Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson is riding high on the reception of his latest solo album, The Mandrake Project, and is already deep into preparing its successor. Speaking at a recent Musicians Institute event in Hollywood, Dickinson shared details about both the success of his 2024 release and the promising progress on his next solo effort.
Reflecting on the response to The Mandrake Project, released in March 2024, Dickinson expressed his satisfaction during a conversation with host Ryan J. Downey on April 21st.
“Yeah, it was great. Honestly, the reception was great,” Dickinson stated (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “The reaction to the band when we toured all through Europe [last year] was fantastic… yeah, it was brilliant. And people got it.” He added his thoughts on the album itself: “…not everybody is gonna get everything you do — it’s not compulsory — but I thought it was a really good, varied album. It was heavy, but it was emotional and stuff. So it was really good. And it worked really well live.”
Building on that momentum, Dickinson revealed he has already completed extensive demo sessions for the next album.
“I’ve just been in the demo studio with everybody for the last three weeks, and we ended up with 18 tracks in 15 days…” he shared, adding confidently, “It’s gonna be a really cool album.”
The production team will remain consistent, with Brendan Duffey, who mixed The Mandrake Project, stepping up to produce the follow-up. “Brendan Duffey, he mixed Mandrake… he’s great. So, we are just keeping the same crew on this record,” Dickinson explained. He also pinpointed a timeframe for recording: “[I’m] looking to record it next year, early next year. I’ve got some gaps. January, February, March, April is kind of free zone for me next year [2026].”
Before heading back into the studio for the next album, Dickinson and his solo band are preparing for the “The Mandrake Project Live 2025” North American tour, kicking off August 22nd in Anaheim, California. Fans attending these shows can expect some additions to the setlist compared to the European run.
“…a couple of tracks [from the album] that we didn’t play… we’re gonna be playing on the U.S. tour. ‘Shadow Of The Gods‘, which is the most unplayed popular track on the record,” Dickinson teased.
He also spoke about the strong chemistry within his touring band, potentially referencing their April 2024 warm-up shows moniker: “We’re gonna have a lot of fun on this tour… We did The Observatory and two shows at the Whisky as THE HOUSE BAND OF HELL… We’re still undecided whether or not to call ourselves ‘Bruce Dickinson‘, in brackets, ‘featuring THE HOUSE BAND OF HELL.’ But I think it’s kind of cool… We are a crew now as a band.”
The touring lineup features Dave Moreno (drums), Mistheria (keyboards), Tanya O’Callaghan (bass), Philip Näslund (guitar), and Chris Declercq (guitar). Longtime collaborator Roy “Z” Ramirez is not part of this touring band.
With a successful album behind him, a North American tour on the horizon, and a wealth of new material already demoed, Bruce Dickinson‘s solo career continues at full speed.
Ogorthul: Immersed in the bone-shattering world of death metal and beyond. I’m here to excavate the latest news, reviews, and interviews from the extreme metal scene for you.
