Flashback CD Reviews #6 - Bruce Dickinson - Tyranny of Souls

[TageRyche]

This review was originally posted on the now defunct Rock Is Life.com website in 2005. (2011 Update: This album finished at #1 on my 2005 Best of List.)

 

Bruce Dickinson

Tyranny of Souls

Sanctuary Records Group - 2005

http://www.screamforme.com

 

What's The 4-1-1?

Heavy metal's "Air Raid Siren" returns to his stellar solo career with the 6th studio album under his own name.

 

Genre

Heavy Metal

 

The Good

The short review would be to say "Everything" and leave it at that. However, we can't do that so here are some thoughts. While this does nothing to affect the enjoyment of the albu, the packaging and artwork is once again phenomenal.

What I noticed with this album is that any metal singer or band that wants to turn out a clear cut great sounding album should work with producer/guitarist Roy Z. He's worked with Rob Halford on his solo discs and with the Judas Priest reunion album Angel of Retribution. Those albums turned out to be prime examples of what metal should be in this day and age.

Tyranny of Souls continues that successful track record. Bruce Dickinson continues his decades long run atop the list of metal vocalists. He sounds as good today as he did when he first broke in with Iron Maiden in 1982. The songs on this album run the gamut from pure head-banging tracks like "Abduction" and "Power of the Sun". The former is just a machine gun blast from the from the first note.

I've read material online suggesting the song "Soul Intruders" is heavier than anything on the last Maiden album. Personally, I'm sick of hearing that kind of thing. I've loved the two most recent Maiden studio albums, and to hear fans complaining like that makes me question what they are looking for after all these years. "Soul Intruders" is the heaviest song on this album, but I'm not interested in comparing different albums and their relative heaviness. 

The title track that closes the album is excellent, but what I found I liked most was towards the end of the song when Dickinson just spits out the lyrics like automatic gunfire. "Believil" spends most of the song with a moody, plodding pace that evokes an apocalyptic vibe in the verses of the track. Surprisingly, the lyrics are also the shortest and simplest on the disc.

Now, I've rhapsodized a bit out the power and glory of the metal on this album. Here's the twist: My favorite song on Tyranny of Souls is the ballad-like song "Navigate The Seas of the Sun." Bruce's vocals have this listener imagining the "character" that serves as the "narrator" of the song reflecting back on a long life. The whole town or feel or vibe or whatever you want to call it is just amazing. The vocal delivery shows Dickinson is equally adept at a soft touch as he is screaming through his leather lungs. The song is already one of my favorites of the entire year. Yes, its that good!

 

The Bad

Nothing.

 

The Verdict

Let's see, did I like this album? Heck Yeah! I've listened to the album at least 7 times already. This is what metal should be. You can forget all that poseur material passing itself off as metal. If you want true metal music, stick with the great names you know and love already. Bruce Dickinson proves the classic metal sound is alive and well and should never be considered out of fashion.

 

Did You Know?

Bruce Dickinson is a licensed commercial airline pilot. He hosted a documentary about airplanes on The Discovery Channel UK called Flying Heavy Metal with Bruce Dickinson.

 

Rating: 5 out of 5

[Scandal 2000]

Very good album, though I slightly prefer "Accident of Birth" and "Chemical Wedding" to this one. It definitely is a good listen as well. I actually prefer Dickinson's last three solo albums to his last three Maiden albums.