Longtime Bruce Dickinson collaborator Roy "Z" Ramirez took to social media this week to share new info on Dickinson's long-awaited solo album. "I just can't wait for you all to hear the fruits of our collaborative efforts," wrote Ramirez, as he and Dickinson have been holed up lately in Southern California working on backing tracks and additional recording for the album.
Last month, Dickinson said that he's been working on the record here and there since 2005.
"I've been working on it, on and off, since Tyranny Of Souls. But between lockdowns and albums and Maiden tours and everything else, I'm looking for a clear space to actually nail and say, 'Okay, this is what it's gonna be,' and get to put some backing tracks down. And then we can do it. So we're at the point now where we've already got — I don't know — anywhere between 50 and 70 percent of the material for the album, depend[ing] on what we pick, from things we've already got.
"And I think we'd like to tweak it a little bit. So I've got some time. When I finish this [tour] in March, I've got three weeks in L.A. And so I'm gonna be tweaking a few things with Roy. And we'll see where we get to. And if we get to the point where we can start putting backing tracks down, then I'll be off touring with Maiden and he can be chipping away doing the backing tracks.
"And the technology exists now, of course, which didn't exist back in the day, to just get on a Zoom call with him and take a listen. We were already going that way on Tyranny Of Souls. He actually sent me a CD of the backing tracks — just rough; no guitar solos; just rough — and I put a set of headphones on. I was in Japan on tour at the time, and I just walked the streets of Tokyo at, like, nine in the morning with a notepad, mentally writing words and melodies, and then just flew back to L.A. and did the vocals. And that worked out great; Tyranny Of Souls is a great album."
Bruce Dickinson released six solo albums between 1990 and 2005 – the bulk of which were released when he wasn't in Iron Maiden between 1993 and 1999. The new album will be the follow-up to 2005's Tyranny Of Souls.
