On April 21st, Bruce Dickinson , vocalist of Iron Maiden , participated in the MI Conversation Series at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California, moderated by Ryan J. Downey . During the conversation, Dickinson commented on the fans' reaction to his latest solo album, The Mandrake Project , released in March 2024.
Regarding the audience's response, Bruce stated [transcription via BLABBERMOUTH ]:
“Yes, it was incredible. Honestly, the reception was great. The reaction to the show during the European tour (last year) was fantastic. Of course, we only did two or three shows here in Southern California (in April 2024) to warm up before going to Brazil… But it was brilliant. And the audience understood. I mean, not everyone is going to like everything you do—it’s not mandatory—but I think it’s a very varied album. Heavy, but also emotional. It worked very well live. In fact, there are some tracks (from the album) that we haven’t played—in fact, we’ve never played them—but we’re going to include them on the US tour. “Shadow Of The Gods,” which is the most popular track on the album that we haven’t played yet. So yes, the American audience will have that privilege, and the European fans will be envious.”
Regarding the upcoming North American tour, The Mandrake Project Live 2025 , he added:
“We’re going to have a lot of fun on this tour. We played at The Observatory (in Santa Ana) and two shows at the Whisky (A Go Go, in West Hollywood) in April with The House Band of Hell — which was really cool. We haven’t decided yet if we’re going to call ourselves ‘Bruce Dickinson’ (in parentheses, ‘with The House Band of Hell’), but I think it has its own style. We’re already established as a band.”
Bruce Dickinson has 18 tracks for his next album.
Regarding a new album, Bruce revealed:
“I spent the last three weeks in the studio making demos with the band, and in 15 days we finished 18 tracks… It’s going to be a really fucking awesome album. And, of course, the producer will be Brendan Duffey, who mixed 'Mandrake' . We started with Atmos mixes and then evolved to: 'I imagine you also do stereo.' He’s great. We’re going to keep the same team on this new project. The idea is to record at the beginning of next year — January, February, March and April are free on my schedule.”
The US tour will feature the same band as in 2024: Dave Moreno (drums), Mistheria (keyboards), and Tanya O'Callaghan (bass), plus new members Philip Näslund (Swedish guitarist and producer) and Chris Declercq (Swiss guitarist, who participated in the single “Rain On The Graves”). Guitarist Roy 'Z' Ramirez , a longtime collaborator of Bruce, will not be part of the lineup for this tour.
READ ALSO: Bruce Dickinson is planning his new solo album | Wikimetal
