BRUCE DICKINSON: New Solo Album Samples Posted Online

Audio samples of two tracks from IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson's upcoming solo album, "Tyranny of Souls", have been posted online at his official web site. Check out the tracks "Abduction" (Windows Media) and "Soul Intruders" (Windows Media).

As previously reported, "Tyranny of Souls" is scheduled for release on May 24 (one day earlier internationally) via Sanctuary Records.

Seven years have elapsed since the vocalist's last fully-fledged solo release, "The Chemical Wedding", during which time he made a hugely successful return to IRON MAIDEN, recording two highly acclaimed albums and touring the globe several times.

This new album sees him renewing a fruitful collaboration with guitarist/producer/writer Roy Z of the Latin-based rock group TRIBE OF GYPSIES. Z has worked with Bruce since 1994's "Balls to Picasso" album, also producing the likes of HELLOWEEN, DOWNSET, HALFORD and most recently JUDAS PRIEST's reunion album, "Angel of Retribution".

A deejay, broadcaster and qualified airline pilot, Bruce is a man for all seasons whose punishing schedule would terrify a less driven soul. It was following on from the end of the last MAIDEN tour that Bruce saw an opportunity to work alongside Roy again.

"With MAIDEN, once the band have finished up on the tours, we all tend to go our separate ways and do our own thing for a while until it's time to saddle up again for the next album. I knew I could seize the chance to work with Roy in between his work on the new PRIEST album. We both work quickly together, which I like, and the recording is very organic so it came together quite easily. I'm very proud of it."

Bruce and Roy had exchanged ideas in demo form before commencing work at Roy's Los Angeles home in February 2004. Guitar and bass parts had already been cut by Z, with David Moreno contributing some incredible drumming. Keyboards would later be added by a shady individual known only as Maestro Mistheria. "He's Italian," exclaims Bruce enthusiastically, "but nobody's met him. We email him the tracks, and he sends them back overlain with millions of ideas. They're all fantastic, and we just chose the ones that we want!"

Only slightly less bizarrely, the material was recorded in a single room containing just ProTools recording equipment, a microphone… and a bed. "I'd fallen off stage and ripped some chest muscles, I was in absolute agony," relates Bruce. "I could sing for about 10 minutes at a time, but then I'd have to lie down."

"Tyranny of Souls" is an album of remarkable poise and accomplishment. Much like the man that made it, its 10 tracks encompass various moods. The album takes the listener on an adventurous journey. It begins in punishing fashion, all apocalyptic drumming and fiery guitar work, before "Navigate the Seas of the Sun" supplies what Bruce calls "a little chill-out moment." From there, it builds to a spectacular conclusion, with many high-points along the way.

Like its predecessor, which tapped into the occult science of alchemy and the poetry and art of William Blake as its twin sources of inspiration, "Tyranny of Souls" offers depth, intrigue and dark wisdom beyond the norm and appropriately a 15th Century painting of Flemish artist Hans Hemling's depiction of hell adorns the album's sleeve. An album full of thoughtful lyrics, Bruce's well-publicised endeavours in a variety of different fields — he's also a fully qualified airline pilot, published novelist, TV presenter, expert swordsman and BBC rock DJ — all serve to defy the notion of heavy metal as the domain of the brainless Neanderthal.

"I've always hated those type of generic theories," shrugs Bruce. "But I also dislike being trotted out as the token metal guy with a brain, because it's so demeaning to everybody else and so clichéd and untrue that the metal fraternity is less intelligent. Most of the time it's the complete opposite. All I can do is try to be me."

The album's piece de resistance is its title track. At turns soothingly melodic and staggeringly powerful, it can only be described as a juggernaut.

"The opening part was also cribbed from the three witches in 'Macbeth'. Basically, it's what the whole track ended up being about — the supernatural manipulating people from behind their backs."

Lyrically, the album dips in and out of sci-fi and aviation-related areas. There are no prizes for guessing what the song "Abduction" is about, but "Soul Intruders" is a distant cousin, Bruce wondering aloud whether "there are loose spirits floating around the universe. They can zap into our bodies and inhabit us, a bit like a computer virus, and we don't even know they're there. When we die, they just attach themselves to somebody else."

Dickinson recently presented a series called "Flying Heavy Metal" on the Discovery Channel, and "Kill Devil Hill" tells the story of the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, creators of the world's first airplane and its pioneering flight in the year 1900. "The odds were stacked against them," says Bruce incredulously. "They needed a steady wind in the right direction at exactly 20 knots to make that plane fly. What hand of fate would make them be there at exactly the right time, in combination with the right elements? It was all about getting them up there alongside the angels. Maybe God gave them a push?"

"Devil on a Hog", meanwhile, is an anthemic hard rocker that harks back to Bruce's 1990 solo debut, "Tattooed Millionaire". "I was imagining the devil getting kicked out of heaven and going around picking up chicks," imparts its creator. "He offers them the best sex they'll ever have, but says he'll see them again in a few years. There will always be payback."

"Tyranny of Souls" track listing:

01. Mars Within (Intro)
02. Abduction
03. Soul Intruders
04. Kill Devil Hill
05. Navigate the Seas of the Sun
06. River of No Return
07. Power of the Sun
08. Devil on a Hog
09. Believil
10. A Tyranny of Souls