MUSIC REVIEW: Bruce Dickinson - “The Mandrake Project”

Mar 21

An album review from Bear & Co.

Writing anything about Bruce Dickinson or Iron Maiden has been getting more and more challenging as the years go on. With such extensive and beloved back catalogues, it’s very hard to take new releases as objective, standalone entities and not judge them based entirely off how they compare to the artists’ other material. So with that in mind, I decided that it would be fun to do another group review of “The Mandrake Project,” which came out on March 1st, 2024, featuring a few of the biggest Bruce/Maiden fans I know!

This paragraph is dedicated to my history with the artist, so that you can compare your taste against mine. If you’re not interested, feel free to skip past this paragraph and head down to the review in proper!

So, of course, my history with Bruce Dickinson goes back to my Iron Maiden fandom from when I was young. Rather than going deep into that (which would surely be a 10-page article of its own), I figure I’ll just throw some links to my Iron Maiden reviews down at the bottom (↓) and stick with my thoughts on Bruce himself, though it’s worth mentioning that I was far too forgiving in my review of “Senjutsu” for Tuonela. Bruce’s first two releases are all right, at least. There are some amazing, epic tracks on them, but they’re pretty hit-or-miss on the whole. “Skunkworks” is one of those interesting releases that I think works for a certain audience and is certainly his most experimental album sound-wise, though I’ve never fully gotten into it (I should give it another spin one of these days!). Both “Accident of Birth” (↓) and “Chemical Wedding” (↓) are, as far as I’m concerned, more or less flawless releases, and “Tyranny of Souls” was the new release in my youth that I awaited with relentless thirst. It took its time to work its magic on me, but it did, and it’s my next favorite after “Accident of Birth” and “Chemical Wedding.”

Now, with that said, I approached “The Mandrake Project” with negligible interest. The album’s been in the works for years and years now, so I had more or less forgotten about it in the same way I generally forget about long-teased releases (like “Time II” from Wintersun and new novels from George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss). Rather than sit on the edge of my seat and get annoyed on the internet, I just let these releases happen if/when they happen, and try not to put all of my hopes and dreams into them when they finally come out. So, having managed my expectations, I found myself hardly even excited about “The Mandrake Project,” but simultaneously willing to give it a few chances before forming my opinion, as “Tyranny of Souls” took a bit of time to convince me as well.

Suffice to say, it’s hard for me to make up my mind about this release. Part of this is because I don’t love Bruce’s vocal tone in his high notes as much these days due to the strained sound. It’s not that his technique is bad—far from it, in fact, his technique is still very good—but rather, the way he’s singing just doesn’t sound as good to me as it once did. However, it is worth mentioning that this did bother me less and less on every new listen. If I had some hopes for Bruce’s material, it would have been for some good fantasy and mystique, especially considering that it was influenced by the works of William Blake (again). This was supposed to be a concept album, with the final song being a sequel to “Taking the Queen,” so that’s already setting itself a pretty high bar, as “Taking the Queen” is one of my all-time favorite songs.

When “Afterglow of Ragnarok” was released, I maintained my neutral outlook. The album’s first single and song wasn’t an all-out instant banger of a hit, but it was good enough to keep me tentatively optimistic. There’s a good amount of drama, decent guitar sound, a slowish but catchy chorus… it’s perfectly okay. A little slower than I’d have hoped, perhaps, but ultimately a reasonably good Bruce track. “Many Doors to Hell” starts out on a more “Tattooed Millionaire” note, interestingly… a bit more rock ‘n’ roll than heavy metal, while “Rain on the Graves” combines heaviness with what I’d call haunted Halloween synths, and an almost country/blues/North American folk -style in the verses. It’s not what I’d expect from Bruce, but it’s not bad, though again, it could have maybe been a wee bit faster?

