Iron Maiden Vocalist Bruce Dickinson: ‘We Are A Lot Better Players Now’

2021-04-07

Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden performing live.

Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden – Story by Charles Ken, photo by Ken Settle

Bruce Dickinson says Iron Maiden is a stronger band than they were when they were first starting out

Iron Maiden are back with a vengeance, armed with a new album, “Senjutsu,” which dropped last fall and a year’s worth of tour dates up ahead. Frontman Bruce Dickinson and company released “Senjutsu” on Sept. 3, 2021, and the album was named one of the top albums of the year by Audio Ink Radio.

“Senjutsu” was largely recorded during the pandemic, and Dickinson sees it as something of good fortune that things turned out the way they did. “It was pure good fortune that we recorded it when we did,” he told Consequence of Sound’s Heavy Consequence in a recent video interview. “And perhaps because we were so relaxed and couldn’t see in our crystal ball what was coming up, and we knew we had to sit on the album no matter happened — because no point in putting it out until after we’d done The Legacy Tour.”

He added, “I can’t put my finger on exactly one aspect of the album that made things just click. Because that’s not the way things are when you make what is a really amazing record…and I think it really is an amazing record, by the way. You have a vague awareness of it, that ‘This might be good,’ when you do it.”

Dickinson also commented that he believes Iron Maiden is a much stronger band than they were in the beginning. “We are a lot better players now — in many ways — than we were 20 years ago, certainly 25 years ago. Because we’re not thinking quite so much down the same tramlines. And because of that, it’s enabled us to do an album like ‘Senjutsu.'”

Iron Maiden embark on their world tour in May. Find a full slate of tour dates here.

Charles Ken
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