Bruce Dickinson

Few is said 'bout vocalists, and other musicians who aren't guitar players. One thing is for sure, vocalists, bass players, drummers, and all sorts instrumentists are as important as guitar players. Of course, if you're a guitar player, you'll listen more to the guitar players, but once in a while you should stop to listen to the other guys playing too. Same with the drummers, bass players, etc. Just listen.

One of the singers that always have amazed me for his vocal talent and stage personna is Bruce Dickinson, the man behind the amazing vocal work in Iron Maiden after the departure of Paul DiAnno, and also the man behind some amazing solo work.

One thing is to hear, Bruce in your home, sitting in front of your stereo. Another is to hear him, live, onstage. It's totally a completely different situation, and experience.

The first time I heard this guy's voice, was while I borrowed an Iron Maiden cd from an english teacher at high school. He had this album called "The Best of The Beast", and it included the most known (and popular) Iron Maiden songs. Between the songs there were the ones with Blaze Bailey, and it's kinda funny, you could hear the DIFFERENCE (Capitol letters needed) between the two of them...

The songs that caught my angry-young-man ear (I was 17 or 16? Don't remember) were The Number of the Beast, and Aces High. So much energy, raw force and the amazing vocals from the singer, that stuff really drove me nuts.

So later on I realised he was also a solo artist. After his departure from Iron Maiden, he started composing his music, together with great collaborators such as Roy Z and Adrian Smith, who also left Iron Maiden. And his solo music is as powerful as Maiden's, the difference is that his solo albums, are heavily influenced by the english artist William Blake, who was a poet, and also a painter. He really left a mark inside Bruce's personna, and elements from Blake's art are found sometimes in his albums, most notably in the album "The Chemical Wedding"



- This is what I'm talking 'bout, power! And the title says it all he he...

Once you see Bruce Dickinson live, your life isn't the same anymore.