SilentScream213 Struggling to capture the same magic in a different way than he did with Iron Maiden, Bruce’s first 3 solo albums were decent, but nowhere near approaching the prior band’s material. Accident of Birth was a much stronger effort in the right direction, and here on The Chemical Wedding, I feel Bruce finally proved himself a strong solo artist, not needing the coattails of his prior band to succeed.

Bruce’s voice is really the only thing that sounds similar to Maiden. This album is still Heavy Metal, but it’s played in a much different, more modern style than Maiden. The songs are a bit more rhythmic, heavier, and obviously there is more focus on the vocals. The sound is fitting with the late 90’s, but it doesn’t sound trend-hoppy or compromising, it’s just an intelligent adaption to the times; indeed, this was the only way for Bruce to successfully move forward, because looking to the past wasn’t going to work for him.

The choruses on these songs tend to be fantastic, but I do find the verses and instrumentation in general to fall flat at times. Too many of these songs suffer from a “just get to the chorus already” feeling. However, it’s still the strongest songwriting of his solo career yet. Some of the bass work here especially stands out, and those with good headphones to pick it up will be in for a treat. I suppose this is to be expected with a more modern, rhythmically focused Heavy Metal album. I do think more guitar leads would have done a great service to the record though.

SilentScream213 An improvement to be sure, but I do believe its quality has been greatly exaggerated. This is an album full of great heavy Metal tracks, some catchy vocal lines and decent riffs. Songwriting has definitely been expanded from his first three solo albums, and there’s a decent amount of variety to this one.

But does it compare to most of Maiden’s work? Absolutely not. The album is quite reliant on Bruce’s vocals – which do sound great, but even with that said, most of his vocal performance in Maiden was better, and even the song “Tears of a Dragon” on his second solo album tops everything on this. Musically, again, it’s stronger than all his previous solo albums, but about on par with Maiden’s weakest material.

Looking at this album in isolation, not comparing it to Maiden, and not relying on Bruce’s legendary vocalist status, all it is, is a pretty damn solid Heavy Metal album. No more, no less. In my ears it is not the legendary classic many people seem to claim. It does end up being kind of weird when my favorite songs on the album are the softer/more Hard Rock songs (the last three).

optisailor2002 Ever since the discovery of Iron Maiden, they have been my personal favourite band of all time. However, 1994-1998 marked some of my least favourite years of the band, not only with the departure of guitarist Adrian Smith (which resulted in the delayed listening to No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark), but also of the iconic voice of the band, Bruce Dickinson. The years without Bruce Dickinson saw the band release the disappointing The X Factor and Virtual XI. Fortunately, the same period of time saw Bruce Dickinson releasing some of his strongest solo materials, in particular The Chemical Wedding.

Unlike the increasing progressive and overtly dark direction that Maiden had been taking over the years, The Chemical Wedding sees Bruce Dickinson presenting some good old heavy metal without all that desperate efforts in sounding different. The album starts off strongly with King in Crimson, and Bruce Dickinson's vocals are immediately recognisable, and unlike the raspy style that he attempts on No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark, his vocal quality here is markedly smoother and more fluid, certainly sounding better than the strained attempt at sounding aggressive. Songs like Gates of Urizen are perfect for displaying the vocal prowess of Bruce Dickinson, and the reason why he remains one of my favourite vocalists becomes self-explanatory. The presence of fellow Maiden member, guitarist Adrian Smith is also significant, with the guitar solos that are unleashed extremely familiar, giving fans of these dark years of Maiden something that they can finally identify with. Add to that the often duelling guitar solos between Adrian and Roy Z, with each displaying their unique playing styles, makes for one hell of a fun and dynamic listen.

