Bruce Dickinson has released his epic seventh solo record The Mandrake Project. The legendary voice of Iron Maiden explores new sonic territory across the ten tracks, dishing up everything from the classic metal onslaught of The Afterglow of Ragnarok to the country-metal of Rain on the Graves to the sprawling ten-minute epic Sonata (Immortal Beloved).
Speaking to Maniacs in an interview set to drop next week, Dickinson expressed pride of the sprawling journey that The Mandrake Project takes the listener on stating "I'm really proud of the record, it's very diverse. I mean, in particular, I suppose the last three tracks really go off into kind of, well, uncharted territory for me. It starts off fantastically heavy. We do go into kind of spaghetti western metal a little bit on a couple of tracks, which was a conscious decision. I went, 'Wouldn't it be really cool \Quentin Tarantino wanted to make an intro to a metal record?' So there's a track called Resurrection Men, where we were just mucking around when I was playing the intro chords. And I said, 'We need to put something over that, so I hit the tremolo button on the guitar, and went, oh my god, there it is!"
Recorded largely at LA’s Doom Room with Roy Z doubling up as both guitarist and bassist, the line-up for The Mandrake Project was rounded out by keyboard maestro Mistheria and drummer Dave Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce’s last solo studio album, Tyranny Of Souls, in 2005. Fans of both Bruce Dickinson and Iron Maiden will notice that the album features the curiously-named Eternity Has Failed, which first appeared in a different form entitled If Eternity Should Fail on Iron Maiden’s 2015’s album The Book of Souls, illustrating how long the creative process for The Mandrake Project has been in the works.
Commenting to Maniacs about the difference between writing for Iron Maiden and writing for his solo work, Dickinson recounts "We can be a bit more eccentric you know, with with what we do. We have a bit of a broader palette to pick from in terms of the colours we can put on the record."
The Mandrake Project is not just an album, but a dark, adult story of power, abuse and a struggle for identity, set against the backdrop of scientific and occult genius. Created by Bruce Dickinson, the comic series is scripted by Tony Lee and stunningly illustrated by Staz Johnson for Z2 Comics, released as 12 quarterly issues that will be collected into three annual graphic novels, the first of which is out now.
The Mandrake Project is out now via BMG.
The Mandrake Project
1.Afterglow of Ragnarok
2.Many Doors to Hell
3.Rain on the Graves
4.Resurrection Men
5.Fingers in the Wounds
6.Eternity Has Failed
7.Mistress of Mercy
8.Face in the Mirror
9.Shadow of the Gods
10.Sonata (Immortal Beloved)
Listen to The Mandrake Project
During our conversation with Bruce, he also let slip his all-time favourite Iron Maiden tracks to perform live, revealing "There's two songs that I've written for Maiden that I really love and one of them one of them is Revelations. And the other one is Powerslave."
Iron Maiden will return to Australian stages in September for The Future Past Australian Tour.
Iron Maiden
The Future Past Australian Tour 2024
Sunday 1 September: Perth, RAC Arena
Wednesday 4 September: Adelaide, Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Friday 6 September: Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
Saturday 7 September: Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
Tuesday 10 September: Brisbane, Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Thursday 12 September: Sydney, Qudos Bank Arena
Head to www.ironmaiden.com or www.tegdainty.com for all ticketing and tour information.
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