After finally getting to experience Bruce Dickinson live performing his solo stuff in front of a packed and brilliant Barrowlands crowd, I just had to post a ranking of all his solo albums.
For those not in the know, Bruce Dickinson is the famed vocalist of the legendary band Iron Maiden. Since 1990 he has released 7 studio albums including March this year where he released his first solo effort since 2005. The man is my all time favorite musician to the point where I've even got his signature tattoed onto my left arm. He is most indeed worthy of the ranking list. Let's begin.
7. Skunkworks (1996)
As the story goes; Bruce wanted his solo project to be called Skunkworks but the record company refused and insisted his name be forefront to keep the bucks rolling in. I do feel kind of bad for putting this one last as it's a good album but just the weakest of all unfortunately. I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this as I'd avoided it for a good while but it is worth a look in my opinion.
Most likely due to the time of the album's release, Bruce goes for a more grunge rock kind of sound than the traditional metal he was known for and it does work well in places like lead single 'Back From the Edge' and stomper 'Headswitch'. The main issue is that it has 13 total songs which is just way too much and the sound doesn't vary as much as I would like it to, leading to a few of the tracks blurring together after a while. It definitely peaks with the first few tracks and doesn't quite reach that level again.
Still it's worth a look.
Rating 7/10
Recommended Tracks: 'Back From the Edge', 'Headswitch', 'Inertia'
6. Tattooed Millionaire (1990)
Here we have Bruce's first solo release and you can kind of tell with how all over the place it can be at times. At the time, Bruce was still with Maiden but it was at a tense time when creative differences were affecting the quality of the work released and that pretty much bled into this release.
Still overall I do enjoy this album and it's one I can have in the background whilst I chill out as he's going for a more classic rock vibe as he tries to figure out his own sound. The title track is fantastic and catchy as hell, and the more energetic tracks like 'Gypsy Road' really carry the weight here. There's even a sweet little cover of the Mott the Hooples 'All the Young Dudes' that I quite enjoy.
It's really only the last 3 tracks that let the whole thing down with 'Lickin the Gun' sounding like a bad Aersosmith track, and closer 'No Lies' disappointing.
Rating: 7/10
Recommended Tracks: 'Tattooed Millionaire', 'Gypsy Road', 'Born in 58'
5. Balls to Picasso (1994)
This was Bruce's first solo release after leaving Maiden in 1993. With this one you do get a sense of the sound he wants to go for but there are still a few flaws that need to be ironed out.
Like with the past few entries there are a few filler tracks that can likely be skipped, but unlike with those albums, this one has some Bruce all timers on show. You can't talk about this album without talking about 'Tears of the Dragon' which would fit perfectly on any classic Maiden album and is likely the best solo track Bruce ever released. It's beauty can't be described without hearing it for yourself, and having the privilege to hear it played live recently was an almost religious experience for me.
Outside of that you do have some bangers to go along with it, so this is an easy recommndation from me.
Rating: 7.5/10
Recommended Tracks: 'Tears of the Dragon', 'Laughing in the Hiding Bush', 'Gods of War'
4. Tyranny of Souls (2005)
Now we're hitting the truly 'great' albums in the discography. Bruce had been back in Maiden for 5 years at this point and with the morale in the band being high at the time, it seems to have had a positive effect on Bruce's work as well.
There's only one kind of meh track in 'Believel' but the rest are all worth checking out for sure. 'Abduction' is a thrashy masterpiece (sounds amazing live as well), 'Navigate the Seas of the Sun' is the accoustic track Maiden wishes they'd written, and the title track makes for an epic closer.
Fantastic stuff.
Rating: 9/10
Recommended Tracks: 'Abduction', 'Navigate the Seas of the Sun', 'A Tyranny of Souls'
3. The Mandrake Project (2024)
I didn't think I'd be putting this one this high but here we are. Released 19 years after 'Tyranny of Souls' the expectations were kind of all over the place, but Bruce proved he could put out a modern classic outside of the Maiden machine.
'Afterglow of Ragnarok' was the first single and taste of what was to come and ended up being the perfect comeback track with an epic riff and even more epic chorus. This was followed by 'Rain on the Graves' which has a nice satanic, classic blues feel to it. 'Eternity Has Failed' is pretty much a redo of Iron Maiden's 'If Eternity Should Fail' from 2015, but surprisingly I much prefer Bruce's version as it just has a much sinister tone and has some of my favorite instrumental moments I've heard all year.
My only real issue is the dull final track that goes on way too long for my liking, but everything else on offer is so good that it easily makes up for it. If Judas Priest hadn't released 'Invincible Shield', 'The Mandrake Project' would be my pick for best album of 2024 so far.
Rating: 9/10
Recommended Tracks: 'Afterflow of Ragnarok', 'Fingers in the Wounds', 'Mistress of Mercy'
2. Accident of Birth (1997)
If this album was released by any other artist it would probably be considered their best but this is Bruce Dickinson we're talking about here. This is his first truly excellent album and he never really looked back after this. This is the Bruce we all needed after he left Maiden. It also helps that he has Adrian Smith on guitar who had also left Maiden by this time.
I really don't have much in the way of negatives except that track 'Welcome to the Pit' doesn't really match up to the rest but that's about it. From furious opener 'Freak' to beautiful closer 'Arc of Space' this is just balls to the wall heavy metal as it was meant to be heard. This one comes highly recommended. But there is still one better...
Rating: 9.5/10
Recommended Tracks: 'Darkside of Aquarius', 'Road to Hell', 'Man of Sorrows', 'Accident of Birth', 'Omega'
1. The Chemical Wedding (1998)
I can't tell you how much I adore this album and hold it in high regards with some of Maiden's best ever releases.
The worst track here is 'Trumpets of Jericho' and even that's a banger! Really there's so much to love here from the heavy as hell opener 'King in Crimson' to the absolutely gorgeous closer in 'The Alchemist' which in itself brings the album full circle back to the title track in a way that almost brings me to tears everytime I hear it. You want all of this. I need all of this.
Rating: 10/10
Recommended tracks: All of them
Thanks once again for reading! I did wonder where to look next, but with Bring Me The Horizon releasing their anticipated new album out of nowhere, I think I know what I need to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment