Bruce Dickinson

Bruce Dickinson – The Mandrake Project Review

Bruce Dickinson – The Mandrake Project Review

“Between 1996 and 1998 Bruce put out two solo albums that were as good or better than anything Maiden had done since 1988. Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding were tremendous albums with Bruce at his very best. He seemed way more inspired and adventurous as a solo artist than he was as part of 90s-era Maiden, and I wanted him to keep doing his thing. We all know how it worked out in the end. Bruce went back to Maiden and his solo career took a backseat. We now dwell in the Senjutsu era and there hasn’t been a Dickinson solo project since 2005. That all changed last week when Bruce dropped his brand new solo platter, The Mandrake Project.” Cheers of the dragon.

Goblins Blade – Of Angels and Snakes Review

Goblins Blade – Of Angels and Snakes Review

“I don’t know what prompted me to grab this debut album from Goblins Blade. It could be that I was sick of all the prog I listened to this month. It could be that I wanted to save the world from another Holdeneye 4.0. Or it could be that the lack of an apostrophe in this band name made me cringe enough to want to write about it. Regardless, here we sit with my first power metal review of the year, and with promo blurb name drops like Judas Priest and Metal Church, I am cautiously optimistic.” The problem with goblins.

Yer Metal Is Olde: Monster Magnet – Powertrip

Yer Metal Is Olde: Monster Magnet – Powertrip

“A little while ago I talked about how 1998 was not a great year for metal. Some loyal thralls disagreed with me, but you know what? I was right. However, I should add to that point the fact that, while 1998 wasn’t a great year, when the music was good it was really good. Bruce Dickinson, Opeth, Blind Guardian, and Iced Earth all released great albums, as did a few other bands I’m sure will surface (again) in the comments here. And yeah, I suppose King Diamond could be included. Not to be overlooked in all of this is Monster Magnet’s grand fifth album, Powertrip.” Power is its own reward.

Yer Metal Is Olde: Bruce Dickinson – The Chemical Wedding

Yer Metal Is Olde: Bruce Dickinson – The Chemical Wedding

“1998 was not metal’s finest year. Nu-metal was rearing its ugly head and 80s bands were withering on the vine. It had also been five years since Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden, and while he had released a few decent albums since (and Iron Maiden had released, um, The X Factor), he wasn’t setting the world on fire with legendary recordings. Unlike with Ozzy and Black Sabbath, a separation did not inspire Bruce nor Maiden to go above and beyond – at least, not until 1998, when Dickinson released The Chemical Wedding and Maiden dropped Virtual XI on us.” Married to metal.

Tomorrow’s Eve – Mirror of Creation III – Project Ikaros Review

Tomorrow’s Eve – Mirror of Creation III – Project Ikaros Review

“I must admit, I get a bit nervous reviewing a part 3 of anything without experiencing part 1 and 2 beforehand. It’s like watching the final chapter of a movie trilogy without knowledge of what happened before. But since storyline is nearly always a secondary feature in music, I’ll make an exception for Tomorrow’s Eve. The progressive German quintet has been around for a while, 20 years in fact, but the last decade has been spent not releasing anything.” George R.R. Martin metal?

Mistheria – Gemini Review

Mistheria – Gemini Review

“If only it were that simple. Completely instrumental albums are more difficult to write, I think because we are automatically drawn to voices. Without a vocalist, the tracks must be carefully composed to guide the listener’s attention and keep a sense of structural flow and integrity. Gemini is not carefully composed. Gemini doesn’t have flow and barely any structure. Rather, Gemini is a group of very talented musicians wanking onto a biscuit and hoping you’ll eat it.” Don’t eat the buttermilked biscuits.

The Unity – The Unity Review

The Unity – The Unity Review

The Unity know a thing or two about history, two of its members having kicked tires in Gamma Ray for a spell, but the trip down memory that is their self-titled debut goes further than their own stomping grounds and offers an experience akin to a boisterous evening catching up with those legendary veterans. But this isn’t Just Another German Power Metal Band (JÄGPMB), as beneath the glossy Teutonic shell twitches layers of classic acts such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and – perhaps unsurprisingly – Helloween.” Who wants Jäger bombs?

Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls Review

Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls Review

On October 5th, 1930 while flying over France on its maiden voyage, the airship R101 crashed, killing 48 of the 54 people on board. The ship was the jewel of the British empire and had been built with increased lifting capacity, and was (at the time) the world’s largest flying vessel. Much like the Titanic, the R101 is a story of hubris—particularly as told by Dickinson on the track “Empire of the Clouds,” The Book of Souls’ 18-minute closer. The R101 never was put through its paces, having not done full endurance and speed trials, before it undertook its maiden voyage for India, and on that voyage it tragically crashed. As a closer, “The Empire of the Clouds” is an epic which pushes Iron Maiden into territory never before explored. As an analogy for The Book of Souls, it strikes a little too close to home.

90s Metal Weirdness: Bruce Dickinson – Skunkworks

90s Metal Weirdness: Bruce Dickinson – Skunkworks

“Cast your minds back to a time when metal music was not cool. Nay, indeed, a time when metal was anathema to all that was considered to be “chic” and “in.” A time when your favorite bands were actually encouraged by the music industry to play slower, cut their hair, and write sensitive lyrics about their childhoods. Yes, this unfortunately really happened. Our new semi-irregular feature “90s Metal Weirdness” focuses on albums released between 1992 and 2001 and which we all probably would rather forget. But in the service of publicly shaming the musicians involved, we have pushed forward.” And how dare we accuse the Crown Prince of NWoBHM of weirdness? Oh, we dare, but it’s all very British and polite like.

White Wizzard – The Devil’s Cut Review

White Wizzard – The Devil’s Cut Review

“Everything about this record is perfect. From the wacky, bright, colorful and sharp-looking album artwork to the catchy operatic singing, Los Angeles band White Wizzard makes sure that every detail not only pays homage to traditional heavy metal, but is also (more importantly) given a modern touch as well. The musical similarities to earlier heavy metal bands (especially Judas Priest and Iron Maiden) can definitely be heard [O RLY? – AMG]. But the music sounds a little too modern to be considered ‘traditional heavy metal.'” Whenever the word ‘perfect’ starts getting tossed around the AMG office, the staff gets mighty nervous. Happy Metal Guy always gives us trouble, but now the psychotic horse is fully out of the burning stable and White Wizzard is to blame. Oh, the huge manatee!!