Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson discussed his upcoming solo album in a new interview. The singer confirmed that the record is set to arrive next year and described it as a standalone release with a heavy sound.
“I’ve got a new record coming out next year, new solo album,” Dickinson said. “It’s kind of standalone. There’s one song that has a bit of something to do with ‘Mandrake’. Now, the album is heavy as shit.”
The musician also addressed his creative process. “I try to not repeat — not because it’s bad,” he explained. “You want to move on and put different nuance on things.”
Offering an analogy, Dickinson compared varying his musical approach to seeing a partner in a different light. “It’s like, I would say, if you have an amazing girlfriend and you start thinking, ‘Yeah, I’m getting a little bit bored,’ or something else like that, just turn the lights down and turn it a different way, and you see a side that you think, ‘Oh, my God, she’s absolutely incredible,'” he said. “Just the red light there or the green or whatever, and you see, you see the same person in a different day, in a different light.”
“Music is something which you try not to stick too much of a format, but you are still within a particular… I’m within a particular style, for sure,” Dickinson continued. “But I try and vary it as much as I can.”
The new record marks Dickinson’s eighth solo album and the follow-up to 2024’s The Mandrake Project. Unlike its predecessor, which was assembled in a more piecemeal fashion, the new material was recorded live in the studio. Much of the album was tracked at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in Northridge, California, with producer Brendan Duffey at the helm. The sessions also featured members of Sepultura, adding a distinct rhythmic backbone to the proceedings.
Dickinson demoed 18 tracks for the album, with the final version expected to draw from nine to 11 songs. The record is tentatively scheduled for an early 2027 release through BMG. Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris has already heard the material and reportedly told Dickinson it was “the best stuff you’ve ever done.”
The singer has made it clear that the new album is not a direct continuation of The Mandrake Project, though one song carries a thematic or musical link to that era. He has described the forthcoming effort as shorter and heavier than its predecessor, with a raw, old-school energy that reflects the live recording approach.
