Customer Reviews

Tyranny of Souls

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I must apologise for that title. But in all seriousness this is an album that can't be missed. As we'd expect from Bruce's great solo record (the utterly timeless Chemical Wedding, brilliant Accident of Birth being the two predecessors to this album), Tyranny of Souls continues Bruce's solo successes.

Its not easy for a fan in Australia to get hold of these albums. Solo Bruce needs to be imported from overseas; the record shops are often unwilling to do it, and if they will they say 'Oh, it will be 6 to 8 weeks'. In short, Amazon is a lifesaver for any fan of non-mainstream music. I only just got my copy but it was well worth the wait, this is a great record

I'll tell you an interesting anecdote. I showed the album to my younger brother after saying 'just got Bruce Dickinson's latest solo album'. He said 'when did he find the time to do that?' I then thought about that and realised just how much Bruce has been doing since 1997's Accident of Birth. Think about it, we had AOB in 1997, Chemical Wedding in 1998, then Bruce went back to Maiden and recorded Brave New World (2000), did a MASSIVE tour, had some time off, recorded Dance of Death (2003), had another big tour, and then after all this he's managed to give us another solo album in 2005. That's about 5 albums in 7 years, plus touring. Not too shabby by any standard; compares VERY well to other artists of Bruce's age/generation. MEtallica, for example, having released load/reload (essentially the same material recorded mostly at the same time - they just 'polished' up the reload material after the load tour) in 1995/6, then did NOTHING for about 7 years when they released the dismal St Anger. (Live Albums (S&M) and Cover Albums (Garage Inc) don't count. So it took Metallica some 7 years to release a RUBBISH album, but Bruce manages to release 5 great to excellent albums in that time.

Given that Bruce has been VERY busy, has the quality suffered on Tyranny of Souls? Absolutely NOT, you wouldn't even know he'd been so busy that he had to record with Roy Z whenever he could at small intervals. Not only this, but apparently he really hurt his back and so could only sing for about 10 minutes and then had to lie down.

Now we turn to the album itself. Bruce doesn't pull any punches with this effort; he said himself he was worried about living up to the Chemical Wedding. While Tyranny of Souls doesn't equal or better that effort, (and who would reasonably expect it to?) it is a worthy successor, full of great music from Bruce.

Mars Within is a short intro that leads into the best track - Abduction. This is a blazing song with awesome lyrics and singing! Not to mention guitar work from Roy. Then comes 'soul intruders', another excellent track. We then get served the wonderful 'Kill Devil Hill'. A weird name, but a great track with an outro reminiscent of 'The Alchemist' from Chemical Wedding. We then get served a more laid back, calmer acoustic track 'Navigate the Seas of the Sun'. This is a great mood change and IMHO it is a beautiful song that showcases Bruce's excellent voice in a different style to his singing elsewhere.

Some have criticised the latter half of the album. I personally can find little fault with it. River of No Return has a great guitar riff and it works well. Power of the Sun is another excellent track. Devil on a Hog is a more 80's rocker in tempo at least, but it has some great vocals by Bruce that I can't fault. I love the vocal melody. 'You won't see my face no more, my machine has left the floor'

Believil comes next. THis is a very sombre track, I find it even a little scary...Bruce manages to sound almost evil when he sings it. It's probably my least favourite song on the CD but that's not to say it isn't still great. Finally the wonderful title track closes the album, with the first four lines stolen right from MacBeth (not a bad thing - MacBeth ROCKS).

Bruce doesn't sound tired or creatively spent, on the contrary he is positively inspired! This is an album DEFINITELY worth getting for your collection. If you like solo Bruce, (and you must or you wouldn't be here) then you HAVE to get this album.

While I do miss Adrian Smith, personally I don't think the album is much the worse without him. PErhaps he could have added an element that would have allowed it to equal the Chemical Wedding. PErhaps he wouldn't have made much difference. At any rate, the album is great notwithstanding.

Have no fear kids, Bruce is back! I've been a BIG fan of Bruce's music since "Accident Of Birth" came out, and this album is again another pleaser with heavy riffs, great hooks, and powerful, passionate vocals throughout. The opening track, "Mars Within" is like a dark fanfare,(sounds a lot like the beginning of "The Alchemist" from Chemical), setting the mood for this opus with ethereal-yet-heavy keys & guitar and segues nicely into "Abduction". A fast & heavy track. The rest of the record varies in mood from heavy and dark to inspired and uplifting, and back again for the final tracks, "Believil", which reminds me of Dio a bit, and the last track, "A Tyranny Of Souls", which is classic Bruce all the way.

I'm giving this record 4 stars only because Bruce has done some better work, (Accident & Chemical), but this is a VERY strong 4 stars, and in my opinion far outshines other modern metal. A thoughtful, inspired, and very musical album from Bruce & Roy Z. A great sonic exploration into the dark. Enjoy....hehehehehe.........

