Despite being a huge Iron Maiden fan, I have never paid much attention to Dickinson's solo work. Sure I have heard and once owned "Tattooed Millionaire" and am marginally familiar with "Chemical Wedding". When he sings, he is unmistakable. It sounds like Iron Maiden not doing Iron Maiden things. I knew he was not shy about bringing the heavy on later solo albums, but I was surprised by how heavy the first song of the new album is. As the album progresses he ventures into wider sonic pastures with songs like "Ressurection Men" which has an old western feel to the guitar. Then things take more of a Deep Purple-like rock turn on the second song, where the keyboards play a larger role, which is something you do not hear from Iron Maiden.
"Rain on the Graves" is another harder rock. The keyboards play a prominent role behind the palm-muted chug of guitar that drives the song, while ample room is left for Bruce to sing. "Fingers in the Wounds" finds the verses making space for Bruce to open up and expand the vocal colors he is capable of in a way that I wish Iron Maiden would make more use of. However, I think Maiden only has one more solid album left in them and think they will bow out before they tarnish their legacy. I think the production on Dickinson's vocals is great and hope Steve Harris pays attention to what is being done here. "Eternity Has Failed' finds his band upping the Irons, especially in the solo section. It can not be said that Bruce does not know what his fans want.
Bruce is continuing to do what he does, which is fine since he is clearly one of the last great metal singers still standing, in large part due to the fact he took care of himself over the years. Typically there is less of a prog feel and a more straightforward hard rocking, the one signature of Maiden's sound being the twin guitar harmonies are not here. "Face in the Mirror" is more of a ballad with a piano following him. This album also serves as a study in how Bruce has compensated for his voice aging, and how he paces himself and takes notes to other places. Roy Z known for his work with Priest was Bruce's collaborator and the drummer from Puddle of Mudd plays on this album oddly enough.
They keep the ballads going with "Shadow of the Gods". It works and Bruce sounds good, which is pretty much all I am wanting from this album. Some of these songs are going to grow on me, and this is just my first impression of things as I go through the album. There is a very Judas Priest-like riff when "Shadow of the Gods" climaxes. At almost 10 minutes "Sonata" is the album's most prog moment, though it is darker than the other songs as well. He does hit some impressive notes midway into the song, and at 65 this is even more impressive. I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me. It did inspire me to want to go back and dig into his other solo work .
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