Manchester is screaming for Bruce Dickinson once again

A lot of time has passed since then Bruce Dickinson last time he released any solo material or toured with anyone but Iron Maiden, so this tour in support The Mandrake Project it was shaping up to be a very special event. There were many questions surrounding the venue as the seemingly endless queue wound its way down Oxford Road; will any Virgo play? How is his backing band? Can he carry a show on his own? Of course he can, he’s Bruce d******** Dickinson, the man is a master of his craft and a born performer and this latest tour shows that he elevates songs to legend status and not the other way around.

Black trigger smoke they opened the show and gave a solid, high-energy performance, but were clearly bogged down by the Maiden curse. No matter how good they were, people were there for Bruce and that in itself is a huge hurdle to overcome. It’s difficult for a band to play at their peak when the audience sees you as an obstacle, but Black Trigger Smoke gave it their all. The well-dressed outfit from New Zealand dropped booty with their collection of hard rock anthems like the extremely heavy ‘much below’ and cold, but melodic “Bonds and Rattlesnakes”.

Shortly after, the legend himself took the stage and it’s immediately clear that Bruce is a natural performer, no matter how big the stage. The man is 60 years old and still runs around the stage with the energy of someone half his age.

Bruce Dickinson he’s always a joy to watch, and his solo material is rarely heard live, so this was a pretty special event. Some of his music can be difficult to play due to its incredible length, and the progressive/psychedelic elements can be an acquired taste, but there are more hits than misses at this show. This show features Dickinson at her Bruciest with lots of literary references and epic storytelling, but it might be a bummer for those who just want to hear “The Trooper” again.

The backing band is incredibly tight and the guitar solos have enough energy on tracks like ‘Abduction’ which also features a keytar solo, something most metal bands wouldn’t dare incorporate after 1990. You can tell that Bruce has great camaraderie with his band as he sings and dances around them with all the camp show I came. to love him.

Bruce’s latest album The Mandrake Project has received widespread acclaim and you can tell it’s a project Bruce is very passionate about. “This isn’t a song about the end of the world, it’s about what’s next…” says Bruce, as he introduces the ominous, apocalyptic heavy.Afterglow of Ragnarok’. The whole album is full of spooky themes and horror imagery and even invokes Black Sabbath on tracks like “Rain on the Graves” and “Many Doors to Hell” with its dark and haunting yet terrifying horror aesthetic.

A personal favorite of the setlist was “Resurrection People”, a track that feels like it could have been a Megadeth track at one point. “I need to hear you raise the dead,” Bruce yells as he continues to make rounds of the stage, barely breaking a sweat despite wearing a hat and leather jacket in the sweaty furnace that is Manchester Academy.

Basically every song on this setlist is around 6-8 minutes long and if you look at when these songs came out, you can trace how Bruce evolved as a songwriter during the dark time when he left Iron Maiden. “Chemical Wedding” it’s a pretty dark record and has seemed to fall by the wayside over the years, but hopefully this tour will see it get some more love.

The show seems to change its tone with the cover “Frankenstein” by The Edgar Winter Band is played, this song becomes a psychedelic jam between a group of brilliant musicians and even has a killer theremin solo from Bruce. The emphasis on progressive psychedelic elements can be a massive turn off for those who want more conventional songwriting, but that’s not really Bruce’s thing.

The clean space tones of “Sail the Seas of the Sun” or ‘The Alchemist’ give off a 70s prog rock vibe you’d hear from King Crimson or Yes, but don’t feel nearly as over-the-top or pompous as something like ‘Close to the Edge’. These tracks sound grand without resorting to 20-minute running times and instrumental tangents that don’t need to be there, they feel tight and well-crafted, but it’s understandable if you’d feel exhausted by the end of the show.

If there’s one thing that’s always been well documented about Bruce Dickinson, it’s that he loves to read. Literary geeks the world over have found many references to classic literature throughout Iron Maiden’s career, but Dickinson’s solo career is where she indulged the most. “The Gates of Ulzen” is based on the works of William Blake, as is his sprawling epic “Gates of Thel”, an 8-minute masterpiece that feels as grand as any Maiden work, with the added benefit of being much heavier.

Bruce’s stage presence has been studied by other leaders for decades. He really gives a masterclass in how to control the audience and stay engaged, through massive stretches that might otherwise be difficult to maintain attention. He even managed to introduce his iconic catchphrase ‘Scream for me Manchester’ into his classic, which has never failed to evoke a massive reaction from wherever he is in the world.