Me too, another week won’t hurt after 19 long years. March 1 it is!
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Arrow Lords Of Metal review, Google translated. 9.5/10.
My CD arrived today (early?) and I’m mixed about it. It’s no Accident of Birth but there are some tracks I absolutely adore so far. Eternity Has Failed is amazing, exactly what I wanted out of a retelling of If Eternity Should Fail. I’ve definitely found more to like about it after listening a few more times, so your comment on it growing on you is spot on at least for me.
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I think I bit my tongue before… Shame on me for listening to a poor quality audio 
I quite like the album now haha
Don’t expect a heavy metal album like AoB or even CW. It’s a totally different beast.
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My hot take after listening to the official stream once:
This is an unexpectedly varied theatrical hard rock album, with a lot of 70s influence and B-list horror movie vibes. While it sounds quite different from his past solo work on the whole, it probably shares the most musical DNA with Tyranny Of Souls and Tattooed Millionaire of all things, with maybe a dash of Balls To Picasso.
This is a vocal-driven record where the guitars largely take a back seat, and there are a lot of memorable vocal melodies on offer. Keyboards are more prominent on a number of tracks, but usually to good effect.
I need to listen some more to let it sink in, but in the end I’m guessing this will land about dead center in Bruce’s discography in terms of overall quality. I definitely like it, but we’ll have to see if love blossoms or not.
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Picked up my deluxe CD of The Mandrake Project and the packaging is actually quite nice, including an oversized lyric booklet along with the roughly 8" square hardcover comic (which I have not yet read) – but, the CD itself is slipped into such a tight paper pocket that it’s really hard to get out of the sleeve. I was afraid I was going to rip the paper trying to get it out, as turning the book upside down and smacking it wasn’t getting the job done! Firm but careful grabbing of the disc finally won the day.
Same experience here, very frustrating to try to get the cd out of the deluxe package without damaging the package or the cd. But worth it!
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FYI, I’m going to wait until the album has been out for a couple of months before I add it to the Ratings & Commentary section, just so it has a chance to fully sink in before people start laying down ratings.
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I think the first half of the album is great, the second half more uneven. I’ve been listening to it quite a lot now and I still have reservations regarding some decisions they have made, but more than anything I am really happy. There’s a new Bruce album out there, and I can listen to it as much as I want, singing along and rocking the hell out of it!
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Live band rehearsal:
https://www.instagram.com/brucedickinsonhq/p/C5d_1D9NWV-/
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Phillip Naslund video re: tour rehearsals.
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Secret first show at the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles on 4/12, tickets only on sale at the venue’s box office starting the same day at 10am.
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It appears that Bruce will be filming his Brazilian shows to produce a DVD (and hopefully Blu-Ray?) of the concerts.
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This doesn’t really surprise me. It was years ago when Roy wrote on Facebook that they had “17 amazing songs” waiting, and to my knowledge at least two of the songs on The Mandrake Project were only written last year.
If they make another album, I hope they won’t use old recordings like they did on this one. It’s a bit weird to me.
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Now that a couple of months have passed since the album’s release, I’ve added The Mandrake Project to the Ratings & Commentary category.
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