''Skunkworks'' is the third solo studio album by English heavy metal vocalist

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Dickinson has performed in the band across two stints, from 1981 to 1993 and from 1999 to the present d ...

, released in 1996. It is the first and only studio album recorded with the musicians Dickinson put together for the tour supporting the album '' Balls to Picasso'' (1994). They disbanded by the end of 1996.

Overview

Bruce Dickinson had intended ''Skunkworks'' to be the debut album of a band by the same name. However, his label would not issue the record under any name other than Bruce Dickinson. The album moved from

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

's traditional heavy metal style to a sound similar to that of bands such as Rush and

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

. The album name refers to the Lockheed code name for an elite military design group. It was produced by

Jack Endino Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhoney, ...

, best known for

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

's debut album ''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

''. "I had this argument with (my manager) Rod," Dickinson recalled, "and he told me, 'You're a heavy metal singer. You can't change. You can try, but you're stuck with it.' I object to that… I don't mind being a heavy metal singer, but I object to anyone telling me I can't fucking change… Anyway, off we went into the Skunkworks thing… At the end of it all, I was gutted. I should have had a

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

career right then, because I was very angry, very disaffected and I was poor." The band began touring in the UK and the US in August 1996 in support of the album. Despite his musical evolution, the tour for the album was the first on which Dickinson included a song from his former band: a slightly reworked version of "The Prisoner". Live performances were recorded and filmed in Pamplona and Gerona, Spain on 31 May and 1 June 1996 and four songs were released in an EP titled ''Skunkworks Live'' in Japan only in October 1996, through

Victor Entertainment is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Entertainment operates the RC ...

. A live video of the shows was released in Japan as '' Skunkworks Live Video''. The band did not last and, for his next solo project, '' Accident of Birth'', Dickinson reunited with guitarist Roy Z (from '' Balls to Picasso''). A 2005 rerelease of ''Skunkworks'' included previously unreleased songs, and the ''Skunkworks Live'' EP.

Cover art

Hipgnosis Hipgnosis were an English art design group, based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, Def Leppard, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black S ...

designer

Storm Thorgerson Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English art director and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other art f ...

produced the cover art, starting with a hired tree with foliage shaped somewhat like a brain – a play on the town of

Braintree, Essex Braintree is a town in Essex, England, and is the principal settlement of Braintree District. It is located north-east of Chelmsford, west of Colchester and north-west of Southend-on-Sea. According to the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 Cens ...

. The tree was trucked to a lake in Scotland, and a photograph was taken with Dickinson standing under the tree. Hipgnosis freelance artist Richard Manning digitally shaped the foliage in

Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe for Windows and macOS. It was created in 1987 by Thomas and John Knoll. It is the most used tool for professional digital art, especially in raster graphics editin ...

, and a mirror image was applied. Alterations were made to each side to break the mirrored perfection. Inside the album, bandmember faces were also represented in mirror image, showing one side of their face copied to the other side.

Track listings

Personnel

;Band members *

– vocals *Alex Dickson – guitar *Chris Dale – bass *Alessandro Elena – drums ;Production *

– producer, engineer, mixing at Lansdowne Studios, London *Adi Winman – assistant engineer *Jeff Mann – mixing assistant *Ian Cooper – mastering at

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

, London

Charts

References

{{Authority control Bruce Dickinson albums 1996 albums Albums with cover art by Storm Thorgerson Albums produced by Jack Endino Castle Communications albums