IRON MAIDEN Drummer Says Having No. 1 Album In The U.S. 'Would Be Amazing'

MusicRadar.com recently conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

MusicRadar.com: You've had No. 1 albums in the past in the U.K. and other countries, but it looks as though "The Final Frontier" could debut at the top spot in the U.S. What would that mean for the band?

McBrain: "It would mean that our American fans listened! [laughs] You know, [singer] Bruce [Dickinson] made it quite clear to all of our fans in America and Canada when we were on tour there during the summer that it would be great to go to No. 1, so hopefully everybody paid attention.

"Going No. 1 would be amazing, a great accolade, of course. Would it mean the same now as it might have 15 or 20 years ago? I can't say. But at the end of the day, I know we have a great album. I think it's a work of art. If it's not the No. 1 album the first week, then hopefully it will be the second or third week — once people give it a listen, you know? Obviously, it would be nice now that I'm…well, I'm not really a citizen. What am I, a 'legal alien' or something?" [laughs]

MusicRadar.com: Sounds about right.

McBrain: "People have called me that before I moved to America, so I'm used to it. Don't get me wrong — it would be great to go No. 1 in the U.S., and I hope it happens. Really, that would be amazing. If it doesn't, though, hey, it's not the end of the world."

MusicRadar.com: Musically, what were your goals on this record? There's so many unexpected moments, and many of them are prog rock in nature.

McBrain: "I would say my first and foremost goal was to finish the record without keeling over dead! [laughs] In all seriousness, though, we rehearsed seven tracks in Paris before we went to record them. Three of the other ones we had the sketches for, but we had to work them up once we got in the studio. For me, the big expectation was working on the three songs that we didn't rehearse; I wanted to get their vibe as quickly as I could and really nail them without taking a whole lot of time.

"In terms of figuring out the progressions on the album, it was very much like it was in the old days. It was us together in one room going, 'Okay, how are we going to get from this bit to that bit?' You know what I mean? It was natural, a band working as one. We were all looking at one another and communicating and feeling at home, if you like."

MusicRadar.com: What did you think when you got some of the demos, particularly the one for the song "When The Wild Wind Blows"? That song is quite an epic.

McBrain: "It sure is. That was one of the songs we did in the studio. When Steve [Harris] brought the song in, he showed it to us, gave the guitarists the chord progressions and everything. I could tell right off it was something special. Because of the kind of song it is, though, I looked at Harry [editor's note: the nickname for Steve Harris] and said, 'What do you want from the drums, busy or straight?' And he said, 'Let's have it straight. We need some real groove on this track.'

"That's all he needed to say. I told him, 'Let me have what you're playing on the bass,' and we worked that part out. Then we went for the second part, then we had the segue breakdown and it went from there. When we finished recording the song, I turned to Steven and said, 'Next to 'Hallowed Be Thy Name', I think this is the best song you've ever written.' And he went, 'Nahhh!' And I said, 'To me it is.' That's how I feel — I think it's just immense.

"The funny thing is, there wasn't a lot of preparation for that song or any of the other ones, really. It was just learn it, feel it and play it. That's what we did on this record. It was true to its form, without a lot of contrived pieces. And there's even a couple of mistakes on it, to boot, which I think is great."

Read the entire interview from MusicRadar.com.