There’s an almost Spaghetti Western/surfer (very ‘60s-’70s) feel to the guitar sound in “Resurrection Man,” which works, but the song itself perhaps bounces around genres a bit too much without quite enough cohesion between parts… I’m still a bit undecided, though it is growing on me. Knowing the story might help with that too. Also, there’s a really distinct Black Sabbath sound in the low-end, which is actually pretty good, with some notable bass lines.

Now, when I mentioned the struggle to judge something objectively without basing one’s opinions on the artist’s previous work, I struggled the most with “Fingers in the Wounds”—on one hand, I love the pianos, but the verses are more straightforward than the old poetic lyrics of my favorite Bruce albums. However, that’s actually a pretty nit-picky complaint, as I do appreciate the storied nature of the track, the interesting use of Indian instruments during the instrumental break, and the vocal lines. It’s certainly more diverse than your usual Maiden/Bruce sound and that gives me pause, but that might be because I’m an old person who’s adverse to change, and this song is simply different. In the end, it’s actually probably one of my favorite songs on the album.

The inclusion of “Eternity Has Failed” is interesting to say the least. It’s almost the same as “If Eternity Should Fail” from “The Book of Souls” (Iron Maiden’s second most recent release ↓). It’s not the exact same song, though I have heard that it was originally made for this release, much like “Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter” back in the day. Either way, this was one of the better songs from “The Book of Souls” (in my debatably humble opinion), so I didn’t have any personal issue with its inclusion, especially with the soloing.

The guitars in “Mistress of Mercy” really bring me back to “Accident of Birth” and musically this is one of my favorite tracks, feeling like the riff was lifted right from “Freak,” with a bit more of a singalong Maiden feel to the chorus. I would’ve maybe liked a lower sound or a bit more grit in the verses than those higher notes, because the best power and sound (and depth) comes when he starts to lower his voice. “Face in the Mirror” starts out as a pretty typical ballad but dares to edge near “Windmill” by Helloween levels of cheesiness in the chorus, salvaged only by its lack of drama; if the chorus had been dramatic, it would have been unbearable, though the song could’ve had more of a dynamic rise towards the end, because without it, it falls quite flat emotionally. I can imagine this song is pretty hit-or-more-likely-miss for fans, due to the tediously repetitive and unchanging nature of that cheesy, saccharine, and frankly boring chorus.

The energy stays slow for “Shadow of the Gods,” which is one of the songs that’s caught my attention the most on repeat listens. If “Face in the Mirror” lacked the necessary drama to leave its mark, “Shadow of the Gods” makes up for this by having an excellent dramatic arc. It almost reminds me, more than anything, of Bruce’s guest spot with Ayreon for “Into the Black Hole,” which I love. Bruce’s vocal performance and the general movement of the song are really spectacular, making this probably the biggest highlight of the album for me.

Word on the street is that “Sonata (Immortal Beloved)” is the aforementioned sequel song and if we’re taking that at face value, this is not what I’d have personally hoped for. First of all, “Taking the Queen” has such an iconic acoustic guitar line and soft sound, with mystical, poetic lyrics… it’s perfection. This new song, taken out of context of that, is fine. I appreciate the talkative guitars towards the end and the drama, but even though Bruce is singing well, I don’t find his vocal lines in the chorus to be very powerful, making it a bit repetitive, and when he sings “bring back the queen,” I feel like he’s trying a bit too hard, especially compared with the vocal lines that immediately follow, which rein it in exactly the right amount. But it doesn’t really share anything in feeling or atmosphere with “Taking the Queen” after maybe the very beginning, which is where it fails me personally. It’s again probably a bit overly long with a lack of lyrical diversity in the chorus, and though there is some interesting drama, especially in the end, it doesn’t have the same mystique as its predecessor.

Overall, it feels difficult to compare this to other solo Bruce albums, because it’s quite different from them all. I can’t say I like it better than my top three (which, honestly, are very hard albums to knock off of such longstanding thrones), and it’s perhaps not the polished gem that I would have hoped for, lacking a lot of musical cohesion between the songs (especially considering it’s a concept album), but it’s also not an awful release either, having its ups and downs. It maybe lacks some necessary hooks, but ultimately isn’t horribly offensive… just a bit tedious/boring/repetitive at times. Ultimately, though I have listened to it a few more times, I simply find myself curious to keep listening and getting to know it, and hopefully eventually its story, better with time.

