We asked our editors to write their opinion for Bruce Dickinson’t new solo album. We got mixed emotions and reactions from the 6 writers, which you can read below…
Dimitris Kazantzis: Excellent release from Bruce Dickinson, proof of the endless inspiration that distinguishes him in almost all his activities. A strong and pluralistic album in every aspect with the strong presence of Roy Z both on the guitar parts and in the production. The highlight of this album for me is the incredible inspiration on “Eternity Has Failed”, the sequel, or the opposite bank if you will, of “If Eternity Should Fail” from “The Book Of Souls”. Bruce continues unabated on his artistic, frenetic path, which has placed him in the pantheon of metal legends for years now, with an album on par with his previous albums and his overall history.
Kostas Mouzakitis: The Mandrake Project includes all our favorite ‘’faces’’ of the British singer. Compulsive, Narrative, Aggressive and above all Melodic. It is clear that Bruce is living one of the best phases of his career and his life in general. He manages to reach from the lower to the highest note with characteristic mastery, with Roy Z’s melodies and solos being really flawless. The album is a magic trip and it doesn’t tires you at all and it will be considered as a classic in the future. Eternity has fails, the ‘Air Raid Siren’ has earned it. Respect.
Sakis Nikas:
The truth is that for some reason – not a specific one, though – I kept a small basket for Dickinson’s new album. Thankfully, however, I was proven wrong…though not, to an absolute degree. What do I mean? “The Mandrake Project” is a good album, but it’s nowhere near the greatness of the three albums since 1997 (we all know which those are, right?). Not that that’s an easy thing to do…just underlining it. However, it is a well-crafted set of compositions with very good production and Dickinson (naturally) catching high levels of performance especially when his interpretation is limited to lower notes. “The Mandrake Project” is a worthy addition to Dickinson’s excellent back catalogue.
Highlights: “Eternity Has Failed” (as expected, really), “Face In The Mirror”.
Michael Ntalakos:
The return of one of my favourite singers to solo recording filled me with great joy and anticipation. On the other hand, I was absolutely sure that waiting for a new “Accident Of Birth” would be like waiting for a new “Piece Of Mind” from the also beloved Maiden.
The first two singles left me with mixed feelings. Unfortunately listening to “The Mandrake Project” that didn’t change. On this album Bruce opts for a more rock approach, the sound is a lot duller and so is the production. In the hour-long album there are several good moments and many mediocre ones. Unfortunately, all this blackness creates a pretty underwhelming album.
At the end of the day, “Mandrake” is an album that if it didn’t have Bruce’s name on it we probably wouldn’t care too much about.
George Terzakis: Leaving aside the ridiculous Greek letters of the cover that their use doesn’t make any sense, “The Mandrake Project” is exactly as I expected it to be. A just OK album. It has a lot of keyboards and at times symphonic parts, it has three very good songs (“Afterglow Of Ragnarok”, “Mistress Of Mercy”, “Shadow Of The Gods”) with the rest being mediocre up to unacceptable (“Resurrection Man”, “Fingers In The Wounds”). In the end, it didn’t leave me wanting to listen to it again. It easily surpasses the first three trash of Bruce’s solo discography, it doesn’t even come close to the next three masterpieces.
Romanos Terzis: Two things came to mind when I first heard ‘The Book of Souls’ and the intro to ‘If Eternity Should Fail’ came on: first of all, I was relieved, as it was much better than anything off of ‘The Final Frontier’, and then I got excited envisioning a Bruce Dickinson solo record that would follow that same vein, since that’s where the song was supposed to belong initially. 8,5 (!) years later, does ‘The Mandrake Project’ scratch that specific itch? Not exactly. It’s quite uneven, quite different compared to its predecessors, and takes a few listens to – partially – win you over. That being said, Dickinson’s storytelling capability as showcased on the last two tracks, ‘Shadow of the Gods’ & ‘Sonata (Immortal Beloved)’, remains unmatched.
