Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has released behind-the-scenes footage documenting the creation of his award-winning new music video for “Tears Of The Dragon“. The track is a completely reimagined orchestral version featured on his latest release, More Balls To Picasso, which serves as an updated edition of his landmark 1994 solo album Balls To Picasso.
The ambitious video project was captured in September 2025 at an abandoned brewery in São Paulo, Brazil, shortly after Dickinson performed at The Town festival. For the shoot, Dickinson collaborated with directors Leo Liberti and Antoine de Montremy, bringing in his solo backing group, the House Band Of Hell, alongside the Almai orchestra under the direction of conductor Antonio Teoli. The video also features a performance by acclaimed Brazilian ballet dancer Renata Bardazi.
Reflecting on the production and the creative concept behind the video, Bruce Dickinson shared:
“When we reimagined the whole More Balls To Picasso album, we always wanted to do an orchestral version of ‘Tears Of The Dragon‘. Antonio Teoli scored it and we recorded it, then we called up the filmmaker Leo Liberti who previously shot a load of live stuff for me in Brazil that was fabulous. We found this amazing location, an enormous old-school brewery that was almost like a renaissance building, and we made up the orchestra so they looked slightly zombified. All the House Band of Hell band members are in the video and I gave them all instruments to play. The whole thing was brilliant madness. Leo also came up with the idea of having a ballet dancer interpreting the song, and she was amazing, poetic, and that adds an incredible extra-emotional dimension to the video.”
The finished cinematic clip has already secured significant international recognition across various film festival circuits throughout 2026. The video has won “Best Music Video” at several global events, including the Los Angeles Film Festival IAF, Los Angeles Film Awards, New York International Film Awards, Eastern Europe Film Festival, Sweden Luleå International Film Festival, and the World Premiere Films Awards, where it also picked up a trophy for Best Editing. Additionally, the project took home a bronze award at the Berlin Music Video Awards.
The clip continues to garner industry attention with multiple ongoing 2026 nominations at major events, including the Cannes Film Awards, Cannes World Film Festival, International Sound & Film Festival, Rome Prisma Film Awards, Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival, Filmmaker Sessions, and the New York Short Cinema Awards.
The original version of “Tears Of The Dragon” served as the centerpiece for Balls To Picasso in 1994, an album recorded during Dickinson‘s multi-year hiatus from Iron Maiden before his eventual return to the legendary heavy metal band in 1999. Named as a nod to the iconic cubist artist Pablo Picasso, the original record solidified Dickinson‘s standing as a highly successful independent solo artist.
Looking ahead, Bruce Dickinson has already tracked his next solo studio album earlier this year. The upcoming project was recorded live at Studio 606, the California facility owned by Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl, and will reportedly feature guest appearances from members of Brazilian metal pioneers Sepultura.
