In 1999, the world of heavy metal witnessed something that would go down in the history of the genre and initiate the "rebirth" of Iron Maiden: the return of Bruce Dickinson to the position of vocalist of the band that made him famous. To understand the true magnitude of this event, it is crucial to look back, more specifically to the second half of the 1990s.
With the global rise of grunge, Iron Maiden, with singer Blaze Bayley, the most turbulent phase of its history, a period marked by the release of two albums (The X Factor, 1995, and Virtual XI, 1998) that drastically divided fans and critics. In addition, the band suffered a commercial decline, forcing them to abandon large arenas and perform in smaller theaters and venues around the world, especially in the United States.
On the other hand, Bruce's solo career was on the rise after teaming up with producer Roy Z and guitarist Adrian Smith – who would also return to Maiden in 1999. This partnership yielded the acclaimed albums Accident of Birth (1997) and The Chemical Wedding (1998). Despite this, the singer no longer enjoyed the commercial success he had achieved in the 1980s.
Blaze Bayley's dismissal
In January 1999, Blaze Bayley left the band due to pressure from the record label EMI and simply because there was no longer a good internal atmosphere, which could have led to the group's breakup if he had continued.
Convinced that the only salvation for Iron Maiden would be the return of "Air Raid Siren," manager Rod Smallwood decided to try to bring the vocalist back into the band, even knowing that he would have a difficult task ahead: getting Steve Harris to accept this idea.
Still resentful about Bruce's departure in 1993, the bassist and founder of the band wasn't really convinced that his return would be the best option and wanted to know the singer's true intentions in coming back. Therefore, Rod sounded out the musician and arranged a meeting with Steve at his home in Brighton, England.
In an interview with BraveWords, Bruce recalled the moment [transcription via Rolling Stone Brazil]: “We all got together at Rod’s (Smallwood) house, which is in Brighton, on the south coast of England. At some point, obviously, they made the decision that Blaze would leave, and I don’t know anything about it, the circumstances or anything. I don’t really want to know — it’s none of my business. Rod called me and said, ‘What do you think about us getting back together?’, and I said, ‘Well, let’s meet up and talk about it.’”
Meeting that sealed Dickinson's return to Iron Maiden
At the meeting, the musicians smoothed over the rough edges of the past, and Bruce made it clear that he wouldn't return just for nostalgia; his condition was this: Iron Maiden needed to look to the future. For him, the reunion should re-establish Iron Maiden as "the best heavy metal band in the world.".
“Steve was very suspicious. He said, ‘Why do you want to come back?’ Actually, I said (laughing): ‘I want to come back, Steve, because, in the words of my friends, ‘the world needs Iron Maiden’ and, secondly, I think we can still make incredible music’,” Bruce told Classic Rock.
Thus, on February 10, 1999, Bruce's return was announced, which also brought back Adrian Smith as guitarist, a decision that would change the group's lineup to a sextet, since the band chose not to fire Janick Gers, who had replaced Smith in 1990.
According to drummer Nicko McBrain , the reunion was "God's plan," as he told Kerrang! magazine . "It shows me the sincerity and truth in his [Bruce's] heart. I think it was all God's plan. Who else could have planned something like, 'Okay, you're going to have a new vocalist, then you're going to bring the old one back and he's going to bring [guitarist] Adrian Smith along'?" he revealed [transcription via Blabbermouth ].
With the new lineup, the band embarked on the Ed Hunter in 1999 and soon after entered the studio to record Brave New World, released in 2000. The group's 12th studio album not only garnered praise but was also immortalized in the historic show at Rock in Rio 3 in 2001 and also began the sextet's progressive era, marked by long songs – something that would become even more evident in the albums A Matter of Life And Death (2006), The Book of Souls (2015) and Senjutsu (2021).
27 years after Bruce Dickinson's return, Iron Maiden once again filled stadiums around the world and throughout that time has undertaken grand tours such as Legacy of the Beast, The Future Past, Somewhere Back in Time, Maiden England, and the most recent one, Run For Your Lives, which celebrates the band's five decades of career. If Steve hadn't decided to put his problems aside, the Iron Maiden we know probably wouldn't exist anymore.
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