The Mandrake Project is the seventh solo album from Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, and first since 2005's Tyranny of Soul, and also sees him working once again with guitarist/producer/songwriter Roy Z, who has had a hand in a majority of his solo outings. Coinciding with a 12-issue comic book release published by Z2 Comics, The Mandrake Project is a concept story "a dark, adult story of power, abuse and a struggle for identity, set against the backdrop of scientific and occult genius." While the album is just under an hour, if you want to get the full gist of the story, checking out the comic series will likely give you the full picture. Apparently Bruce has been working on this story for some time, and it's great to see it finally come to fruition.
Things start off on a high note with "Afterglow of Ragnarok", also the first song released, and it's arguable the strongest track on the album. Featuring a dark, menacing riff, plenty of gallops, and Bruce's snarling vocals, this one kicks things off in fine fashion, though it often feels like the rest of the album is playing catch-up after such a crushing opener. "Many Doors to Hell" though does its best, and it's another corker of epic metal, followed by the organ-fueled "Rain on the Graves", a melodic but heavy number that sees, in true Iron Maiden fashion, that oft-repeated title line in the chorus, as well as some almost spoken word vocals from Bruce. That said, three songs in, and The Mandrake Project is off to a heavy start. "Resurrection Men" is solid, melodic fair, and I love the grinding riff near the mid-way point, while "Fingers in the Wounds" takes on a more majestic, almost Celtic feel, with some nice use of piano and synth orchestrations. One thing you'll notice is there's not a lot of flashy lead guitar on this album, which, is a little missed. The familiar notes of "If Eternity Should Fail" from Maiden's Book of Souls album comes in the form of Eternity Has Failed, faithful to Bruce's original demo of that song, and it's still a great song no matter how you slice it, here with increased drum bits from Dave Moreno and a guitar solo duel between Gus G and Roy Z. "Mistress of Mercy" rumbles and plods, but still drives up the heavy factor, before the album ends in a mellower direction on the final bunch of tracks, "Face in the Mirror", the slow build of "Shadow of the Gods", and the near 10-minute atmospheric number "Sonata (Immortal Beloved)". Kind of curious why he chose to end the album with three long, atmospheric, and often times mellow songs, but there are certainly good moments to be found in them, Roy Z dropping in a squealing solo on the finale, something I waited all album to hear.
Interestingly enough, now that I've had this album and lived with it for a few months, my reaction to it is similar to my initial thoughts, that it's a very solid, often pretty damn good Bruce Dickinson album, but I won't actually call it a 'great' album. A few terrific songs, a couple of plodders, and some that are certainly solid. The Mandrake Project won't surpass Accident of Birth or The Chemical Wedding at the top of the Bruce solo catalog, but it's quite enjoyable and a worthy addition to his body of work.
Track Listing
1. "Afterglow of Ragnarok" 5:45
2. "Many Doors to Hell" 4:48
3. "Rain on the Graves" 5:05
4. "Resurrection Men" 6:24
5. "Fingers in the Wounds" 3:39
6. "Eternity Has Failed" 6:59
7. "Mistress of Mercy" 5:08
8. "Face in the Mirror" 4:08
9. "Shadow of the Gods" 7:02
10. "Sonata (Immortal Beloved)" 9:51
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