Back in September, it was revealed that Senjutsu, the new album by metal legends Iron Maiden, was the band’s highest-charting record of all time in the United States. Now, in a recent interview, frontman Bruce Dickinson revealed what it was like releasing a record at the same time as hip-hop star Drake — and unsurprisingly, he’s not a huge fan.
“We went head to head with Drake the week the album was released,” Dickinson told Yahoo!. “I don’t really get what he does, though a lot of people do. But going head to head with him felt like, ‘No this is real music played by a bunch of old geezers who make no concessions to the times in which we live.’
“People say, ‘You’re dinosaurs.’ And we go, ‘Yeah and there aren’t too many of those left.’ This is who we are, it’s what we do. By and large our audience as moved on with us. Maiden’s audience is like a table made of plywood; every year you just add a new layer and the table gets bigger and bigger. We’ve grown organically — not through social media or any of that stuff. We’ve grown by going out and doing it in front of people.”
Speaking of which, catch Maiden live at one of the following dates this fall. And to read more about Iron Maiden and other metal mayhem, make sure to subscribe to our daily newsletter.
9/11 – El Paso, TX – Don Haskins Center
9/13 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
9/15 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
9/17 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
9/19 – Salt Lake City, UT – Usana Amphitheatre
9/21 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
9/25 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
9/27 – Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
9/29 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
9/30 – Spokane, WA – Spokane Arena
10/3 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford Premier Center
10/5 – Chicago, IL – United Center
10/7 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
10/9 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
10/11 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Centre
10/12 – Hamilton, ON – Firstontario Centre
10/15 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
10/17 – Worcester, MA – DCU Center
10/19 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena
10/21 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
10/23 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
10/25 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
10/27 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
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Words by Chris Krovatin
