Despite being eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame since 2004, heavy metal pioneers Iron Maiden have only appeared on the ballot three times: in 2021, 2023, and now for the Class of 2026. Reacting to the recent news, longtime drummer Nicko McBrain recently sat down with “Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen & Shane McEachern” to discuss his feelings on the institution, the fan vote, and the controversy that has long surrounded the Hall.
While talking about the possibility of the Hall finally “getting it right” and inducting the band this year, McBrain offered a grounded perspective.
“Yeah. You just never know, do you? I mean, it has been a long road. Many nominations — I’m not sure how many this is; maybe the third or fourth one, perhaps.”
Addressing the reality that the 2026 ballot is heavily populated with pop, rap, and R&B artists, the drummer admitted that the institution has strayed from its namesake. However, he remains appreciative of the nod, even while questioning the weight of the fan vote.
“Yeah, in the greater scheme of things, it’s not really a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame anymore, but it’s still a wonderful accolade to be given finally to hopefully — the guys may go, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna induct them.’ But at the end of the day, it’s really something that the whole of the band have talked about over the years, and it’s not something that’s voted for by your fans, although they do open it up to its fans to be voted in. At the end of the day, it’s the board that decide. And so that kind of puts a bit of a question mark about the authenticity of fans voting you in. But, yeah, it’s still, in my book, something that’s a great accolade to even be considered again.”
The hosts brought up a somber point: many legendary musicians are aging or passing away before the Rock Hall ever acknowledges their contributions. McBrain agreed, noting the frustrating history of snubs.
“There is that,” he said. “I mean, mind you, if you think to yourself, there’s so many great bands out there that have not been inducted or even nominated over the years, and as you say, certain members are getting along in the tooth or passing away, and you look back and go, in retrospect, man, these guys should have been [inducted] and they weren’t. But, yeah, it’s something that there’s a lot of controversy over it, and there has been.”
The Hall underwent a major internal shakeup in 2023 when co-founder Jann Wenner—who had long been accused of carrying a heavy bias against heavy metal and prog-rock—was removed from the board of directors following highly criticized public comments. McBrain alluded to this shift, suggesting it might change the band’s fortunes, though he acknowledged that the rest of his bandmates (such as bassist Steve Harris, who previously stated he didn’t care about the Hall) might view the nomination differently.
“And if somebody that was very controversial is no longer a part of the voting board as such, then who knows where it may go? As I said, for me personally, it’s a lovely accolade to have, but one that it’s steeped with controversy in terms of what the Maiden camp feel.”
If inducted in April, the recognized lineup for Iron Maiden will include current members Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, Janick Gers, and Nicko McBrain, alongside former guitarist Dennis Stratton, ex-vocalist Paul Di’Anno, and late drummer Clive Burr.
Currently, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame severely lacks representation from the heavy metal genre. Iconic acts like Motörhead remain uninducted, while the short list of metal and hard rock inductees only includes Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Kiss, Van Halen, Rush, Guns N’ Roses, Deep Purple, and solo artist Ozzy Osbourne.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also left out former Iron Maiden frontman Blaze Bayley.
Bruce Dickinson has been highly critical of the Rock Hall in the past. In 2018, he famously stated:
“I’m really happy we’re not there and I would never want to be there. If we’re ever inducted, I will refuse — they won’t bloody be having my corpse in there.
“Rock and roll music does not belong in a mausoleum in Cleveland. It’s a living, breathing thing, and if you put it in a museum, then it’s dead. It’s worse than horrible, it’s vulgar.”
Steve Harris also told Rolling Stone earlier that the exclusion didn’t bother him.
“I don’t mind that we’re not in things like that. I don’t think about things like that. It’s very nice if people give you awards or accolades, but we didn’t get into the business for that sort of thing. I’m certainly not going to lose sleep if we don’t get any sort of award, not just that one, any award. I don’t think we deserve to have this or that necessarily. With what we do, whatever comes of it is great. Whatever doesn’t come of it is great, too.”
Meanwhile, former guitarist Dennis Stratton offered a more appreciative response to the 2026 nod, though he acknowledged the band’s ultimate authority on the matter:
“Wow. It’s a massive honour to be nominated again for this award. But, as last time, it’s completely up to the band and the manager (to accept the induction). I get that. But still very proud to be included.”
