Bruce Dickinson - London Review

Considering how busy Iron Maiden remain, both when it comes to touring and their semi-regular new album release schedule, I am not sure that too many expected that frontman Bruce Dickinson would get much of an opportunity to operate as a solo artist again. He released his first solo album whilst still in Iron Maiden, but his solo career took off in a big way when he left the band in 1993 - and much of his solo work released between 1993 and him re-joining Iron Maiden in 1999 is likely better than a lot of what Iron Maiden released in that time (despite my general enjoyment of the Blaze Bayley years). With the Iron Maiden fanbase often divided over the band's recent gargantuan releases, I think that some yearned to hear something more concise and heavy from Dickinson again - so with the release of his seventh solo album The Mandrake Project (which I reviewed here) back in March many got their wish. In truth, whilst I was casually familiar with some of Dickinson's solo albums prior to this year - it was the announcement of both The Mandrake Project, his first solo album since 2005's Tyranny of Souls, and its accompanying tour that really made me dive into his catalogue. I had always meant to properly digest his solo work and the prospect of a rare solo tour was a good reason to do so. A handful of UK dates were scheduled as part of a fairly generous set of dates worldwide - and I opted for the London show at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town. Given that Dickinson tends to headline festivals and arenas with Iron Maiden here in the UK, seeing him in a smaller theatre certainly promised to be an event. It is also good to see him putting together such a healthy-looking solo tour, too, given that Iron Maiden are still very much in the midst of their touring cycle for 2021's Senjutsu (which I also reviewed here). I get the impression that releasing a new solo album and touring it is something that Dickinson has wanted to do for quite a while - and it is great that 2024 has become his year in that regard. From the stage he even said that he wanted to get back in the studio and do another solo album soon, and I got the impression with the band assembled for this tour, and given how well The Mandrake Project and this tour have been received I doubt that too many would complain about more from Dickinson. Speaking of Dickinson's band, whilst it contained some musicians which had previously contributed to his albums, none of its members had played live with him prior to this tour. Both Dave Moreno (drums/vocals) and Mistheria (keyboards/vocals) played on Tyranny of Souls and The Mandrake Project, and Chris Declercq (guitar/vocals) contributed a solo to the latter, but Philip Näslund (guitar/vocals) and Tanya O'Callaghan (bass guitar/vocals) are new faces. Nevertheless, though, the band were extremely tight and already seem to have good chemistry. It would be great to see what Dickinson could achieve in the studio with them if he does intend to work on another album - although it was a shame that his long-time collaborator Roy Z was unable to commit to the tour.

Unsurprisingly, the London show sold out - so it was a large crowd which greeted New Zealand's Black Smoke Trigger, the evening's sole support act, when they hit the stage at 8pm. I had not see the band live before, but I remember checking out a couple of songs of theirs two or three years ago for some reason. I never delved any deeper, though, so when they were announced as Dickinson's support I considered it an opportunity to do so. Given the molten metal of what was to follow, the four-piece's bluesier, grungier sound did not exactly compliment Dickinson's trademark approach - but I think that over time the band won quite a few in the crowd over. This was despite having to battle through some classic support band sound issues - with an overly low volume and frontman Baldrick's (I can only assume Blackadder did not make it to New Zealand...) voice was sometimes on the quiet side compared to his bandmates, too. The sound did improve as the band's set progressed, though, and I think that their alternative/grungy rock sound ended up having the desired effect. Iron Maiden's, so by extension Dickinson's, fanbase are not famed for being kind to support acts. They are one of those obsessive fanbases that generally needs to get out more and realise there are other bands out there, and the sheer amount of Iron Maiden t-shirts being worn hinted at such, but Black Smoke Trigger seemed to win over quite a large portion of the crowd - especially those down on the floor around me. The first couple of songs did not do all that much for me, but as the set progressed I thought that the songwriting improved along with the sound. Baldrick has a good voice, and when he cut through the mix he sounded pretty strong - whilst the guitar playing Charlie Wallace also impressed. Late on in the band's set they even managed to get a pretty decent sing-a-long going, which helped to warm the crowd up for the many to come later in the evening, and a couple of bigger anthems like Caught in the Undertow and Blindfolds & Rattlesnakes ended the set on a bit of a high. For the most part, then, I enjoyed Black Smoke Trigger's set - and I feel like I will likely give them a proper listen in due course as their Free-meets-Alice in Chains sound was something which generally impressed.