A Bruce Dickinson album is always cause for celebration and Tyranny of Souls is certainly no exception. It is a terrific album and is a joy to listen to. It is not quite as good as Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding which are about as perfect as heavy metal gets and are worth 5 stars. There are a few songs here that are a tad weaker than what one usually expects from Bruce, but overall this album is fantastic. Devil on A Hog is pretty poppy for Bruce's standards but is a lot of fun and a really good song. Abduction rocks. The final song, Tyranny of Souls, is just fantastic, and worth the price of the CD alone. It goes in so many directions and is so heavy, crazy, and beautiful all at once. One should also note Bruce's vocals on this album. They have not sounded better since Powerslave. I can only imagine what this album would have sounded like with the ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC ADRIAN SMITH. I would not doubt that his presence would have ratcheted it up another star as Adrian brings quality and credibility to anything he does. Anyway, it is still a really good album, highly recommended, and certain to please any Bruce fan.

My immediate impression upon listening to this album: it's not as good as Accident of Birth or The Chemical Wedding. While time won't change that, it is growing on me. Dickinson and Roy Z are as good as ever, the songs are varied and generally flow well, but something is missing. There's less fire here, as though the distance between albums has given Bruce less to work with, and I can't help but think that Adrian Smith would've pulled this up a notch. Still, Tyranny of Souls is a solid metal album, and fans of Dickinson's other albums should enjoy this.

It is the greatest mistake for anyone to pass over the amazing vocalist Bruce Dickenson's recordings (especially more recent solo work) either for its specific genre or its one degree of separation from the Maiden marquee.

First off, BD's solo records have often been the equal of Iron Maiden's best work, if I may offer this opinion - in other words, just good music most rock fans will enjoy. Secondly they can be at times heavier, drawing from other genres of Metal that Maiden does not veer into. Thirdly, these CDs are not afraid to be LESS heavy at times, and explore cool new textures a card-carrying Maidenite would not expect from 'Arry and the boys.

All said TOS is in all respects a damn fine record (as is Chemical Wedding and Best Of BD) with no apologies really. There is just enough variation and quirkiness to give the overall song package some spark and freshness, I mean you can tell the singer is involved with his project at a sincere, grounded level. Listen to "Kill Devil Hill"... the 3/4-time gallop, the feisty snarling guitars duelling with sinister pipe-organ, and vocals sailing over lyrics it was just made to sing. Magnificent.

Certainly many people, like me would have also enjoyed a more consistently heavy record, or at least a few additional metal tracks to offset the sweet balladry of "Seas on the Sun" & the pop-metal of "Devil on a Hog." But here is real Bruce, take or leave it folks. There are 1 or 2 odd moments (eg. the bizarrely bellowing vocal phrase edited onto the intro to "Power of the Sun") but it's all good, and every song here is welcome to the party.

Besides, it really is all about Bruce's incomparable and powerful voice, singing in his late forties with utter mastery and posession of his instrument as never before. Scream for me, Tyranny of Souls.

Being a huge fan of Bruce Dickinson's solo output while he was out of Maiden in the 90's, it was with a little regret that I welcomed his return to the Maiden camp in 1999.

I was worried that he wasn't going to keep his solo career going alongside his new tenure in Maiden but with the release of his 2005 solo release Tyranny of Souls my worries were put to ease.

This CD manages to be a more musically pleasing and inventive release (not to mention heavier) than Maiden's last 2 releases Brave New World & Dance of Death.

Now don't get me wrong, those were 2 very solid releases even if they did pale in comparison to their golden era in the 80's.

But Steve Harris has such a stranglehold on the group (as Iron Maiden is his baby) that it seems he's too worried about making a CD sound like "Maiden" instead of just letting everyone in the band do their own thing.

With Bruce's new solo CD though, it becomes painfully apparent that if Steve Harris would relinquish his creative grasp on the band that they could possibly come up with their best album to date.

Which is probably why Bruce chose to come out with this new CD during the downtime after the Dance of Death tour wrapped up.

This CD is basically a continuation of the musical and lyrical direction that Bruce was heading in with the release of 1997's Accident of Birth & 1998's majestic The Chemical Wedding.

the main difference on this CD though is that Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith who played on Bruce's last 2 solo outings (while he himself was still out of Maiden) wasn't involved in the making of this one.

So guitar wise this is Roy Z.'s baby and he turns in a monster guitar performance in addition to sparkling production duties. While he's a great player, it was so nice to hear Adrian again on those last 2 CD's playing solos only the way he can and as a result his not being on this new CD keeps it from achieving the incredible greatness that The Chemical Wedding did. Quality wise, this falls in between that CD and Accident of Birth.

But then again, all of his solo stuff IMO is of such high quality regardless that you can't go wrong.

One other small beef is the relative shortness of this CD (it barely clocks in at 44 minutes) compared to his last 2 CD's, but every song on this CD is great and blows Maiden out of the water at their own game.

Hopefully Bruce will find time after Maiden's next world tour in 2006 to do another solo CD as he just proves to keep getting better and better as both an amazing singer but as an artist as well.

Pick it up!

