History & Biography Bruce is the singer of Iron Maiden. The band started as a side-project to Maiden, but became a full-time band when Dickinson left Maiden. Despite his return to the heavy metal icons' fold, the band continued. Janick Gers and Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden have also been members. The band has grown steadily heavier becoming more and more metal from its early rock/heavy rock origins.
Skunkworks, also initially the name of Bruce's grunge rock-oriented act, was promoted through an appearance at CMJ and an impromptu appearance on stage with Stuck mojo to sing Wrathchild. The solo act appeared at Milwaukee Metal Fest in 1997. Dickinson's next solo album, Tyranny Of Souls, was out on May 24th 2005 and had him return once again to collaborate with guitarist, producer and writer Roy Z. A proposed project with Geoff Tate, Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson called The Three Tremors never materialized, but Dickinson would later explain that the song Tyranny Of Souls was written with that project in mind. In the meanwhile, Dickinson maintained a busy schedule presenting a BBC program and piloting aircraft.
Sanctuary Visual issued a triple disc DVD of Bruce Dickinson in the summer of 2006. Billed as the definitive Dickinson package it included over six hours of videos and live performances, and previously unreleased and archive material. Dickinson, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull and others performed live at the Canterbury Rocks At Christmas on-site in England to raise money for the structure’s cathedral in 2011.
In 2013, Bruce Dickinson told the Norwegian newspaper VG that he would premiere his one-man talking tour in Oslo, Norway in November. The show would be based around the Iron Maiden: Flight 666 film and include audience Q&A. Dickinson continued his spoken word tour on and off and again in 2021. He would also have a podcast. Scream For Me Sarajevo (Music from the Motion Picture) was issued by Sanctuary in 2018. Dickinson and Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson were planning a project and performances together in 2022. Bruce Dickinson and Orquestra Sinfônica Do Estado De São Paul were to perform Jon Lord of Deep Purple’s Concerto For Group And Orchestra on a four-date tour of Brazil in April 2023. Concerto For Group And Orchestra was also performed at the Palais Montcalm in Quebec City, Canada in 2019. BMG issued a compilation called Tears Of The Dragon - The Hits in 2023.
Dickinson released a solo album through BMG in early 2024. Entitled The Mandrake Project, the record featured producer Roy Z who had worked with Dickinson on his earlier records. Envisioned as a bigger project, the new album was accompanied by a comic book and was supported through a video for the song Afterglow Of Ragnarok. Bruce Dickinson was starring in a horror movie called Bjorn Of The Dead. The film was written by Bruce's son Austin Dickinson. The name referred to ABBA member Bjorn and was about an ABBA cover band caught in a nightclub during the apocalypse. Bruce Dickinson married his fiancée, French fitness instructor Leana Dolci, in November 2023. She was an Iron Maiden “super fan” who followed the band from show to show. The two lived in Paris. A new festival called Metal Park was to take place in Vicenza, Italy from July 6th to July 7th 2024. Bands appearing were Bruce Dickinson, Emperor, Cavalera (with a Sepultura set), The Darkness, Stratovarius, Richie Kotzen, Dark Tranquillity, Michael Monroe, Moonspell and Fleshgod Apocalypse. Producer Roy Z. opted to not tour with Bruce Dickinson due to personal issues. He had played on and produced the singer’s new album, The Mandrake Project. The touring line-up now featured guitarists Philip Näslund and Chris Declercq (Blaze Bayley), bassist Tanya O'Callaghan (Whitesnake), drummer Dave Moreno (Tribe Of Gypsies) and keyboardist Giuseppe Iampieri a.k.a. Mistheria. The Mandrake Project entered the Canadian, Finnish and German charts at No. 1. Producer and musician Roy Z was remixing Balls To Picasso (1994) and Skunkworks (1996) albums for rerelease. Roy had also played on Balls To Picasso. The European tour was interrupted in early June 2024 when the man became ill with a virus and could not sing in Romania.
