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Rating: About Paul, the legendary singer of Iron Maiden who has been watching us from above for a few months now, everything has been said and done and there’s really no point in listing his wild antics here, nor would it mean much to start naming his more or less noteworthy post-Maiden musical projects. I’ll just say that overall I find them enjoyable, and there are a few songs here and there I actually like.
Let’s analyze one of his latest works, a brief EP that preceded a longer LP, which will serve as Paul’s testament.
Having reached his limit, worn down by a life full of misadventures and consumed by illness, the vocalist releases three tracks that, in my opinion, sum up the very best one could get out of him. “Stop the War” is impactful and thrives on a good chorus, “Warhorse” moves along similar lines but adds especially enjoyable melodies, while “The Doubt Within” is more contemplative but equally charged. All in all, eleven minutes of good music. These last songs were panned by a large part of the metal fanbase, while the specialist press was generally more generous, rating it around 6 and a half. Honestly, I really don’t understand this hostility: the style here is a vaguely punkish, airy, and sparkling heavy metal, influenced by Paul’s wear and tear, that certainly brings nothing new to the scene, but gets stuck in your head and listening to it is fun. Naturally, none of the songs reach the quality of the classics from the past and the ideas at play here aren’t those of a masterpiece, but as far as I’m concerned, these are tracks that easily go above just being “passable.”
Certainly, the singer didn’t surround himself with top-tier musicians, but everyone does their dirty job, contributing to this rowdy and chaotic explosion, just like early heavy metal and exactly like Paul himself was. So I believe these tracks serve as an excellent testament for the legendary Paul.
Are we on the level of “Killers”? Not even close. But is “Senjutsu”? It’s a great album, to be clear, but only a few manage to genuinely recreate the glories of the past…
A note on the vocals: surprisingly good, Our Man growls and, although you can clearly notice a considerable decline compared to the years gone by, he can still be listened to more than pleasantly. The way I see it, the attitude taken by this record is a valid alternative to the modern metalcore scene and the like (which, the further it goes—even if it seemed interesting at first—the more it reveals its ridiculous sides) and to all the junk that today’s metal brings. Let’s be clear: I’m not saying that metal should always stay the same; I’m just asking, what kind of attitude can match that of an old pissed-off guy who, in spite of illness, puts out a record like this? You can really feel Paul’s urge to sing hard rock, and I’m sorry, but saying he did it just for the money seems like bullshit to me. Rating: 72/100.
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