inside the Machine   3:28
8.   Dreamstate       3:50

9.   I Will Not Accept the Truth    3:45
10.   Armchair Hero       2:42
11.   God's Not Coming Back   2:16
12.   Rescue Day       4:09
13.   Meltdown               4:35
14.   Octavia          3:15
15.   Innerspace      3:31
16.   Strange Death in Paradise   4:50

                    58:27


I'll repeat the same things I said for Balls to Picasso: the album Skunkworks is fine as it is, the best B-Sides still sound a bit out of place and the lyrics don't match the overall vibes and themes of the album. Who cares, we're playing here.

And again, just like Fire on Balls to Picasso, I don't hate the song, but to keep an even number one song had to pay the price, so I took out Headswitch. Which are the songs that stretch out the album out and flesh it more? the excellent Re-Entry (at least a true slow piece for the album), the short and to-the-point Armchair Hero and God's Not Coming Back, and the grunge-y Rescue Day.

And once again, the re-arranging of the songs were made for a better overall pacing and alternance between faster songs and slower songs.

Fun fact: one of the lesser b-sides, an arguably forgettable song, is called R-101. The second attempt to write a song about that aircraft would have been slightly better.....


I didn't create the other albums alternate tracklists because there's not really that much to add: Ghost of Cain is the only original song to insert into Accident of Birth, and Chemical Wedding is a concept album so songs that don't fit the concept don't belong, sorry Return of the King, you're an absolutely fantastic and gorgeous songs. And Tyranny of Souls has Eternal as japanese bonus track, that's it.

EDIT: on my notepad file and even when I'm in Modify mode for the post, the running times are aligned, damn.

[Stadler]

Silver Wings would make make a Bruce top 10, it's like Aces High 2.0, brilliant.

Actually Bruce has some of the best b-sides/bonus tracks I have come across.  So much quality;

Return of the King
The Ghost of Cain
Winds of Change
Armchair Hero
The Breeding House
Both No Way Outs
Darkness Be My Friend
Acoustic Song

Plus more really great stuff.

I agree with this 100%

[Zydar]

Found an old Bruce Dickinson Top 30 thread from 2010 that GuineaPig did.

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=12119.0

Then wolfking shared his in the same thread.

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=12119.msg903916#msg903916

[wolfking]

Ha!  I had an inkling a couple if us did this.  13 years ago! 

[Glasser]

Is anyone up for doing a "Bruce Dickinson Top whatever" list? Someone who is familiar enough with his solo stuff. I'd be up for following along if so.

Maybe Samson along with his solo stuff? That would be cool.

[WardySI]

Would also be up for a TopSomething countdown thingy of Bruce

[nick_z]

Nice to see some appreciation for Skunkworks. It's a really unique record for Bruce.

Yep, count me in as a Skunkworks fan!