IRON MAIDEN’s BRUCE DICKINSON Says Two Songs On ‘Senjutsu’ Album Were ‘Predictive Of What’s Happening’ In The World Now

BLABBERMOUTH.NET

In a new interview with Columbus Alive, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson was asked if there was something that he learned, good or bad, from a global pandemic over the course of the last two years. He responded: "Well, in IRON MAIDEN, we kind of already predicted this would happen [on our latest album, 'Senjutsu', which was recorded in 2019, before the pandemic]. We didn't exactly know what it was going to be. 'The Writing On The Wall' [and] 'Hell On Earth' were both tracks that were predictive of what's happening now." He continued: "I curiously found that there were things about lockdown that I enjoyed. Everything was shut down, so everything was slow, and I spent time just sitting around with my partner. It was great. And even though I've now got 42 shows and I'm going to be running around all over the place, there's a little part of my brain that has just been tweaked and says that it's alright to slow down. Although, having said that, I now have a million things to do." In late January, Dickinson kicked off a two-month North American spoken-word tour. "Senjutsu" was released in September via BMG. The band's first LP in six years was recorded three years ago in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by bassist Steve Harris. Dickinson, who had a golf gall-size tumor on his tongue and another in the lymph node on the right side of his neck, got the all-clear in May 2015 after radiation and nine weeks of chemotherapy. Bruce's second wife, Paddy was found dead in May 2020 at the home they once shared in Chiswick, West London, following a "tragic accident." London Ambulance Service confirmed that the patient was pronounced dead on arrival. Bruce and Paddy had married in 1990 after two years of dating and shared three children: Austin, Griffin and Kia. They tied the knot after dating for two years following Bruce's split from first wife Jane. Dickinson is believed to have split from Bowden privately in 2018, although their breakup wasn't made public until November 2019. Bruce, 63, now reportedly lives in Paris with fitness instructor Leana Dolci.