It was about half an hour following Black Smoke Trigger's set that Dickinson and his band took to the stage - with both the opening music/narration for the 1960s TV series The Invaders and Dickinson's own Toltec 7 Arrival setting the tone. Once the band crashed into Accident of Birth, though, the set got underway proper - and it was clear that the night was going to be a pretty special one. With Dickinson having not toured as a solo artist since 2002, this meant that nothing from Tyranny of Souls nor The Mandrake Project had been played live before this tour. Both albums were represented in the set, and the 16-song set included material from five of his seven solo albums - with many of his best-known songs being played. Accident of Birth was a great opener, with the anthemic chorus prompting the first big sing-a-long of the night, but an early highlight for me was the melodic and hard rocking Abduction. Dickinson really brought the chorus to life - and the dual guitar leads from Declercq and Näslund certainly conjured up thoughts of Dickinson's day job. Mistheria also spent much of the set wielding a keytar, so was often down at the front alongside the guitarists. He took on some of the solos, too, which meant that he really got to shred, although there were moments where he retreated to the back to use a proper keyboard. The whole band looked like they were having fun, though, and it is clear that there is already a strong chemistry between all of the musicians - with the thick groove of Laughing in the Hiding Bush and the more atmospheric Afterglow of Ragnarok benefitting from the band's tightness. The latter in particular featured some excellent drumming from Moreno, but in truth the whole band continued to excel.

Dickinson was in fine voice throughout, too. He seems to be stronger than ever since the pandemic-enforced touring break and he seemed to relish getting the opportunity to play these songs live again. It was fun seeing him in a more stripped back setting, too, without all of the props and bombast associated with an Iron Maiden show. There was a big screen at the back, but that was all there was in the way of a 'show' - with the entertainment coming from the excellent musicians on stage. Much of the set rocked pretty hard, such as the Deep Purple-influenced Many Doors to Hell with its Hammond organ backing, but songs like Jerusalem showcased a different side to Dickinson's songwriting - with Näslund setting the scene with his acoustic guitar as the slow-burning piece grew around him. There were quirky moments, too, such as the semi-spoken Rain on the Graves, and the band then got a show off with a version of Frankenstein which acted as a vehicle for soloing. Moreno kicked it off with a short drum solo, before Edgar Winter's memorable riff acted as a bridge between each member shredding. Dickinson clattered around on some percussion during this part of the show, but he ended it with some theremin antics - before normality resumed for the lengthy The Alchemist. By this point the main set was coming to a close so, following a lengthy acoustic guitar intro, the legendary ballad Tears of the Dragon was played - which acted as another big sing-a-long moment. Declercq took the song to the next level with his solo and the main set then came to a close with another lengthy piece in Darkside of Aquarius - which everyone around me was also singing along to. A three-song encore followed, which kicked off in relatively sedate fashion with the acoustic-based Navigate the Seas of the Sun - but the two songs which followed were much heavier. The occult-sounding Book of Thel went down well, before Dickinson introduced his band over a backdrop of O'Callaghan's bass and launched into the bass-led The Tower - which brought the show to an anthemic and high octane finish. The setlist was:

Toltec 7 Arrival

Accident of Birth

Abduction

Laughing in the Hiding Bush

Afterglow of Ragnarok

Chemical Wedding

Many Doors to Hell

Jerusalem

Resurrection Men

Rain on the Graves

Frankenstein [The Edgar Winter Group cover]

The Alchemist

Tears of the Dragon

Darkside of Aquarius

-

Navigate the Seas of the Sun

Book of Thel

The Tower

Despite having seen Dickinson a couple of times with Iron Maiden, it was a real treat to get to see him as a solo artist in London last night. I do hope that he manages to find time to keep the solo career going alongside Iron Maiden now, as it is not likely he can really wait another 20 years before doing another tour. Like all veteran musicians there is only so much time he has left and I really hope that the success of his latest album and this tour spurs him on to keeping the solo career going - although I am sure that Iron Maiden will always need to come first whilst the band is still together.