Track Listing
1. King in crimson 2. Chemical wedding 3. The tower 4. Killing floor 5. Book of Thel 6. Gates of Urizen 7. Jerusalem 8. Trumpets of Jericho 9. Machine men 10. The alchemist Year: 1998 Label: CMC - Official Site |
Bruce Dickinson - 'Chemical wedding' - By C. Diamantis
After the great (artistic and commercial) success of �Accident Of Birth� the expectations for the next solo album of Bruce Dickinson were incredibly high. The easiest thing for the famous singer was to make an album similar to 'Accident of birth' and satisfy most of his fans. It seems though that Dickinson didn�t choose the easiest option and created a rather different album both musically and lyrically and his decision proved once again that he is a great artist. The team that created this album is the same with the one that created AoB. That fact alone is enough to guarantee the quality of the album since the skills of Adrian Smith, Roy Z, Eddie Casillas and David Ingraham as musicians and composers are undisputed. The music is mainly composed by Dickinson and Roy Z with the help of A. Smith (in songs 4 & 9) and E. Casillas (in song 5). This is a rather darker and heavier album than AoB and with greater diversity of compositions. The guitar work of the album is perfect and I don�t think anyone expected anything different from the musicians that participate in the record. The rhythm section of the band is also extremely good and adds that extra tone of heaviness to the music that makes it different from its predecessor. And, of course, the vocals of Bruce show once again why he�s considered one of the best singers in heavy metal. The songs have different styles, from epic (Book Of Thel, Jerusalem) to more melodic moments (Gates Of Urizen) and to great examples of heavy metal music (Trumpets Of Jericho, Machine Men). Although all the songs of the album are excellent (with the possible exception of Killing Floor, but that�s just my personal opinion, most people like this song) I couldn�t help distinguishing Jerusalem, Chemical Wedding and The Alchemist as my personal favorites. Finally we mustn�t forget to mention the appearance of Arthur Brown (another great singer and a great influence for Dickinson) who recites some passages in the album. Apart from the musical differences there is one other profound difference between this album and AoB and that�s the lyrics. While in AoB Dickinson chose to have more or less typical metal lyrics, this time he chose to create an almost concept album. I say almost because this isn�t an album that tells a story but one whose songs have the same thematic background. This time Dickinson decided to use the poetry of one of the most important poets of England, William Blake. There are parts of Blake�s poems that are used unaltered in the album (like in Jerusalem) and songs that use certain subjects of Blake�s writing but with the verses of Dickinson (Book Of Thel). The mystical and deeply philosophical thought of Blake along with a lot of references to the subject of alchemy create and incredible atmosphere that attracts everyone. The art of W. Blake isn�t used only in the lyrics, however, many of his drawings are used in the cover and booklet of the CD and this completes the concept of the album. I guess we can say that this is the personal tribute of Dickinson in the art of W. Blake, a poet that managed to create such magnificent art that few others have achieved in making. This is also an album that contains ten exceptional compositions that will appeal to almost every heavy metal fan. My advice to you is (if you decide to get the album) not to concentrate just on the music but to try and view this as a whole, music and lyrics. Only this way will you be able to fully comprehend the worth of this work. Metal Obsessive Grade: 90% |