- Country: UK
- Style: Heavy metal
- Label: BMG
- Release date: 1 March 2024
Nineteen years after Tyranny of Souls, Bruce Dickinson finally delivers his seventh solo album, again built with long-time partner Roy Z, who produced it and co-wrote much of the material. And honestly? It was worth the wait. This is darker, heavier and stranger than anything Maiden have done lately, and Bruce sounds like he’s having the time of his life.
“Afterglow of Ragnarok” opens with a fat, sludgy riff that would not be out of place on Accident of Birth, while “Rain on the Graves” – written after a visit to Wordsworth’s grave – swaggers in with a spooky, almost country-tinged hook. “Resurrection Men” swings from twangy western weirdness into a proper doom stomp. Fans will spot “Eternity Has Failed”, the original version of what became Maiden’s “If Eternity Should Fail”, and it’s great to hear it in its home setting.
Not every track hits; “Mistress of Mercy” is a bit generic. But the closing near-ten-minute “Sonata (Immortal Beloved)” is Bruce at his most ambitious, and the voice is still remarkable at 65. A comic book series runs alongside it all, but the music stands on its own.
Best tracks:
Afterglow of Ragnarok
Rain on the Graves
Resurrection Men
Eternity Has Failed
Sonata (Immortal Beloved)
Author’s rating: 8.4/10
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