The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[cramx3]

Tried to get into the Live Nation presale for Chicago and Ticketbastard is not playing nice. Stupid queue is in play and they text me the code, I enter it and then it tells me something went wrong on their end. Tried a few times and gave up.

I got a random email from Ticketmaster about a presale today, so I bought a ticket.  Section 103, lower bowl, in the corner.  I've actually never sat in this section before.  I was really pissed that there were no seats available in the two sections on each side of the 100 level.  I felt like those were being held back for some other presale.  At least I'm going, and it's definitely a smaller arena than when I saw them last year at the United Center and was so damn high up.  Plus it's a shorter drive for me.

Yeah, this has been the worst ticket buying experience for IM via the fan club.  I've done this for just about every US tour recently and have always got either the floor eats or solid lower bowl tickets.  I didn't see any good lower bowl seats available for the fan club presale.  I did notice they had some really good lower bowl seats available yesterday with the livenation presale but the prices were jacked from platinum pricing so they were listed for double the price of the floor.

Waiting on tickets may not end up being the worst thing here, especially if you are flexible.  I expected better seats to be available.  I'm not mad about the price I paid for the seats I did get, I'm just annoyed I didn't even get an opportunity for something better at face value via the fan club. 

[kaos2900]

Tried to get into the Live Nation presale for Chicago and Ticketbastard is not playing nice. Stupid queue is in play and they text me the code, I enter it and then it tells me something went wrong on their end. Tried a few times and gave up.

I got a random email from Ticketmaster about a presale today, so I bought a ticket.  Section 103, lower bowl, in the corner.  I've actually never sat in this section before.  I was really pissed that there were no seats available in the two sections on each side of the 100 level.  I felt like those were being held back for some other presale.  At least I'm going, and it's definitely a smaller arena than when I saw them last year at the United Center and was so damn high up.  Plus it's a shorter drive for me.

Yeah, this has been the worst ticket buying experience for IM via the fan club.  I've done this for just about every US tour recently and have always got either the floor eats or solid lower bowl tickets.  I didn't see any good lower bowl seats available for the fan club presale.  I did notice they had some really good lower bowl seats available yesterday with the livenation presale but the prices were jacked from platinum pricing so they were listed for double the price of the floor.

Waiting on tickets may not end up being the worst thing here, especially if you are flexible.  I expected better seats to be available.  I'm not mad about the price I paid for the seats I did get, I'm just annoyed I didn't even get an opportunity for something better at face value via the fan club.

I had the same issue with ticketbastard. Logged in and ready to go and then I have to authenticate again and it says multiple times that the code was invalid. This was all in the mobile app so I switched over to web and got the code via email and it worked. Cost me a minute which was about 100 spots in line.

I will say that the cost to join the Iron Maiden fan club was a cheaper than it was in the past since they're no longer doing physical mailings. Still disappointed to see the higher tiered tickets as that has not happened before. I wonder if that was their decision. Oh well, still got decent seats and this could be the last show I get to see of them.

I really don't understand how most people can afford these arena shows now a days. Hopefully the artists are getting the majority of this inflation cost for tickets.

[cramx3]

I really don't understand how most people can afford these arena shows now a days. Hopefully the artists are getting the majority of this inflation cost for tickets.

I go to quite a bit, but not every band is Maiden where I'm more vested in getting the best seats.  So many bands I'm good scoring whatever cheap day of event ticket I can get to save myself a lot of money.

[TAC]

  I'm not mad about the price I paid for the seats I did get, I'm just annoyed I didn't even get an opportunity for something better at face value via the fan club.

Totally this. I mean, you're already paying the fan club fee, which is nothing more than a surcharge for a promise to get tickets early.

[devieira73]

Stranger in a Strange Land live (only audio):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEEm61impBY&t=360s

[Grappler]

Stranger in a Strange Land live (only audio):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEEm61impBY&t=360s

I'm more excited to hear this song live than I am Alexander the Great.  I fucking love this one and the band sounds awesome. 

