
Comedian Bill Burr has a hilarious new Netflix special, Paper Tiger, but what metalheads will likely be more excited about is his unabashed enthusiasm for Iron Maiden. On the latest episode of his Monday Morning Podcast, Burr went on off on his enduring passion for the NWOBHM titans after hitting the L.A. stop of the band’s Legacy of the Beast world tour. The comedian is amateur drummer and outspoken metalhead who has sung the praises of Meshuggah, Pantera, Ministry and more on air before, but as it turns out, his true love is Maiden.
“I don’t think the band has ever sounded better. They absolutely fucking blew me away. Bruce Dickinson’s voice was incredible,” the comedian raved, as reported by Metal Injection.
Not surprisingly, considering his instrument of choice, Burr zeroed in on Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain. “You should see the guy’s drum kit. His drum kits are works of art. It looks like it’s made out of stained glass when it’s underneath the lights … Each one of his toms, [the artist] did a different motif of all the different Eddies throughout the years, all the different album covers. Despite all the albums that they have, [Nicko] seems to have just as many toms going around his kit. I can not say enough about how great the band sounded.”
“Nicko McBrain was the reason I started playing drums,” Burr added. “I watched that Live After Death VHS tape a million times … I watched Live After Death for so fucking long that it became a catchphrase between me and all my siblings, of Bruce Dickinson saying, ‘Scream for me, Long Beach!’ When we saw them Saturday night, Bruce Dickinson was going, ‘Scream for me, Los Angeles!’ Me and [my sister] just looked at each other like, ‘Oh my god. he’s saying the thing that we watched!’ Total fanboy thing. It was fucking awesome.”
Hear the full podcast below.