Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
On the back of greatness, we often find ourselves wondering how we can achieve an even larger, more vast declaration of intent.
Close to two full decades since Bruce Dickinson found his way into the recording studio without any back up from the Iron Maiden family, The Mandrake Project is that album of glorious purpose after a run of seismic recordings from Eddie’s boys that returned them rightfully to the top ten charts, and in doing so scored their first number one in the U.K. since the release of the scintillating Fear Of The Dark.
No matter what some disagreeable, unhappy souls may say, Bruce Dickinson is a human being to respect, a packed life, singer, author, airline pilot, fencer, he grasps the point of living and refuses to stand still, he may be deeply rooted in exercising his passions, but he does not allow the soil to become tainted; aware of his own roots, his credentials and successes speak for themselves in boundless enthusiasm…but he always pushes himself to explore new options, to open up the investigative mind and push that button once again.
The Mandrake Project may be almost 20 years on from his last release, but there is without doubt a true fire burning at the centre of it, an album not of necessity or obligation but of sheer enjoyment, a compulsion perhaps to once more tread the field with a different set of troopers by his side and gain knowledge that will benefit the listener, as well as his own curiosity and musical need.
Working once again with Roy Z, Bruce Dickinson is joined by Mistheria on keyboards and Puddle Of Mudd’s Dave Moreno who performed on the 2005 Tyranny of Souls recording, and the sound, the sense of souls being unshackled and unleashed as Hell around them is destroyed by the nature of earthly cool, is intoxicating.
With additional support from Chris Declercq, Gus G, and Sergio Cuadros, tracks such as Rain On Graves, Fingers In The Wounds, the excellent Mistress Of Mercy, Shadow Of The Gods, and the stunning opener of Afterglow Of Ragnarok, Bruce Dickinson pushes those around him to share the detail of pride in battle, to rally against the causes of brow beating insecurity dictated by a modern army of underdeveloped minds, and raise a flag of continued imagination and music intelligence to the fore.
A remarkable and truly punishing beauty, a solo album from a team player, always Maiden, forever Bruce Dickinson.
Ian D. Hall