Reviews BRUCE DICKINSON - ACCIDENT OF BIRTH - CMC INTERNATIONAL
When some five years ago Bruce Dickinson decided to end his career with Iron Maiden; opting to pursue the solo route, the decision seemed wise. Maiden was not composing anything exciting and seemed at a dead-end. It could have worked out favourably except that Bruce's own material was even worse than what Maiden was coming up with. Uninspired attempts like Tattooed Millionaire, etc. were insipid and alienated the fans. The new album on CMC seems to go some way in rectifying the problem. For one, the return of Adrian Smith and use of Derek Riggs gives the album a feeling of legitimacy. The album is a notch heavier and the lyrics seem better thought-out. There are still more commercial moments than I care to list or ballads that I care to listen to, but overall the album has some good moments. The moment opener Freak begins it is apparent that the high vocals are clashing with the crunchy music. Yet it is a heavier clash. While Arrival does little for me, Taking the Queen and Darkside satisfy with their hard 'n heavy stab. Especially the latter song with its good guitar and vocal performance comes across powerfully. Ironically, Road To Hell begins with an In Flames-ish rhythm before bridging into a riff straight out of The Number Of The Beast. Overall then there are a couple of good moments on this disc which warrant attention. That, even though the album harbours too many slow burners reminding one of Chris De Burgh ballads! Nevertheless, Bruce Dickinson seems to have regained the voice he had lost during his latter days with Maiden and with Smith actually knocking a couple of impressive hard rock leads and riffs. There are worse ways to spend your money. Now is that Bruce photographed or Limahl? - Ali "The Metallian"
BRUCE DICKINSON - THE CHEMICAL WEDDING - CMC/BMG
Here comes the xth solo album of former Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson and at a very opportune moment too. The timing is clearly right because, featuring almost half of the classic Maiden line-up, the album is contrasted against Iron Maiden's latest virtual stinker. Knowing that hardly anything can get worse than that abomination, Bruce is in for a few incidental good reviews. Unfortunately though, and this is the independent truth, The Chemical Wedding in itself is not a good album. The lyrical theme might contain an interesting concept (alchemy) and the artwork might be interesting, but the music is plodding and in that sense is congruous with the vocals. It all sounds tired. In a way Bruce is trying the Paul DiAnno formula. An ex-Iron Maiden singer is trying to create a modern and up-to-date album. However, seeing that the compositions are boring, the album is a clear failure. So, what is Clive Burr up to these days? - Ali "The Metallian"
BRUCE DICKINSON - TYRANNY OF SOULS - SANCTUARY
The good news for everyone is that Tyranny Of Souls is a step back to the Maiden-compatible sound of Accident Of Birth (arguably Dickinson’s best solo album). The modern, experimental touch of The Chemical Wedding is almost entirely gone. However, the album again features a loose concept that involves aliens, space travel and human minds being controlled by strange powers. It is not as explicit as in Agent Steel songs or on the Star One album ¬ the lyrics are metaphorical.
The short intro Mars Within sets up Abduction, a song with typical harmonies often heard in Iron Maiden compositions. Soul Intruders reminds me of Grave Digger in a softer version. The riffing is similar, but the chorus is catchy. Kill Devil Hill sounds a bit uninspired, but the chorus saves it ¬ great vocals! Navigate The Seas Of The Sun could be titled Tears Of The Dragon Part Two. Those who know the song from Balls To Picasso, Dickinson’s second solo album, will notice the similarities at once. It’s a good semi-ballad nevertheless. River Of No Return sounds too much like Kill Devil Hill, but Power Of The Sun with its touch of Iron Maiden during the Somewhere In Time period is a lot better. Devil On A Hog steps out of the concept frame by telling a story about the devil’s modern day life. It sounds like the material on Tattooed Millionaire, the first solo album. Believil (nice title) is a matter of taste ¬ I think it sounds weird. The title track quotes Shakespeare’s Macbeth (When shall we three meet again) at the beginning and is a solid slow song. All in all, Iron Maiden fans should like this CD. It is more straight-forward than the band’s latest release Dance Of Death and the production is less dry. Neutral listeners will find nothing spectacular here; it’s the typical Roy Z and Dickinson thing. - Andreas Herzog
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