Bruce Dickinson also proves his abilities as a songwriter on the album, with the music sufficiently bringing out the dark feelings with an equally dark album concept that lies beneath the album, and penning music that suits the various emotions of the various songs. For example, the title track Chemical Wedding has a somewhat sad and melancholic melody to it, fitting to the lyrics on the song, while Killing Floor has a respective aggressive sound to it, and it is on this track where Bruce Dickinson attempts a pseudo-growl, adding to the fierceness to the song. There are also epic tracks such as Book of Thel and closing track, The Alchemist, with each running for more than 8 minutes long, and Book of Thel being the personal favourite track, especially with the drum fills in the middle of the track, and the epic feel of the song through the numerous transitions present throughout. The usage of keyboards on the track also helps in building and maintaining that tension in the air. The Alchemist sees a short reprise of the title track Chemical Wedding towards the end, and is the perfect close to this epic journey.

Lyrics-buffs who have found the epic lyrical concepts that Maiden albums often have nothing to worry about here as well, with The Chemical Wedding containing perhaps some of the darkest lyrics that Bruce Dickinson has ever penned, making the reading of the lyrics an outstanding journey in itself. The only minor complaint here are the slight nu-metal moments on Machine Men, that kinda spoil the mood a little. Overall, The Chemical Wedding is an album that more than makes up for the Maiden years and albums without Bruce Dickinson, and is perhaps even superior to most material that Maiden has put out to date.

Originally written for http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/

friso Bruce Dickinson - Skunkworks (1996)

This is a lonely album in the Bruce Dickinson discography; it's style is quite unique. No cheesy hard rock (like on the debut), no mixed bags like Balls to Picasso and yet no semi-trash metal like it's two successors. Skunkworks focuses on effective song-writing with traditional heavy metal arrangements and a slightly experimental mind-set. All songs are relatively short, but most of them are really catchy.

This album has two kinds of songs. Space Race, Back from the Edge, Inertia, Faith, Solar Confinement, Inside the Machine, Meltdown, Octavia and Innerspace are all great melodic songs that have memorable moments. Most of them are up-tempo, but all are melodic and powerful. Bruce's vocals are brilliant and all songs have some instrumental parts and a sufficient (but often simple) guitar solo.

The other kind of songs are Dreamstate, I Will Not Accept the Truth and Headswitch. All have a very distinctive (negative) atmosphere but fail to get my full attention. Headswitch might appeal to some, because it's a chaotic up-tempo and psychedelic song.

The ending track Strange Death in Paradise is a low paced ending track with a strong ending section. A good ending.

Conclusion. This album is mainly attractive for it's good song-writing and I think it's easily underrated. Memorable stuff. Four stars.

arcane-beautiful Perfection really.

After a few shifty moments, Bruce really just looked at his previous albums, flirting in trad metal, avante garde metal, hard rock...this, a more progressive and heavier release really saw him match up to something that was compatible with Maidens back catalogue.

With concepts relating to William Blake poems, occult and some pretty interesting tales.

Musically, the album is flawless, with both Roy Z and Adrian Smith giving amazing performances. Bruce's vocals are also a change from his rhaspy period into the more operatic high tenor tone we all know and love.

The album to me is one of my favourites of all time, If im to be honest. I can listen to this album, and never tire of it.

1. King In Crimson - Amazing start. Kick ass song and great chorus. I also wonder, is their any sexual innuendo in the song. 10/10

2. Chemical Wedding - Beautiful arrangment and melodies. Great slower moment. 10/10

3. The Tower - Great lyrics and amazing melodies. The middle section does kick some serious arse. 10/10

4. Killing Floor - When Bruce screams Satan, you really feel an evil urge in your soul. Great arrangment and kick ass song. 10/10

5. Book Of Thel - The most proggiest song on the album. Great lyrics and some interesting images conjured forth. 10/10

6. Gates Of Urizen - Great melodic chorus and interesting slow moment in a quite metal based album. 10/10

7. Jerusalem - An odd take on the classic English anthem. Its pretty interesting though. 10/10

8. Trumpets Of Jericho - What a thumping riff. Great song, epic and great chorus. 10/10

9. Machine Men - I don't like this song that much, but to be honest, its still pretty good. I think it has some stupid lyrics really. 8/10

10. The Alechmist - Great arrangment and I like the returning theme from the title track. 10/10

CONCLUSION: I think this album deserves alot more recognition. I reccomend it from the bottom of my heart