Balls To Picasso

Description

Singer, songwriter, pilot, author, fencing champ, air raid siren, force of nature: Bruce Dickinson is simply a man for whom many of the normal rules and restrictions of life do not seem to apply. Heavy metals premier Renaissance man is, of course, best known as vocalist and frontman with Iron Maiden, the greatest British metal band of all time and, some four decades after they originally formed, still one of the most widely adored bands on the planet. But as anyone that has followed Bruces story will tell you, singing with Maiden is just one part of his grand, substantial and fascinating musical life. Remarkably, given that he is just as likely to be found flying an airliner, Bruce has amassed a formidable catalogue as a solo artist, releasing six extraordinary studio albums that, at this point, represent his freewheeling efforts to date.

The key moment in Bruces evolution as a solo artist unfolded following his departure from Maiden in 1993, after which he joined forces with guitarist and producer Roy Z for 1994ssophomore triumph Balls To Picasso. Backed by Roys noted Latino rock crew Tribe Of Gypsies, he began to spread his compositional wings, edging towards a noticeably heavier sound despite, rumour has it, pressure from Bruces label to be more radio-friendly and flexing those metal muscles with renewed vigour on the likes of Cyclops, 1000 Points Of Light, the exhilarating Laughing In The Hiding Bush and towering prog-tinged power ballad Tears Of The Dragon, a somewhat oblique, but undeniably affecting paean, to Bruces feelings upon leaving Maiden to forge a new path.