Now that you’ve heard from me though, here are some of the vastly diverse opinions from some of my friends:

Marc Taylor

I actually had a bit of a wobbly start with the album, partially due to Bruce’s comments about it being a concept album and releasing “Afterglow of Ragnarok” as the lead single. This, coupled with my 25-year hope for something like “The Chemical Wedding” left me a bit confused when “Rain on the Graves” came out, and then again on listening to the rest of the album. So after all the excitement building up to the release, I needed to give my brain a bit of a reset, so that I could give the album a chance on its own merits.

“Afterglow of Ragnarok”: After expecting something as heavy as “TCW,” this remains by far and away my favorite song on the album. I love the atmospheric intro and the unusual, the almost growled vocals at the end, and the incredibly heavy dropped B guitar riffs. Can’t wait to hear this bad-boy live!

“Many Doors to Hell”: Although not as heavy, this song is a great segue into “Rain on the Graves.” Very catchy chorus.

“Rain on the Graves”: I wasn’t immediately sold on the spoken verses, but loved the riff. However the song has really enjoy grown on me. It’s gonna be great to sing along with the choruses live.

“Resurrection Man”: I think this is the one that Bruce said was reminiscent of Dick Dale. Personally, I’m hearing more Muse in this—and obviously the Black Sabbath bit is undeniable.

“Fingers in the Wounds”: This is such a great song that even before I had listened to the album more than a handful of times, I kept hearing, “So put your fingers in the wounds, AND PRAY THAT HE’S GOD!” in the back of my mind.

“Eternity Has Failed”: I really feel like a heretic to say this, but I think I actually prefer the Maiden version of the song. It does have some really cool bits in it that make it its own, but overall… maybe I’m just so used to the Maiden one by now that I feel the song has been done. Which is a shame, because with “AoB” and “TCW,” I often felt like, as much as I love Maiden (including the new stuff), post-2000, it’s such a different band from the one I grew up loving that I often wished they were doing stuff like “AoB” and “TCW.”

“Mistress of Mercy”: Most of my favorites come from the first half of the album, but this one (coming in after “Eternity has Failed”) gets me going again with more great riffage from Roy and some very tasteful guitar arpeggios over the top of it.

“Face in the Mirror”: This song reminds me of a video where Bruce said how much he loves to sing with just a piano. I have to wonder if it was developed from whatever inspired the pianos in “Empire of the Clouds”—very similar vibe.

“Shadow of the Gods”: If they don’t play this as a segue from “Chemical Wedding,” surely that would be a missed opportunity?! “AND SO WE LAYYYYYY…” Definitely a pre-encore show closer. Very epic! The outro also makes me hear “and so we lay, we lay in the same grave…”

“Sonata (Immortal Beloved)”: Talking of things being unexpected! The drum intro almost makes me think of some obscure Kate Bush song, but this gives way to something else. The emotion definitely feels like the denouement of the album. I could definitely see the credits rolling at the end of this journey while listening to this.

Overall, once I had a chance to hear the album with a more open mind and heart, I think it’s a really great release. There’s only one small dip in “Eternity Has Failed” and that’s not a huge dip, because it’s still a great song. However, you can really tell that this is an album that has been written over the last 20 years. While the songs will be tied into the comic, I’m not feeling the “concept” album as much as it has been pushed. I am enjoying this a lot more after a relatively short listening period than I did “Tyranny of Souls.” I enjoyed that album, but after “AoB” and “TCW,” I felt like something was missing. I wonder now what difference it would have made to have Adrian Smith still be on board for these two latest solo efforts.

