Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris: Metal needs to push boundaries

Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris says that up-and-coming metal bands have to push boundaries if they hope to take their career to the next level.

The rock giants are currently selling out arenas across Europe on The Legacy Of The Beast tour – and asked by Metal Hammer if he sees a future for metal on the big stage, he says: “It’s not easy these days, especially for new bands.

“It’s harder than ever to make a crust out of this. It’s different for us, because we’ve taken a long, long time to build up to this kind of level, but some bands will never even get to this level, or any level. They don’t get out of the pubs.”

Asked what bands have to do to be promoted out of the pub scene, Harris replies: “People have just got to push the boundaries and try and edge it up.

“I mean, we’ve never had songs that lend themselves to radio play. We’ve worked really hard for where we are.”

People have just got to push the boundaries and try and edge it up
Steve Harris

It’s been almost three years since Maiden launched their last album The Book Of Souls, and while Harris says it’ll be a while yet before any new material emerges, he’s confident that another album and tour are on the horizon.

He says: “We’ve got this cycle going on. I’m pretty damn sure we will do another album, and then all well and good, we’ll go out on tour to back that up.

“How long that will go on for, I don’t know. We’ve been talking about this kind of thing for the last 20 years, but as time goes on, it becomes more of a reality that one day we may not be able to tour any more.

“But I don’t want to think about that. You’ve got to enjoy the moment.”

Maiden are the cover stars of the new issue of Metal Hammer magazine, which is on sale now. Fans can also get their hands on an exclusive Legacy Of The Beast bundle featuring the magazine, a Pharaoh Eddie patch and a limited edition Legacy Of The Beast figure.

There are only 666 bundles available worldwide and once they're gone, they're gone.

Iron Maiden Legacy Of The Beast 2018 UK and European tour dates
Jul 27: Krakow Tauron Arena, Poland
Jul 31: Newcastle Radio Arena, UK
Aug 02: Belfast SSE Arena, UK
Aug 04: Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre, UK
Aug 06: Manchester Arena, UK
Aug 07: Birmingham Genting Arena, UK
Aug 10: London O2 Arena, UK

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.