Hopefully they actually put that time to good use and don't just repeat the chorus 100 times.

He wrote one of my least favorite later era Maiden cuts, Empire of the Clouds, but I will hold out hope those are interesting songs and not just repetitive.

I am so fuckin amped for this! I really hope he comes down under for a tour.

That new track is great. It's a bit repetitive, but this is classic Bruce solo material. Being downtuned helps his voice sit really well in the mix and he sounds pretty much as good as ever. As others said, this is better than anything Maiden has done in 15+ years.

I'm also glad that it's not so massively different from his previous material, and the creepy atmosphere especially feels like a continuation of The Chemical Wedding. I was a bit anxious after the sample came out and only had the growled vocals, but hearing them come in just at the end made them hit so well.

Single is nice.

“Eternity Has Failed”

I see what you did there

I wonder if that's the same base for a song as "If Eternity Has Failed" or if he didn't even use that again at all.

"Sonata (Immortal Beloved)" is definitely the least-usual song title for him - real curious about that...

Had a couple of listens. It's fairly good - perhaps it'll grow on me a little more over time. Don't think it's anywhere near as good as some of the stuff Maiden have done on the past few albums.

I am under the impression that a re-worked version of If Eternity Should Fail is to appear on this new album. The demo version is on the vinyl single and is pretty close to the Maiden version but lacking in the Maiden magic.

If Eternity Should Fail is in the new album, just by another name, acording to Bruce. A completely new version.

^ Yeah, I thought I'd heard that too. Good to hear he reworked it. Creative, then - the original was killer and the new one may be even better.

I think I'll finally review his last three albums leading up to this. Posting it to hold myself accountable. It's time...

That single was pretty badass. So it seems like it will be a concept album going by what is going on in the video. Easily the most anticipated album of 2024 for me!

I assume it's a Beethoven reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal_ ... (1994_film)

yeah seems a potentially a bit Trans-Siberian Orchestra sticking in classical melodies with that last song. I really like Roy Z's riffs and Bruce's voice on the single but somehow it doesn't come together as a really great song. Maybe will be great opening up the concept? Still really tempted to get a ticket for his tour though there are other things stopping me committing to a date other than me being a tight bastard.

Wonder what Tyranny of Souls tracks he'll premiere with his new band, if any? Really strong album imo. I wouldn't be surprised if Navigate the Sea of the Sun came out, but my personal fav was always Soul Intruders, followed by Power of the Sun. Top retro speed metal there

I quite liked the intro for the new track, it was very promising, the rest not as much, there are at least a few metal songs with nice intros but the rest doesn't live up to it.

Finally got around to listening to the single and I thought it was great. Bruce doing the darker stuff always seems to work. Genuinely amped to pick this up.

Another one out.

That was honestly pretty bad, and the video did not help.

The video is great. It's pure Hammer and Amicus

Absolutely killer song and video. Cool verses and a classic chorus and riff. That guy they got playing the devil would be awesome to see in one of these Hammer style movies.

I was going to be an online hater and criticize the new single, but Bruce's voice is still amazing, even after all these years. I liked the gimmicky video with the whole Devil in the Road lyrics, Bruce has always been an awesome storyteller. What can I say, I love the old man. I will always have a soft spot for him, Halford, Ozzy, Dio, Lemmy, and the others who created this genre that we all love. I didn't like the song's riff and music, but Bruce's voice has always been a landmark of heavy metal and still is, it can save almost any song.

Fantastic song and video! They really work as one creatively, so I'm glad this multimedia project seems to be in good hands.

I am suddenly realizing Bruce is doing a BOC/Imaginos type thing. Makes total sense.

Interesting. I think you're right.

Solid song, albeit less impactful than the first single, IMO.

Song is decent. As for the video, newsflash: the bass player playing an upright bass is played out.

Good vocal performance, but the song itself was pretty meh for me. Definitely less interesting than the first one, but could still be okay in an album context.

Song was good but not great. Though that is after one listen. I'll pick up the album no doubt just because of Bruce.

Has a more of a Tattooed Millionaire/Balls to Picasso vibe, but too much repetition on the chorus. Solid rocker.

It's pretty much a British "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" heavy metal kinda story with a fun victorian-hammer setting for the video. Though I would have prefered if the video had remained black&white all the way through. The song is kinda catchy. We'll see if it keeps growing with each listen

Totally agree. Roy Z and Bruce Bruce are one helluva songwriting duo.

New track made me smile and that's all that needed be. The whole album will be an interesting ride for sure.

The album has leaked and I like it very much.
My favourites are Afterglow of Ragnarok, Eternity Has Failed (it sounds a lot better than Maiden version), Fingers In the Wounds and fantastic closing track Sonata (Immortal Beloved) which may be the best song on the whole album. Overall it's really good album with few missteps (i didn't like a couple of tracks) and I can't wait to hear some of these songs live this summer!

My favorite song from Bruce’s solid hard rock album he released back in the day.

The rest of Bruce’s discography has it’s moments except for Skunkworks which I couldn’t get into at all, but I feel Tattooed Millionaire was his best and most consistent release to date. The two new singles didn’t blow me away but there should be a few keepers on the new album.

While I do love the new record, I need to make one small critcism.

Roy Z definitely just rewrote Halford's "Silent Screams" for Bruce and they called it "Shadow of the Gods".

It's almost the exact same length too. Hahahaha.

This version of if Eternity Should Fail is so much worse than the Maiden version. A downgrade in every possible way.

I agree that the Maiden version is better, but this one ain't so bad. The album in general is very good - I'm really looking forward to the next few listens. There's some interesting stuff going on.

That riff from Mistress of Mercy is pretty much lifted from Freak though.

Yeah, I was expecting a better (heavier?) version but Maiden's is superior by a healthy margin, IMO.

Verdict after three listens (short version): Predictable vocal melodies and some weird stylistic choices, i.e. typical of Bruce solo. Also, the layering and arrangement seem like an afterthought, like the final revision of versions that have been revised again and again ("Hey, how about making this and that more complicated than we originally envisioned it?" – "Great idea! But… don't you think that our rather simple songs will collapse under all the layers?" – "Sure, but nobody will notice. Nowadays, people are too busy avoiding getting hit by a bus while listening to music."). The album's listenable without making me angry. So: 6.5/10 (while some moments in "Many Doors", "Shadow" and "Sonata" and the instrumental part in "Eternity has Failed" are a solid 7).

(There's also a longer version full of complaints in the works but I don't want to get the fans's hackles up. Considering I didn't expect Bruce Z to deliver imaginative music, whining and complaining wouldn't be worth the effort anyway.)

I believe Bruce admitted that some (or most?) of this was written nearly 15 years ago and that they did in fact re-arrange and "revise" the original versions quite a bit.

This is just okay at best, which is a huge disappointment. Suddenly I'm not so bummed about not getting a ticket for his solo show.


The structure is similar but it's musically different. The Halford song is orders of magnitude better, though.


I thought so as well. Again, significantly less good than Freak in every conceivable way.

Yeah, I'm also not feeling it. It's not as bad as Senjutsu but still much worse than all the other post reunion Maiden shows.