The late 1990's (actually the entire decade) were a time of crisis for the greater Iron Maiden family. The trouble started with the abrupt departure of guitarist Adrian Smith, following one of the band's finest albums. The remaining members carried on, but it was clear there was discontent in the ranks, largely stemming from their singer, Bruce Dickinson. The power behind Iron Maiden always had been bassist Steve Harris, but it can sometimes make things dicey when the image of the band depended so much on Bruce, when in fact Steve was calling the shots. The tensions go back to 1986's Somewhere In Time, where Bruce's contributions were eradicated, considered not in keeping with the tone of the album. The two made nice for Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, but the rigors of touring and Steve's militant control of the band finally convinced Adrian it was time to pursue other interests and perhaps take control of his own destiny.
Adrian's projects of the early 1990's (the Untouchables, Psycho Motel) went nowhere, while Iron Maiden continued on, larger than life, into the new decade. Tattooed Millionaire, Bruce's first solo album, did reasonably well and introduced Janick Gers to the Iron Maiden family. However, there seemed to be some issues with Bruce's live performances with Maiden, as if the Air Raid Siren was picking up some rust. Depending on who you talk to, it was either vocal cord issues or a growing disinterest in the band's music. By 1994, Bruce decided to quit and the band soldiered on for two albums with a new "unknown" vocalist, Blaze Bayley. Unfortunately for Iron Maiden, The X Factor and Virtual XI from the "Blaze" era are probably their worst albums. Meanwhile, Bruce had taken to the wilderness for two not-quite-metal albums, Balls to Picasso and Skunkworks. It seemed like the whole Iron Maiden family tree was slowly dying off. Just when it seemed like the flatline was imminent, huge news broke: Bruce was returning to metal and his new band included Adrian Smith. Suddenly we were in the era of two Iron Maidens - one with the name and the other with the sound.
Accident of Birth in the first of Bruce's two albums from this time period and it's clear that Bruce was throwing the gauntlet down in front of his old band. First is the prominent return of Adrian Smith. Second is the forceful, uncompromising metal sound, a chugging, churning rhythmic sound produced by Bruce's partner in crime from Balls to Picasso, Roy Z. Finally, the cover art is by none other than Derek Riggs, the creator of Maiden mascot Eddie. The name of the new puppet-jester? Edison. Eddie's...son. Hmmmmmmmm........ I can't find anything explicit from Bruce's camp saying that he was showing his old band how things should have been sounding, but it seems pretty clear that he was rejecting the direction his old band had veered off in. Where The X Factor sounds aimless, gloomy and hoarse, this album sounds crisp, direct, and powerful. Indeed it is probably one of the finest metal albums of the era.
Bruce would follow this with the more gothic-tinged The Chemical Wedding the following year, 1998, which also brought us Iron Maiden's Virtual XI. Again, Bruce had created the stronger album of the two, but he didn't have the wide name recognition of his old band. It was clear that the two parties needed to settle their differences and by the end of 1999 the hatchet was officially buried and the crisis of the 1990's ended. While it was a bonanza for the die-hard fans (8 albums in 5 years!), the sum of the whole was clearly greater than the parts in the case of Iron Maiden. Sadly, Bruce's solo career was the victim of the reunion, although he did manage to produce another album with Roy Z on the fly (as well as some bonus tracks for a greatest hits package) which demonstrated his could still hold his own. Steve Harris recently released his own solo album, which I haven't heard, but the buzz seems to indicate he should stick with the band he made so famous.
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