After returning to Iron Maiden, vocalist Bruce Dickinson took some time off of his solo career, and if "Tyranny of Souls" is any indication, the man hasn't missed a beat. Just as Bruce's previous releases, "Tyranny of Souls" is full-tilt, operatic-esque metal the way it was meant to be with incredible vocal arrangements, buzzsaw guitar wizardry (courtesy of producer Roy Z.), and Bruce's trademark air-raid siren voice. "Soul Intruders" is nearly an instant classic, while "Abduction" and "Kill Devil Hill" are solid rockers. "Tyranny of Souls" is without a doubt a more than solid offering, but it wears thin towards the end of the disc and seems to drag along. Also, compared to Bruce's previous solo works, namely "Accident of Birth" the amazing "Chemical Wedding", "Tyranny of Souls" can be a bit dull. Despite all that, this latest solo offering from Bruce Dickinson is a worthy listen for old time metal fans and Maiden fans, and at the end of the day that's all that really matters.

Along with many other reviewers, I have to agree that Tyranny is weaker than Chemical Wedding, but there is still much to be appreciative of.

The pluses: The songs, "Abduction," "River of No Return," "Kill Devil Hill" and the title track are all worth keeping. These feature Bruce's best singing on the album and also the better guitar riffs and solo. "Abduction" moves to a very quick pace and, if you are listening in the car, makes you want to push 100 on the freeway. Especially noteworthy is the rhythm part on "Tyranny". Also, the keyboards in the background of "River.." lend a symphonic dimension to the song.

The negatives: These are what keep this album from being truly great.

1)The songs, "Devil on a Hog" and "Believil" are ridiculous (Devil) and go into the "what the hell were you thinking" category (Believil). It would have been better to lose one of them.

2) Where's Adrian? Roy Z is a great guitarist and a better song writer, but some contrasting solos and approaches are what made Chemical Wedding such a strong album.

3) There are some mixing problems. The keyboards are barely audible and because they lend so much to the song, they should have been brought out all the more.

4) The drumming is good, especially the double bass in "Abduction" and "Soul Intruders," but because it was recorded after the guitar tracks were laid down, it doesn't seem spontaneously composed, but more formulaic at times.

5) The songwriting is starting to become formulaic. Roy Z has worked enough with Dickinson and Halford that I know where he wants to go with a lot of songs. Also the Steve Harris staple of an eighth note coupled with two sixteenth notes gets overused especially in the chorus of "Soul Intruders" and the beginning of "River." Still very good songs, but let's try another rhythm, shall we? As a Steve Harris disciple, I never thought I'd say that!

Yes, my negatives outweigh the positives. But, there is a lot of great stuff on this album that I cannot put into words. This is without a doubt the best vocals I have heard out of Dickinson since Chemical. The two Iron Maiden albums done since then, Brave New World and DAnce of Death, don't feature vocals or songwriting that come close to this one album's effort.

Some songs take a while to grow on you like "Navigate the Seas of the Sun". I'm skipping it less and less now, but the embarrassments in "Devil.." and "Believil" still make you want to shake your head. Nonetheless, if Maiden decides to retire (which I think might happen after their Ozzfest tour), Dickinson still has some left in him for a couple of more solo efforts.

I'm listening it for the fourth time it as I write, and I'm still in awe. Bruce and Roy have delivered yet again another masterpiece. Bruce's voice is at it's pinnacle, as I noticed from listening Maiden live during DOD tour. There is a lot of depth in the writing, and a lot of virtuoso in the guitar playing, all in all yielding what I consider to be Bruce's heaviest effort to date. Imagine if Adrian had played in it....

In Tyranny of Souls Bruce gave us what we expected for so long, since The Chemical Wedding and Accident of Birth albums: another masterpiece. It was a long wait of 7 years, but a worth wait. The time gap gave Bruce space to offer us yet another first-class metal album.

This album has a feeling more like that of Accident of Birth, but it's not quite the same. Chemical Wedding is still the heaviest album in Bruce's solo career, and those fans who were waiting for something similar could possibly be a little dissapointed on a first listen, but this impression fades quickly.

Tyranny of Souls is much more musically varied. It has heavy tracks, melodic balads, accoustic parts, progressive tendencies and the impeccable voice of Bruce Dickinson to lead all of this.

Stand-outs are the title track, a powerful and memorable metal song; "Soul Intruders", the heavier track in the album, with it's vicious drumming and perfect choruses you'll never get tired of; "Navigate the Seas of Sun", "a chill-out moment" by Bruce's own words, presents us with an unbelievable beautiful melodic vocal line that rivals previously unrivaled "Tears of the Dragon".

All the tracks are very above avarage. Every listener will certainly choose other stand-outs. "Power of the Sun" and "Abduction" seems to be carved from the same mold that made "Dance of Death", last Iron Maiden album; "Kill Devil Hill" with it's epic feeling; "River of no Return" with it's progressive tendencies; "Devil on a Hog" and "Believil" both reminiscent of Balls to Picasso.

In the down side, Adrian Smith guitars were really missed. Judging by what Roy Z and Bruce were able to achieve alone, you simply can't imagine what this album could be if Adrian was part of it.

All we have to do now is enjoy Tyranny of Souls and see if it stands the test of time.