There’s a whole collection of guys out there who live off their past fame. Guys like Dave Evans, Neil Turbin, Charlie Dominici and, of course, Paul Di’Anno have all been advertised as “The Original Vocalist For” their respective bands. In the case of Dominici and Dave Evans, it really is a crock of shit, since NO ONE thinks of them when they think of Dream Theater or AC/DC.
For Neil Turbin, eh… People think of him from time to time when an Anthrax conversation comes up, but clearly that band made its international mark with Joey Belladonna. But with Iron Maiden, there’s always a more rigorous debate amongst the hardcore fans. Sure, no one denies that their most dominant timeframe was with Bruce Dickinson, but there’s a large contingent that feel like the best work Iron Maiden has ever done came on the first two records – records that were fronted by Paul Di’Anno. Di’Anno has done nothing to separate himself from their legacy either – continually doing Maiden songs on his solo work, tribute CDs, etc. While that may seem a little lame, there is NO denying those first two Maiden CDs.
Di’Anno is back with a new solo album, and it’s actually really good. I say this because there wasn’t a lot of expectation after the slew of Iron Maiden tributes he’s been on year after year, as well as a less than stellar DVD from a few years back. For The Living Dead, Di’Anno and band seemingly have stepped away from being a Maiden clone with their original and have created a powerful, old-school metal record that just flat out rocks.
For his part, Di’Anno still has that patented snarly sound that can go low or high with the same power and ferocity as only metal’s elite singers can even attempt. He rages aggressively on tracks like “S.A.T.A.N.,” while on other songs like “Brothers Of The Tomb,” he goes up into the King Diamond-esque territory. The piss and vinegar Di’Anno spews on tunes like “War Machine” is excellent as well. This has always been the hallmark of Di’Anno’s sound. This is a guy with a tremendous metal voice.
Article comments
1 - bob marley
i have to sayu that i find this artical a bunch of shit. while Di'Anno was a prity good singer, he is not an inch on bruce dickingson or even balze baley. whats more it was almost as if he was scared of sucsess as he would never go the extra mile for maiden, chickening out on the encores and pretending to faint? i mean what the fuck was that all about. however i will say this, what will bost him in my eyes would be if he went on tour once more with maiden and sang along side with bruce, that would be a very nostalgic image and i am sure that paul has been thinking about it himself
2 - Perry Joseph
I think it would be retarded for Dianno to tour with Maiden. I just heard the song Living Dead and its the best thing I've heard in a while. His voice is better now than in 1980, and the song is excellent. As soon as I heard it I went to the CD store to order it and I will recieve it in a week. I can't wait. Check it out on Utube.
3 - Curt it Straight
Touring with maiden now? I don't think so. This record is a step in the right direction... leaving maiden behind forever. The maiden covers are almost as worthless as the megadeth cover, which is slaughtered. The original tracks on the cd are awesome however, here's hopiong Paul keeps on truckin' with new material and never covers another maiden song (or megadeth for that matter) again. You're not in the band anymore dude! Let's move forward! Your new stuff is really good!
4 - Bruce Bruce
Esto e un mojon