Iron Maiden producer Kevin Shirley got “death threats” when he took over from Martin Birch

A photo of Iron Maiden producer Kevin Shirley at a mixing desk

(Image credit: Denise Truscello/Getty Images)

As Iron Maiden prepare for the release of their 17th studio album, Senjutsu, on September 3, producer Kevin Shirley has opened up about his experience working with the band.

In a new exclusive interview with Metal Hammer about the upcoming release, Shirley is asked if he's nervous about the album coming out, to which he replies: “Well, I’ve learned that you have to be pretty thick-skinned when dealing with some Maiden fans.

"In the early days of me producing them, I got emails filled with vitriol and even death threats because I wasn’t [late producer] Martin Birch, so you have to let it run off you, like water off a duck’s back.

"But I love the album and I hope the fans like it, too – I can’t wait to see these tracks live one day.”

Speaking about getting back in the studio with Maiden, he says: "We just pick up like the previous session was last week. Janick goes to the Irish pub, Adrian goes fishing, Nicko and Davey play golf, Bruce does something extreme – this time he was fencing with the French national team and then broke his Achilles tendon – and Steve and I just work away in the studio, with Denis [Caribaux] engineering. It’s a lot of Groundhog Day, but in a good way.”

Iron Maiden have released two singles from Senjutsu so far – lead single The Writing On The Wall and new single Stratego, which they shared this week. Check out the track below.

Briony is the Editor in Chief of Louder and is in charge of sorting out who and what you see covered on the site. She started working with Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Prog magazines back in 2015 and has been writing about music and entertainment in many guises since 2009. Her favourite-ever interviewee is either Billy Corgan or Kim Deal. She is a big fan of cats, Husker Du and pizza.