BRUCE DICKINSON Is Putting Finishing Touches On Vocals For His Next Solo Album

IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson is putting the finishing touches on the vocals for his upcoming solo album at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California.

Bruce's next LP, which won't arrive before 2027, will be the follow-up to "The Mandrake Project", which came out in March 2024 via BMG.

Bruce and his long-term co-writer and producer Roy "Z" Ramirez recorded "The Mandrake Project" largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy Z doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by keyboard maestro Mistheria and drummer Dave Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's previous solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005.

The news of the progress of the recording sessions for Dickinson's next album was shared by acclaimed hard rock vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, Yngwie Malmsteen, TALISMAN),who posted a photo of him at Studio 606 studio with Dickinson, and he included the following message: "How lucky am I? I went to say hello to my dear friend Mistheria who I worked with on his VIVALDI METAL PROJECT and of course is part of Bruce Dickinson's solo endeavors these days.

"Arrived at Dave Grohl's studio right as Bruce was doing some final vocals to his new album. He finished and came out to chat/hang a little but then asked if I wanted to hear a few of the songs...umm, YEA!!

"I must say besides the fact that he is still singing at the top of his game, the songs, performances, and the overall vibe I got from all was beyond impressive, I think this outing will be one of his strongest ever outside of the MAIDEN camp.

"To add frosting on the cake, I got to try a prototype for a new Trooper beer, this one is a nice IPA which I'm normally not a fan of, but this was really good, it's not out yet so I feel pretty lucky to have tried it before the rest of the world haha".

Dickinson spoke about his plans for more new solo music during an August 2025 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He said: "We are gonna do a new album — we are recording the new album, rather — in January next year here in L.A. So, this is a great way of just getting the band locked in into the mentality of that. In fact, we were in the studio, well, just yesterday for three or four days, doing updates on the demos that we did with drum machines and things like that. Well, we've done them with the whole band now, and that just takes the songs to another level for the new album."

Asked if his next solo album will be "conceptual", like "The Mandrake Project" was, Bruce said: "Well, 'Mandrake' was kind of semi-conceptual. It was conceptual in its visual approach more than the music. There were elements of the music that were connected with the comic. And we've actually just published the book, the first book of the first four episodes of the comic. So that's something that people can get that's got some solidity to it. They can look at it and go, 'Oh, yeah, I get what this is all about.' But the albums have always got to be standalone units. And the stuff we've got — we've got 18 tracks demoed for the album. And we won't record 18 tracks, but I think we've probably settled on — nine, 10, 11 of them are absolute bangers, and the other ones we'll just see where we go with them and what it ends up like. But the band are on fire."

Regarding what fans can expect to hear on his next solo album, Bruce said: "It will be a different feel to the album because this is gonna be recorded live. I mean, 'Mandrake' was a bit like stitching together Frankenstein's monster, 'cause it was stuff from 2014 and then it was stuff from after COVID, and all of it glued together. So sonically it was a little bit all over the place."

Earlier in August 2025, Bruce told Metal Hammer that his new solo material will include "bone-crushingly heavy" songs as well as moments that "are just like tugging at the heartstrings". "If it's heavy, it's heavy," he added, "but if it just happens to be acoustic, it's acoustic. That's the deal, you know? It's whatever the song dictates, whatever the story is you're trying to tell, but it's really exciting. I'm so stoked about these tracks. I played the demos to a few people in the record label and stuff, and everybody is like, 'Wow!'"

Dickinson previously told Charlie Kendall of Charlie Kendall's Metalshop that he will record his next solo album with Brendan Duffey, who "did an amazing job" remixing Dickinson's second solo album, 1994's "Balls To Picasso". "The amazing band that is gonna record the new record with me is gonna be the same band that toured in Europe with me, and it's gonna be the same band that's gonna tour with me in 2027 when we release the new record," he said. "Or at least that's the idea anyway, to release a new record [in 2027]."

Joining the IRON MAIDEN singer on the "The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour was once again be his 2024 backing band, featuring Dave Moreno (drums),Mistheria (keyboards) and Tanya O'Callaghan (bass),alongside the group's latest additions, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum-credited producer Philip Näslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq (who played on Dickinson's "Rain On The Graves" single). Roy is not part of the touring lineup.

"The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour kicked off in Anaheim, California at the House of Blues on August 22 and took the band across North America, including shows in New York, Los Angeles, Texas, Florida and Canada, with festival appearances at Rocklahoma (Oklahoma) and Louder Than Life (Kentucky). The tour also included a quick return to Brazil for the prestigious The Town festival at the City Of Light in São Paulo.

Prior to the April 12, 2024 Whisky A Go Go show, Bruce last performed with his solo band on in August 2002 at the legendary Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.

Roy played guitar on Dickinson's 1994 album "Balls To Picasso" and went on to produce, co-write and perform multiple instruments on Bruce's subsequent four solo albums, "Accident At Birth" (1997),"The Chemical Wedding" (1998),"Tyranny Of Souls" (2005) and "The Mandrake Project".

O'Callaghan is an Irish musician who joined WHITESNAKE in 2021 and toured with the David Coverdale-fronted outfit the following year. She also hit the road with Dickinson in 2023 as part of a performance of Jon Lord's "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" on nearly a dozen dates in Europe and South America.

Californian drummer Moreno previously played on "Tyranny Of Souls" and has worked with BODY COUNT, Jizzy Pearl, Dizzy Reed and Steve Stevens, among others.

Italian keyboard wizard Mistheria has collaborated with an array of artists live and in the studio, including Rob Rock, Mike Portnoy, Jeff Scott Soto and Joel Hoekstra.

Dickinson's reworked version of his classic 1994 album "Balls To Picasso", now titled "More Balls To Picasso", arrived in July 2025.

Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on the "Number Of The Beast" album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith.

Photo credit: John McMurtrie