Bruce Dickinson‘s upcoming solo album will feature a track penned by his son Austin — and the Iron Maiden frontman rates it among the record’s most important songs.
Dickinson shared the news at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend, talking with Steve Harkins of “TalkShopLive” about the follow-up to 2024’s The Mandrake Project.
Austin Dickinson, 35, is Bruce‘s oldest son and a musician in his own right, best known as the former frontman of Rise To Remain and As Lions. His father spoke warmly about him and the song he contributed.
Bruce said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“I’m really lucky that my kids, in particular my oldest son Austin, is a writer. So the conversations that we have, he bounces ideas off me, I bounce ideas off him. And he’s a musician as well, and he’s a great singer. He had three albums. He was in a band called Rise To Remain. They did a couple of albums. And then he [sang in] a band called — it was his band, actually — As Lions, and they had a bit of a hit and stuff. But it’s tough trying to make a living [playing an up-and-coming band]. I mean, he toured the States and everything and had radio hit. So he got into script writing, which he’s very, very talented. But, of course, that’s no guarantee of success. You just gotta keep plugging away. But he wrote a tune for me on my new record. And when we were recording it, he came round the studio and was just loving it. And it’s gonna be one of the key tracks on the record. And I’d love to work with him again. I mean, he’s what I would describe as a pure creative. His whole life is doing stuff. And you’ve gotta put it somewhere.”
The album, Dickinson‘s eighth solo effort, is lined up for early 2027 — timed, not coincidentally, for a stretch when Iron Maiden are off the road. That is what he was hinting at when he teased a busy year ahead:
“I’m pretty busy in ’27. And I think everybody’s gonna be very happy with what I’m busy with —in every sense of the word.”
Fans won’t have to wait until 2027 for a first listen, though:
“Tracks will be out this year, a little bit, so people can hear a little bit of it. At some point this month, I’m shooting four or maybe five videos for it.”
Dickinson first revealed the album was finished in an April interview with Rolling Stone, describing a recording sprint that he framed as a pointed rejection of modern studio technology:
“I just finished a solo record: We did 16 tracks in 21 days, all 100 percent live. It’s like the anti-A.I. generation.”
The untitled record was tracked in January and February at Studio 606, the Northridge, California facility owned by Dave Grohl. Dickinson cut it with his current touring band — keyboardist Mistheria, drummer Dave Moreno, bassist Tanya O’Callaghan and guitarists Chris Declercq and Philip Näslund — with longtime co-writer and producer Roy Z back at the helm, extending a partnership that runs back decades.
The sessions also drew a guest: Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser added percussion, and called the chance to work with Dickinson at Studio 606 an honor.
He wrote at the time: “What a privilege! Truly an honor to participate on the new album of the great master of metal @brucedickinsonhq a gentleman and a f**king legend! Thank you for letting me play some percussion on the album! Obrigado @brendan_duffey_audio pelo convite! And @daveghrol what a studio you created, simply magical. Hope you like the distortion from the new pedal @fuelmusicaudio Heavy Metal rules.”
Singer Jeff Scott Soto got an early earful of the album by chance, dropping by the studio to see Mistheria just as Bruce was wrapping his vocals. He recounted the visit:
“How lucky am I? I went to say hello to my dear friend Mistheria who I worked with on his Vivaldi Metal Project and of course is part of Bruce Dickinson‘s solo endeavors these days.”
“Arrived at Dave Grohl‘s studio right as Bruce was doing some final vocals to his new album. He finished and came out to chat/hang a little but then asked if I wanted to hear a few of the songs…umm, YEA!!”
“I must say besides the fact that he is still singing at the top of his game, the songs, performances, and the overall vibe I got from all was beyond impressive, I think this outing will be one of his strongest ever outside of the Maiden camp.”
“To add frosting on the cake, I got to try a prototype for a new Trooper beer, this one is a nice IPA which I’m normally not a fan of, but this was really good, it’s not out yet so I feel pretty lucky to have tried it before the rest of the world haha”.