Expectations be damned, I’m still listening to this on regular rotation. 8/10

Mikael Salo

I think Bruce sounds very liberated musically on this album. If you watch his making-of clips from the recordings, you can see him playing around with all sorts of exotic instruments and for those who have read his autobiography, the infamous bongo drums (his first instrument) are back with a vengeance! “Rain on the Graves” is a deliciously fun little jam with Bruce almost rapping his storytelling lines, while a spooky keyboard sound adds a lovely atmosphere of an obscure ‘70s Italian horror flick. A track like “Fingers In The Wounds” even invokes the sound of Myrath at times with its Arabic flavor towards the end!

The only downside, I would say, is the uneven production. Roy Z has been an amazing audio wizard in the past, working on killer-sounding albums such as “Time to Be Free” by André Matos, as well as “Burning Oath” by Anthem, but has surprisingly seemed to have lost his touch with releases like “Spirits of Fire.” The songs sound, at times, like they are from different albums, almost like a compilation. Overall, it is a fun and inspiring journey though, with Bruce’s voice sounding more beautiful than ever in songs like “Sonata (Immortal Beloved)”!

Tomi Tiippana

“The Mandrake Project” is an ambitious endeavor with graphic novel and music video tie-ins. The music itself is a bit of a mixed bag, ranging from wonderful ideas to some parts that could have been more refined. What carries the record is Dickinson’s voice. He still heavily relies on his quasi-operatic wail, but also utilizes his pleasant mid-range here to a greater degree. The lyrics might be the best part of the record—cleverly stirring in the themes of life, death, faith, and the occult. Many songs serve as a continuum to the sound established in “Accident of Birth” (perfected in “The Chemical Wedding,” and continued with “Tyranny of Souls”), with some nods to the earlier “Balls to Picasso” era. Iron Maiden fans might find familiar territory in some major-key choruses reminiscent of the “Dance of Death” album and the reimagined “Eternity Has Failed,” which has turned the Maiden gallop into an ominous march.

There are also some fun experimental moments like the Spaghetti Western intro with some bongos(!) in “Resurrection Men,” which also features a “Symptom of the Universe”-era Black Sabbath riff mid-song. “Afterglow of Ragnarok” shows promise as a unique and modern take on traditional heavy metal, but it feels like the creative ingredients have not formed into a fully balanced musical soup just yet. The highlights of the album are the more theatrical pieces like “Fingers in the Wounds” and “Shadow of the Gods,” which wonderfully blend orchestration with Dickinson’s dramatic interpretation. “Sonata”—which ends the album—is in the same vein and one of Bruce’s best vocal performances in some time.

"Afterglow of Ragnarok" has good moments and is an ambitious track, but somehow you get the feeling that there are too many different things going on. A glimpse what modern Bruce Dickinson sounds like.

"Many Doors to Hell" is a good, rockin’ track where Bruce sounds great and the chorus sticks in your head.

"Rain on the Graves" sounds like Bruce and the band are really having fun. Dark themes done a bit tongue-in-cheek and the catchy chorus make it one the highlights on the album.

"Resurrection Men" has a lot going on, with a Spaghetti Western type intro and the other half sounding like “Master of Reality” from Black Sabbath. Good moments, though a bit of a patchwork of a song… but I still like it.

"Fingers in the Wounds" shifts the album into a more orchestral and theatrical direction. Maybe my favorite on the album—good melodies and lyrics and a nice Middle Eastern vibe after the second chorus. Bruce sounds powerful.

“Eternity Has Failed” is the alternate version of “If Eternity Should Fail” and the Maiden gallop has turned into a ominous march. The Japanese instruments in the intro add a nice touch to this very good track.

"Mistress of Mercy" sounds like a track that fell off of IM’s “Dance of Death,” with the riff from Bruce’s solo song, “Freak,” and the pre-chorus of Maiden’s “El Dorado.”

"Face in the Mirror" sounds promising at first (Dickinson’s ballads often deliver), but it relies too much on repetition and is overall very flat in terms of song dynamics.

"Shadow of the Gods" takes the album back to a more orchestral direction and is a longer track with many moods and surprising turns, with the ending taking us melodically to the titular track of “The Chemical Wedding,” or even “The Alchemist.” I’m on the fence with this one as to whether it manages to tie everything together in this ambitious combination.

