In 1997 Bruce Dickinson released his fourth solo album, Accident Of Birth, a swaggeringly confident collection of powerful songs that saw the acclaimed singer return to his hard rock and metal roots, following the more experimental sound of the previous Skunkworks project.
Co-produced by LA musician Roy Z and featuring Adrian Smith on guitar – while both he and Bruce were on hiatus from Iron Maiden – the album has long been admired as one of Bruce’s most essential releases, and features a host of fan favourites including ‘Man Of Sorrows’, ‘Darkside Of Aquarius’, ‘Road To Hell’ and the title track itself, ‘Accident of Birth’, all of which have been performed live on Bruce’s recent solo tours.
The album title, and album cover designed by Derek Riggs, is a defiant statement on Bruce Dickinson’s resilience and determination referencing the fact that, due to a medical procedure his mother had, he was not meant to be born but survived against the odds and by the time of the album’s release had more than made his substantial mark on the world.
And now, almost thirty years later, not only is Bruce indisputably one of the most important and influential figures in British music, but Accident Of Birth itself is a widely revered masterpiece which has more than stood the test of time. Giving it even more contemporary relevance, it has now been fully remixed by Grammy Award-winning producer Brendan Duffey (who worked on Bruce’s most recent solo album The Mandrake Project) in both Stereo and Dolby Atmos enhancing the epic scope and range of the songs.
Bruce Dickinson says, “It has been a real pleasure to spend time revisiting my solo back catalogue over the past couple of years alongside Brendan Duffey, remixing it all for Dolby Atmos and really bringing the sonic side of the album completely up to date. ‘Accident Of Birth’ was a really important album for me at the time and I think contains some of my very best work. It lit a fire under me once more, especially as a songwriter, and was a great chance to work with Adrian again. I’m so proud of this record, and these new mixes sound fantastic. Turn it up loud and enjoy!”
The new version of Accident Of Birth will be released in the UK by BMG in conjunction with National Album Day UK on October 17th and the rest of the world on 23rd October. It comes in both a tri-panel digisleeve CD version and as a double splatter colour vinyl in gatefold sleeve.
Tracklisting
Freak
Toltec 7 Arrival
Starchildren
Taking the Queen
Darkside of Aquarius
Road to Hell
Man of Sorrows
Accident of Birth
The Magician
Welcome to the Pit
Omega
Arc of Space
CD & DOUBLE SPLATTER COLOUR VINYL EDITIONS
PRE-ORDER & STREAM THE TRACK ‘OMEGA’ HERE:
https://brucedickinson.lnk.to/AOBremixPR
