In 1997, Bruce Dickinson released his fourth solo album, Accident Of Birth – an extremely self-assured collection of powerful songs, with which the acclaimed singer returned to his hard rock and metal roots after having opted for a more experimental sound on his previous project, Skunkworks.
Co-produced by Los Angeles-based musician Roy Z and featuring Adrian Smith on guitar – whilst both he and Bruce were taking a break from Iron Maiden – the album has long been regarded as one of Bruce’s most significant releases and features a host of fan favourites, including “Man Of Sorrows”, ‘Darkside Of Aquarius’, ‘Road To Hell’ and the title track ‘Accident Of Birth’, all of which have been performed live on Bruce’s recent solo tours.
The album title and the cover art, designed by Derek Riggs, make a defiant statement about Bruce Dickinson’s resilience and determination, alluding to the fact that, due to a medical procedure his mother underwent, he should never actually have been born, yet he survived against all odds and, by the time the album was released, had already made more than just a significant mark on the world.
And now, almost thirty years later, Bruce is not only undisputedly one of the most important and influential figures on the British music scene, but “Accident Of Birth” itself is a widely acclaimed masterpiece that has more than simply stood the test of time. To give the album even greater contemporary relevance, it has now been completely remixed by Grammy Award-winning producer Brendan Duffey (who worked on Bruce’s latest solo album, “The Mandrake Project”) in both stereo and Dolby Atmos, bringing the epic scope and diversity of the songs into even sharper relief.
Bruce Dickinson says: “It has been a great pleasure to revisit my solo back catalogue with Brendan Duffey over the last few years, remix everything for Dolby Atmos and really bring the sound of the album up to date. ‘Accident Of Birth’ was a really important album for me at the time and, in my opinion, contains some of my very best work. It has really spurred me on once again, particularly as a songwriter, and was a great opportunity to work with Adrian again. I’m very proud of this record and these new mixes sound fantastic. Turn up the volume and enjoy!”
The new version of “Accident Of Birth” will be released worldwide on 23 October by BMG, both as a tri-panel digisleeve CD edition and as a double splatter-colour vinyl in a gatefold sleeve, and will be released in the UK on 17 October as part of National Album Day.
Pre-order here and stream the track “Omega”:
https://brucedickinson.lnk.to/AOBremixPR
Source: BMG