Bruce Dickinson - 'Tyranny Of Souls'
                                                                                                                                                                                                    Released through Sanctuary Records on May 24th 2005
THE BAND:
Bruce Dickinson - vocals
Roy Z - guitar
Eddie Cassillas - bass
Dave Ingraham - Drums



TRACK FRAGMENTS:
1.) "Mars Within" -instrumental
2.) "Abduction" -This track opens with a very intense heavy metal intro section.  Through the main guitar rhythm there are little accented lead riffs that causes the guitar arrangement to have an older Iron Maiden feel.  at times through the verse the musical arrangement is so intense that it almost overshadows Bruce's vocal lines.  The lead vocal and backing harmonies of the chorus is vintage Bruce Dickinson.  After the first chorus there is a small musical arrangement change that lasts about one bar.   At times the bass drum pattern has a very syncopated feel to it.  Musically one of the cool things about this track is the fact the drum pattern follows along with the lead guitar riffs.  The song has a very cool guitar solo but because the guitar tracks where turned down it was very overshadowed by the underlining musical arrangement.  
3.) "Soul Intruders" -This track opens with a very intense rhythm guitar arrangement along with a double bass drum pattern.  The main guitar riffs of the verses where arranged in a very simple fashion.  The verse and pre-chorus has a very cool underlining bass line.  For the pre-chorus the drummer used a hi-hat opening and closing pattern to accent the drum bass line.  The Bruce Dickinson backing harmonies of this song shows you why Bruce has been around as long as he has.  The guitar solo for this track has touches of Iron Maiden of the eighties.  After the guitar solo there is a small musical build up section connection the guitar solo to the last chorus.  Bruce carries out the last vocal note of the chorus, showing that even at his age he can still keep up with the younger vocalist.
4.) "Kill Devil Hill" -This track opens with a very laid back musical arrangement.  The effects pedal the guitarist used on this intro section gives the intro a very horror movie feel.  For the pre-verse the band kicks the song in with a up tempo guitar arrangement.  The vocal lines of the pre-verse have a very laid back sound to them.  It is very odd but the toms of the last drum fill connecting the pre-verse to verse almost sound out of tune.  I am sure the drummer knows how to tune his drums, so I'm sure it is just the way it was recorded.  The way Bruce wrote the vocal line along with the guitar riffs of the verse have a very solid hook to them.  There is a small lead guitar scale underneath the chorus.  The breakdown section of this song has a very strange wah-wah guitar effect.  I also was not expecting the piano solo during the breakdown.  At the end of the song you can hear a very subtle string arrangement.
5.) "Navigate The Seas Of The Sun" -This track opens with an acoustic guitar arrangement along with a very subtle snare drum pattern.  Vocally the verse does not sound like Bruce at all.  Throughout the song there is a small studio effect being done that sounds like ocean waves crashing on the beach.  The ride cymbal of the pre-chorus added a lot of dynamics to the drum pattern.  After the first chorus right before the musical change to the second verse there is a small vocal solo.  There are two different guitar solos for this song.  The solo arrangement goes from electric to acoustic then back to electric guitar, this was very cool and something I really was not expecting.  The lead guitar solo runs underneath the ending chorus arrangement. 
6.) "River Of No Return" -The intro to this track opens with a very simple electric guitar arrangement over the top of keyboard effects.  The opening musical arrangement of the pre-verse has a very ballad type feel to it.  Through the pre-verse there is an underling acoustic guitar arrangement but the main focus of the arrangement itself is the bass and bass line.  For the vocal line Bruce's vocals have a very subtle feel to them.  The bass line through the chorus had a very Steve Harris of Iron Maiden feel to it.  Which in turn causes the song to have an Iron Maiden feel.  Through out the songs arrangement there is a very simple keyboard section that is mainly used to fill in several of the empty spaces musically.  For me the first half of the guitar solo would have been very week if it was not for the bass line underneath it.
7.) "Power Of The Sun" -This track opens with a very strange vocal effect before going into a classic Iron Maiden intro section.  The intro section was very short for this type of song.  Musically and vocally if you had to pick one song off this release that sounded like Iron Maiden it would be this one.  The chorus has a huge Bruce Dickinson vocal hook.  The song has two different main guitar rhythms these rhythms reminded me a lot of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray.  The first half of the guitar solo was almost overshadowed by the backing musical arrangement.  The second half of the guitar solo was done with twin guitars.  I mentioned earlier how the main twin guitar rhythms had a very Adrian and Dave feel to them.  The twin lead guitar solo just justifies this fact.  After the twin guitar solos there is a small musical change where the band slows the song down just a little.  The song ends with the strange vocal effect as the opening of the song, only backwards.
8.) "Devil On A Hog" -This track opens with a very simple but heavy guitar rhythm.  Underneath the guitar rhythm the drummer is counting off the beat on his hi-hat.  Usually a band will write the musical change for the verse about one bar before the verse begins, but, on this track the musical change is right at the opening vocal line.  The main guitar arrangement through the verse has a very memorable guitar hook.  To accent the musical arrangement connecting the verse and choruses the drummer uses a very small hi-hat opening and closing pattern.  There is a huge Bruce Dickinson vocal hook for the chorus arrangement.  Underneath the second chorus there is a motorcycle sound effect.  The lead guitar solo that was wrote for this track really accents the rhythm guitar arrangement.  Bruce carries out the last vocal note through the outro section.     
9.) "Believel" -The sound of the guitar on this intro has a very horror movie sound to it.  The drum rhythm of the intro section was either done with a drum machine, or, electronic drums.  Bruce's vocal lines of the verse have a very Black Sabbath feel to them.  There is a underlining keyboard effect that was just used to set the mood of the verse.  Bruce's vocal lines of the chorus gives the chorus a very abstract feel.  After the second chorus there is a huge musical arrangement change.  This arrangement change really changes the dynamics of the song.  Due to the fact that this song is so abstract compared to the other nine tracks, I do not know if it really fits in with the style of the rest of the CD.  Not that in this songs own right that it is a bad song.  It just doesn't fit.
10.) "A Tyranny of Souls" - This track opens with a very simple electric guitar arrangement over the top of a synthesized keyboard.  The vocal accent Bruce chose has an almost 'Alice In Chains' feel to it.  The kick in of song is not until the first chorus.  There where times between the verse and chorus when a real heavy bass line should have been played.  Vocally Bruce shows great vocal control on this track.  For me I do not know if this song had have worked in any other spot on the CD other than being the last track.  The guitar solo has a very intense feel and arrangement to it.

    I was never a big Iron Maiden fan growing up in the eighties.  There where a few songs I liked, but did not like those songs enough to purchase any of their releases.  Now that I am in my late thirty's my outlook on music from that era is a lot different than it was then.  I have a respect and love for Iron Maiden's music I did not have twenty years ago.  So in 1990 when Bruce released his first solo CD titled, 'Tattooed Millionaire'  I could have really cared less.  But if any of his solo CD's are as good as 'Tyranny Of Souls' is then I'll have to shop around and buy them.  After listening to this release anyone can see why Bruce is not only an established pilot, book writer, and sword fencer.  Bruce as an intelligence that surpasses most musicians and this release shows this.
    If you are into Iron Maiden, or musicians from the eighties era than this will be an absolute must have.  
**update** -After careful consideration of debating the pros and cons of this release.  With the understanding this is the only solo CD I have heard from Bruce Dickinson. 'Tyranny Of Souls' is still very deserving of a gold record award.