"Sonata (Immortal Beloved)" is a dreamlike conclusion to “Taking the Queen” and has a very good buildup and maybe the most stellar vocal performance from Dickinson in a long time.

Overall, it’s a good record with its moments, but lacks the clear musical direction and the “hits” of the previous albums. It’s definitely an release that requires multiple listens to properly get into, but after almost two decades of waiting, the record isn’t quite as good as expected (after almost two decades, a record of any caliber would have a hard time delivering). It has good moments, but the direction is all over the place. It seems like they either wanted to do a very epic, more theatrical record or then explore a more modern sound, but couldn’t decide which to pursue (and threw in some classic Dickinson tracks in between). There are songs to go back to, but time will tell which ones keep rocking on my playlist.

Vincent Lilium

I've been looking forward to “The Mandrake Project” for at least 10 years, if not the full 19 years since “Tyranny of Souls.” After all, Bruce Dickinson has teased it in interviews, saying “If Eternity Should Fail” from “Book of Souls” was originally meant for it. With the ever-decreasing production quality on Iron Maiden albums, all my hopes were on a new solo album—yet another collaboration with producer/guitarist Roy Z, following the Gothic and occult themes of William Blake.

When finally listening to it, however, the lack of polish hit me square in the face, as if to provide a whole new meaning to the term slapdash. It isn't just that it doesn't conform to modern standards—this wouldn't have flown with either Bruce or Roy Z 20 years ago. Where is the full, bold sound Roy Z is known for? Try playing this next to Judas Priest's “Angel of Retribution” or Halford's “Crucible.” If you would've shown me “Rain on the Graves” and claimed it was a Japanese exclusive bonus demo from “The Chemical Wedding,” I might have believed you. All of the vocals sound like they were the first take. There are breaths where they shouldn't be and the vocal melodies are sloppy. You know what, just read my Vincent Hates Everything on “Senjutsu.” Pretty much everything I said there about the singing goes for this too. Rumor has it that Bruce ascribes to "the battery theory" of singing, meaning he believes there is a limit to how much he can do it in a lifetime. Supposedly this leads him to not practice and to try to reserve himself as much as possible. I don't know if it's that, complacency, hubris, or sheer laziness that leads to results like this. I just wish he'd respect his fans a little more.

I see what they were going for a lot of the time though. There's really good stuff to be found here. The first three songs are pretty solid. “Many Doors to Hell” especially tickles the right nerves for me. “Fingers in Wounds” has some neat sections. I do like those Deep Purple/Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow-styled medieval scales. The bridge/solo in “Mistress of Mercy” is solid. The rest of it is recycled though. The main riff is just a watered down “Freak” with the half-singing from “Headswitch.”

I'm not even touching “Face in the Mirror.” Full nope. I absolutely cannot understand redoing “If Eternity Should Fail” without the Maidenisms—a completely thankless job. The big epic, “Sonata (Immortal Beloved),” I'm sorry, I just don't get it. It's not that it's too proggy for me, they just don't seem to have a coherent groove. The best part just reminds me of “Believil.” After a few listens, I've gone back and forth on “Shadow of the Gods.” At times I feel like I could get into the mood. Ultimately, I just can't forgive the sound. Eww, is Bruce straight-up pitchy?

The deluxe CD comes in a swanky digibook with a comic book. Or rather, a preview. The art style suits the mood quite well. However, the compositions are a bit off, making the action a bit hard to follow. I would be interested in reading the full thing, but as of right now, I'm done sending this man my money!

...sigh, who am I kidding. See you in June.

Tracklist

Afterglow of Ragnarok
Many Doors to Hell
Rain on the Graves
Resurrection Man
Fingers in the Wounds
Eternity Has Failed
Mistress of Mercy
Face in the Mirror
Shadow of the Gods
Sonata (Immortal Beloved)

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Bear Wiseman