Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson to record his next solo album in January

Bruce Dickinson in 2023 — (Image credit: John McMurtrie)

Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson will record his next solo album in January.

Talking to pro-wrestler and Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho on the Talk Is Jericho podcast, the singer says that he and his solo band will track the follow-up to his 2024 outing The Mandrake Project live in the studio.

“We’re doing it old-school, live, in January,” says Dickinson. “[We’ll be] going into the studio and recording everything on the floor.”

He continues: “We’re doing it, everybody on the floor, with the intention of keeping it all. Not with, ‘Oh, we’re gonna do it, everybody on the floor, and then we’re gonna keep the drums and re-record everything.’ No! The idea is, we’re gonna keep it all. Only if it really stinks will we redo it.”

The singer adds that he and his band demoed the songs for his upcoming album in April and redid them in August, shortly before the lineup started rehearsing for their now-concluded North American headline tour. The band have three weeks booked in the studio next year and Dickinson says he hopes “85, 90 percent” of the album will be recorded in that time.

“Everybody’s pretty switched on,” he adds, referring to his bandmates. “You didn’t need to tell anybody twice. Really, really impressive; musical chops, off the charts.”

Dickinson’s band started their North American tour at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California on August 22 and finished the run on Sunday (October 5) at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. During the tour, Dickinson’s band notably performed the Iron Maiden song Flash Of The Blade, which was written solely by Dickinson for 1984 album Powerslave and has never been played live by Maiden.

Dickinson has no upcoming solo concerts announced at time of publication, but he will return to the road with Maiden for the second leg of the band’s 50th-anniversary Run For Your Lives tour in May. The tour will include a number of festival performances and wrap up with a blockbuster show at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, England on July 11.

Maiden have confirmed that, following the European shows, the Run For Your Lives tour will hit other markets in late 2026. The band will then take 2027 off from live performances.

In anticipation of the impending Run For Your Lives shows, Maiden mascot Eddie The Head is on the cover of the new issue of Metal Hammer. Dickinson and Maiden founder/bassist Steve Harris are interviewed inside, revealing all about the band’s five-decade history, and you can get the issue in a bundle that comes with an exclusive Eddie t-shirt.

Talk Is Jericho: Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project, Maiden’s Drummers & Live Shows - YouTube

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Iron Maiden 50th anniversary Hammer t-shirt bundle — (Image credit: Future)

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Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

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