Musings: Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project

Iron Maiden’s legendary frontman Bruce Dickinson returns with his seventh solo album, The Mandrake Project. About nineteen years in the making, the long-awaited concept album was finally released last Friday. Dickinson has gathered a bunch of amazing musicians for this record, led by Roy Z who shares songwriting credits with Bruce as well as handling guitar and bass duties. Is it the masterpiece we were hoping for? Read on to find out how I feel about it.

I waited a while before reviewing this album because I wanted to let the songs sink in a bit. After four spins, I’m pretty sure my feelings about it won’t change too much in the future. It’s an hour long, composed of ten tracks, and upon my first listen, not that I was disappointed but I just didn’t find it all that great. You have to be in a certain mood to really appreciate it, I believe. Already I liked it better on the second listen, and it had really grown on me by the fourth spin. I’ve heard an interview clip of Bruce saying that the LP is divided in two parts; I’d argue you could even split it into three parts. The great thing about this record is that it doesn’t sound like a Maiden album at all, and that’s a good thing. I’m a huge Maiden fan, but if I listen to a Bruce Dickinson record, I want it to sound different than what he does with his regular band. So, don’t look for Steve Harris’s trademark galloping basslines, they are nowhere to be found.

“Afterglow of Ragnarok”, the terrific first single, has got one of the catchiest riffs of the entire record. I love this song and it definitely sets the tone for the album, but the rest of the LP sounds rather different and features a wide range of metal and rock styles. “Many Doors to Hell” is one of the most accessible tracks on the album, a lighter song with a catchy chorus. “Rain on the Graves”, the second single, is one of my absolute favourite songs here. The videoclip for it is ten shades of awesome and you can clearly see that Bruce is having a blast on this track. “Resurrection Men” has a spaghetti western vibe and is a damn good tune. With “Fingers in the Wounds”, I’d say there’s a shift and the atmosphere of the record shifts here, starting the second part of the album. It’s a good, eclectic song with beautiful piano parts. Next up is the much-awaited “Eternity Has Failed”, the track that spawned the Iron Maiden song “If Eternity Should Fail” off of 2015’s The Book of Souls. Bruce played the demo of it for Steve Harris and he loved it so much that he pleaded with Bruce to have it on the next Maiden record. It feels like an alternate version of the now well-known Maiden song. I love both songs; they’re equally strong and I can’t pick a favourite at the moment. “Mistress of Mercy” follows with its great driving riff and superb guitar playing. “Face in the Mirror” really grew on me over time, an acoustic guitar and piano-driven tune; its chorus is an earworm. For the last two songs, we ease into what I’d call the third part of the album with two lengthy, epic-sounding tracks. “Shadow of the Gods”, with its various movements is a definite highlight of the record, followed by its sister song, “Sonata (Immortal Beloved)”, featuring shades of David Gilmour on guitar. It’s the closing chapter of the story and it’s quite possibly my favourite song on the album.

Bruce Dickinson is in top shape vocally on The Mandrake Project. It’s a very satisfying album that I wasn’t too enthralled with at first, but it gets better with every new spin. In my humble opinion, it’s not a masterpiece but it’s a damn great record, and certainly one of Bruce’s best solo albums. In any case, I’d say it was worth the nearly two-decade wait. Fans of Iron Maiden, Bruce’s previous solo outings, metal and hard rock in all its forms are bound to find something to like or even love on The Mandrake Project.

Official Website for The Mandrake Project: https://www.themandrakeproject.com/