Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden in the early 90s a tired, disgruntled man with a fair amount of damage to his vocal system caused by either extensive touring or extensive boredom. It is a real shame that such a solid, genre-defining vocalist jumped ship after the lackluster Fear of the Dark, which itself had followed the appalling No Prayer for the Dying, rather than before. Clearly, time away from the aging Maiden lads was exactly what the man needed.

His fourth solo studio album, Accident of Birth, is a return to the musical style Dickinson favored in Iron Maiden, complete with artwork by Derek Riggs, and is rather different from his first three. Together with fellow Maiden escapee Adrian Smith and a team of young guns (who sound remarkably like Iron Maiden did fifteen years ago, with a somewhat more proficient guitar player, Roy Z), Dickinson has put together a collection of very good songs, varying from hard-hitting metal anthems ("Starchildren" and the obvious hit "Road to Hell", which recalls early 1990s Helloween and successfully avoids being as annoying as it might have been if Maiden had had their way with it) to emotional and convincing ballads ("Man of Sorrows") with discreet strings and keyboards. Only one song is truly annoying Maiden fare ("The Magician"). But this album's most impressive characteristic is the quality of Bruce's voice. He has never sounded as good: his vibrato has calmed down, his range has returned, and he has finally integrated nuance in his singing.

This is the album Maiden should have put out after Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and which so evidently announced the impending Dickinson-Smith-Maiden reunion to the world. The real shame now is that that reunion has been consummated, resulting in a sad Maiden effort (Brave New World) several notches below Dickinson's recent solo output. I find myself listening to Accident of Birth (and its followup The Chemical Wedding) rather frequently, while I completely lost interest in (and respect for) Iron Maiden after Seventh Son... - let's hope they break up again so that Dickinson is free to deliver what he is clearly capable of.

Review by Rog The Frog Billerey-Mosier

Review date: 09/2000

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Bruce Dickinson's last solo record before Iron Maiden's reunion and its paltry offspring (Brave New World) is much the same as Accident of Birth, which is not surprising considering that it features the same lineup and was released barely a year after that album.

Young Roy Z and veteran Adrian Smith seem to enjoy playing together and the band is tight. The production is a mite flat, but is unlikely to sound dated too soon. The guitars are detuned for much of the album, but recorded with a very classic metal sound, which makes this contemporary touch less of a cause for "sellout" clamors. The songs are strong ("Chemical Wedding"), some very Maiden-like ("The Tower"), some almost sailor/folksy ("Jerusalem"), with lyrics characteristically inspired by literature and classical myths.

This album as a whole is slightly less exciting and consistent than its predecessor, maybe because Dickinson was already adjusting to the Maiden blokes' ailing songwriting and slowly allowing bilge to creep into his system in preparation for the reunion album. Here's a suggestion - how about trading in Maiden's last eight albums for Dickinson's last two at the local record store? A much better deal.

Review by Rog The Frog Billerey-Mosier

Review date: 09/2000

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