Ahead of the July 25 release of Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson‘s reworked version of his classic 1994 album Balls To Picasso, now titled More Balls To Picasso, the lyric video for lead single “Gods Of War” has dropped.
With a timely message and a fresh, contemporary production, “Gods Of War” features Brazilian composer Antonio Teoli‘s unique contribution, adding indigenous instruments from the Amazon at the beginning of the track. It is a striking taste of the newly reimagined album and brings to life the roaringly full-throttle and ambitious for its time collection of supremely crafted and realised songs.
In 1994, having left Iron Maiden for a time (he rejoined in 1999), Bruce Dickinson released his second solo album, entitled Balls To Picasso. Named in honor of the cubist pioneer whose representations of spherical objects were as squares and reflected on the cover in graffiti style on a tiled bathroom wall, the album belied its irreverent title by solidifying Dickinson’s reputation as a serious solo artist.
His first record with collaborator Roy Z, and recorded with Z’s band Tribe Of Gypsies, it went through various iterations before its release, produced by Shay Baby. The original album included a number of classic tracks and live favorites from Dickinson, including the singles “Tears Of The Dragon” and “Shoot All The Clowns,” alongside the much-loved epic “Laughing In The Hiding Bush,” which was the original title for the album.
Yet despite its positive reception at the time, it never quite captured Dickinson’s original vision, which was even more expansive in scope and ambition. However, with the ability to revisit his solo catalog – and following on from Dickinson’s hugely acclaimed album The Mandrake Project in 2024 – the brand-new part re-recorded, remixed and newly mastered version of the album, now entitled “More Balls To Picasso”, reimagines it as a fresh and contemporary release; a roaringly full-throttle and ambitious collection of supremely crafted and realised songs.
Dickinson says of it: “While mixing all my catalogue into Dolby Atmos, I had a nagging desire to revisit and reinvent the record. So putting more balls into ‘Balls…’ was a labour of love. Of course, we beefed up the guitars, courtesy of our ‘Swedish shredder’ Philip Naslund, and we added some really beautiful work by Adassi Addasi on ‘Tears…’ as well. Fellow Brazilian composer Antonio Teoli added some stunning orchestral arrangements, and in a unique contribution, added indigenous instruments from the Amazon, recorded by himself when he lived there!, at the beginning of “Gods Of War”.
“”Shoot All The Clowns” gets the benefit of a horn section fronted by the Berklee College of Music, and all of the record gets the benefit of the mix by Brendan Duffey, who worked on The Mandrake Project, with notes along the way from Shay Baby, the original father of the album”.
Additionally, More Balls To Picasso includes two previously unreleased live in-the-studio tracks, “Gods of War” and “Shoot All the Clowns.” It will be available as a splatter vinyl double album and tri-panel digisleeve CD album.
More Balls to Picasso Tracklisting:
- Cyclops
- Hell No
- Gods of War
- 1000 Points of Light
- Laughing in the Hiding Bush
- Change of Heart
- Shoot All the Clowns
- Fire
- Sacred Cowboys
- Tears of the Dragon
- Gods of War (Live in the Studio)*
- Shoot All the Clowns (Live in the Studio)*
*Previously unreleased
This Summer, Bruce Dickinson will embark on his first extensive North American solo tour in almost 30 years in support of his current studio album The Mandrake Project, with a setlist encompassing his entire solo career. “The Mandrake Project Live 2025” North American Tour kicks off in Anaheim, CA. at The House of Blues on August 22nd and takes the band across North America including shows in New York, Los Angeles, Texas, Florida and Canada, with festival appearances at “Rocklahoma” (OK) and “Louder Than Life” (KY) with more to be announced. The tour also includes a quick return to Brazil for the prestigious “The Town” Festival at the City of Light in Sao Paulo.
Check out all the released dates, and get your tickets here.