[devieira73]

https://www.ironmaiden666.com.br/2023/11/bruce-dickinson-afterglow-of-ragnarok-single-vinyl-7.html?fbclid=IwAR35BaLTvycw61DgmD8HfW4QeLOPTE4l9E2G10YVcBdUg7xL6VPQo5rCzeQ&m=1
Bruce's new single in December 1st, with If Eternity Should Fail as Bside.

[porcacultor]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzRhIbstNfc/

An ARG?

[MirrorMask]

Many european dates announced for Bruce, including two italian ones 

The band will be:

Bruce
Roy Z
Tanya O'Callaghan (bass)
Dave Moreno (Drums)
Mistheria (keyboards) (didn't he play on Tyranny of Souls?)

[devieira73]

Dave e Mistheria played on Tyranny.
No Adrian?

[MirrorMask]

We can only assume he's not there; his presence would basically be the biggest news of the tour alongside with the actual tour dates, the names I wrote come from an image posted on Instagram by the Maiden account, if his name is not there, it's very unlikely that they'll keep him a surprise.

[devieira73]

Agreed. Still it's strange to not have a second guitar player.

[cramx3]

Many european dates announced for Bruce, including two italian ones 

The band will be:

Bruce
Roy Z
Tanya O'Callaghan (bass)
Dave Moreno (Drums)
Mistheria (keyboards) (didn't he play on Tyranny of Souls?)

Had to google it, but Tanya sounded familiar, and yeah, she was or is the new bassist for Whitesnake, but their farewell tour fell apart two years ago so I guess she's doing this now.  Cool.  I hope they announce US dates.  Really want to see a Bruce show. 

[MirrorMask]

Behold! the video for Afterglow of Ragnarok is here!!! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yulfvacpvTc&ab_channel=BruceDickinson

[porcacultor]

Boy, I knew the grooviness of Chemical Wedding had gone the way of the dodo without Dave Ingram on drums (and wasn't present in Tyranny of Souls in the first place), but could this have been any more, well, generic "contemporary metal"?

Not bad per se, but I'm kind of bummed at how Bruce's vocals and the rest of the instrumental don't match up rhythm-wise. It's "close enough", but Roy could've either edited it better or just asked Bruce for some re-takes... or perhaps not doing that is the reason why they've been partners for so long 

Anyway, cool beans! Would've also loved to have Bruce louder in the mix (it's his show after all), but he seems pleased to invest everything on the story aspect, so good for him.

Sorry for sounding like a negative nelly, I'm still pumped for the album.

[TAC]

Ooh, I dig it!

[wolfking]

Not sure what I think of it after one listen to be honest.  Could be a grower.  No real solo though which was interesting.

[cramx3]

Yeah, Bruce is a bit low in this mix and sounds a bit off, at least in the beginning with maybe using an effect or its layered vocals?

Decent song, but doesn't really blow me away on one listen, but my friend texted me saying it sucks and it definitely doesn't suck.

[wolfking]

At first I did think....'err....this kinda blows,' but by the end it got upgraded to a 'solid.'

[ozzy554]

I think it's fine. Might be one of those songs that makes more sense in the context of the full album. Not a bad song or anything I just expected something a bit more dynamic for the first single.

[wolfking]

The riff is beyond generic and a bit awkward too.  Not sure I actually like it.  I probably won't listen again until the album anyway.

[cramx3]

I thought the riff was good

[DTwwbwMP]

Hope the rest of album is BETTER than this. Total meh! It's ok, but I expect more from Bruce.
Oh, and WTF are the North American tour dates?

[devieira73]

I liked the song, very in line with Tyranny of Souls, that I also like a lot, although not as much as the excellents Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding. Someone commented about Dave's drumming and I agree, he had a better/more interesting groove.

[wolfking]

I liked the song, very in line with Tyranny of Souls, that I also like a lot, although not as much as the excellents Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding. Someone commented about Dave's drumming and I agree, he had a better/more interesting groove.

Such a class, underrated drummer.

