Bruce - Mandrake Project released!

[Stitsel]

Yeah, the more I listen to it, the more I like it....that must be a good sign. I'll already say this album is a winner, and I haven't even completely absorbed it all yet. It's killer, period. I expected nothing less. Every listen gives me more, it's fun. I think Bruce is still totally dialed in to the metal scene, whatever you call this album, it still rocks really hard too. Great stuff. Like I said in another threat before, 2024 is looking promising, Dino Rock wise. 

[M11]

I have only given a single listen to the entire album, and the track that stood out the most for me was Mistress of Mercy. Gonna give it a couple more listens, but I didn't get the same gut reaction I got with albums such as Accident of Birth or Chemical Wedding.

[Dr Nick]

One thing that's stark is the difference in production quality between this and anything Maiden have done with Kevin Shirley.

Night and day. Roy Z's production has SPACE for instruments to breath and sit in their own sonic place. 

Try A/B-ing Eternity Should Fail/Has Failed. SO much clearer on this album. And the instrumental part is more interesting as well. 

 

[Dinosaur David B]

A few more listens in, now. 

For the most part, the choruses are really sticky in that Bruce, singsongy way. Him bellowing great melodies. They become earworms.

The song I'm having the most issue with is the last one. It's a 10 minute opus that really isn't a song. It's more like opera, in that it's sort of singing part of the story, but there's verrrrrrrry little chordal movement.  They also didn't do it like a suite, like Rush on 2112, and make it into separate, little sonic sections. So that track isn't really working for me. But the rest of them are. 

My only other gripe I alluded to before -- the keyboard pad you hear on most of the songs. If anything's robbing it of some guitar ballsyness, its that. Take those off, and the album probably sounds a lot more like AoB and Chemical Wedding. 

It's not a huge detractor, but I think that may be part of why TMP is less immediate than, say The Invincible Shield, which is far more straight forward, both sonically and conceptually.