[devieira73]

I liked the song, very in line with Tyranny of Souls, that I also like a lot, although not as much as the excellents Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding. Someone commented about Dave's drumming and I agree, he had a better/more interesting groove.

Such a class, underrated drummer.

I agree, a lot of really cool drumming on those albums!

[TAC]

I liked the song, very in line with Tyranny of Souls, that I also like a lot, although not as much as the excellents Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding. Someone commented about Dave's drumming and I agree, he had a better/more interesting groove.

Such a class, underrated drummer.

 

[Grappler]

It's a cool song - ridiculously heavy and doomy.  I think it's a MASSIVE riff.  Just a big, sludgy riff o'doom.  I was expecting a faster-paced song for a first single, but I like how different it is.  Bruce sounds amazing, like always, though his vocals do lay back in the mix.

He has a really heavy vocal right at the end - I'm not sure if I've ever heard him sing like that before.

I think my favorite thing about his recent solo efforts is that they tend to be heavier than Maiden, which suits his voice really well.  Maiden has a shitload of melody in the guitars, where the riffs on his last 3 albums have a ton of crunch and hit you like a bag of hammers. 

[porcacultor]

Sorry for briefly deviating from the Bruce track, but something incredible just happened.

Simon Gallup from The Cure played the opening bass riff from DEATH OF THE CELTS at the end of one of their songs live in Argentina. Right at the 7-minute mark https://youtu.be/4dQcBYM0lbY

What are the odds??

[Mladen]

Sorry for briefly deviating from the Bruce track, but something incredible just happened.

Simon Gallup from The Cure played the opening bass riff from DEATH OF THE CELTS at the end of one of their songs live in Argentina. Right at the 7-minute mark https://youtu.be/4dQcBYM0lbY

What are the odds??

That was an odd crossover indeed. 

I still haven't heard Bruce's single, but I'm a bit apprehensive now that I'm reading the comments. 

[MirrorMask]

Cover art and tracklist:



01. Afterglow Of Ragnarok (05.45)
02. Many Doors To Hell (04.48)
03. Rain On The Graves (05.05)
04. Resurrection Men (06.24)
05. Fingers In The Wounds (03.39)
06. Eternity Has Failed (06.59)
07. Mistress Of Mercy (05.08)
08. Face In The Mirror (04.08)
09. Shadow Of The Gods (07.02)
10. Sonata (Immortal Beloved) (09.51)

Is track 6 is the answer to the opening track of Book of Souls? 

The two longest songs are the last two, I'm very curious about Sonata 

[wolfking]

What a crap cover.

Good to see he is still including Eternity on this one.  I was wondering if it was eventually going to get scraped after using it with Maiden.  I wonder how different it will be.

[Zantera]

Artwork is pretty meh but I'm hyped for it. I honestly think Bruce's solo output is a bit underrated and I would probably even take it over Maiden's output (if you compare the timelines from when Bruce solo started and until it took a hiatus). Chemical Wedding to me is in that same ballpark as the classic Maiden run (quality-wise) and he has a couple other albums that are terrific as well. I know a lot of people would be quick to add Accident of Birth, for me Skunkworks is one I hold very close to my heart. It's different, it's a bit less metal and has more of the 90s Soundgarden/Smashing Pumpkins type vibe, but as someone who loves 90s alternative rock, it hits a spot for me. I also liked Tyranny of Souls a lot, so I'm excited for this.

[MirrorMask]

Bruce had two trilogies of albums: the experimental ones, and the metal ones.

The experimental ones have a lot of hidden gems, it gladdens me to find Skunkworks fans and also Balls to Picasso had great songs and in some cases, even greater B-sides and leftovers. Tattoed Millionaire is kinda weak but it has at least a masterpiece (Son of a Gun).

The metal albums are two absolute masterpieces, one being considered one of the best modern metal albums of all time (at least all the time that starts from 1990 onwards), and a very decent and solid one.

All in all, I say it's a very solid, and diversified, solo carrer. Let's see how the Mandrake Project will round it up!

[soupytwist]

Ouch at that font!