18th Studio Album discussion

Jer said:
If Steve is burned out on the idea of writing a new album, and the whole reunion style has gotten stale, why not take a step back and let the rest of the band handle all the songwriting for the next album? It would be guaranteed to sound different in overall style while still being undeniably Maiden, and there would be lots more short rockers in the mix.
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I think Steve is probably keeping his cards close to his chest in that interview rather than being sincere.

Bruce should step up to the plate though, he can write in advance and present the ideas to Steve in demo form like he does for his solo work.

For Senjutsu he showed up with pretty much nothing and wrote lyrics for Adrian's already prepared songs, including lyrics based on a Keanu Reeves movie off Netflix, which is a severe lack of effort compared to the solo stuff, yes he didn't fully realise the Mandrake Project concept but at least there was effort and enthusiasm there.
 
srfc said:
I think Steve is probably keeping his cards close to his chest in that interview rather than being sincere.

Bruce should step up to the plate though, he can write in advance and present the ideas to Steve in demo form like he does for his solo work.

For Senjutsu he showed up with pretty much nothing and wrote lyrics for Adrian's already prepared songs, including lyrics based on a Keanu Reeves movie off Netflix, which is a severe lack of effort compared to the solo stuff, yes he didn't fully realise the Mandrake Project concept but at least there was effort and enthusiasm there.
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This has been an occasional problem for Maiden, about relative levels of enthusiasm and split focus. It was worst in 1990 when Bruce penned some truly lazy lyrics for Maiden.

The fear is Mandrake and the sequel have become the greatest things since sliced bread in Bruce’s head. I do get it, that after 20+ years mainly focussing on Maiden since 1999 he needs an outlet.

But on the evidence of his solo band’s recent set at Brazil’s Town festival (I watched their full 60 minute set on YouTube last night). And having seen his Kentish Town Forum gig last May myself, I’m sorry but his new band are not the greatest thing going on…. They are good, but no Roy Z has lost them a lot of heft, and it’s not a band for the ages.

In my opinion, Bruce is making a mistake if he puts more of his focus on building his solo band, whether for a post maiden future or not. Rather than rounding out his Maiden recording catalogue with his best and most focussed ideas at this stage in his career.
 
Kalata said:
Stratego showed the opposite. Steve said he prefers to write longer songs/glue others ideas and that's not easy I imagine, but that doesn't mean he can't write shorter songs. He just doesn't want. Interesting is key for him. Stale or not. If he wants to change his approach, then that's a challenge, he usually likes them, but at this stage of their career is different I guess. The pressure to deliver is on him the most.

Well said about Simon and Bruce's many solo ideas. And especially the last sentence. They're not a cabaret act, right!
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Stratego is one of the best oldstyle galloping songs they have made since reunion
 
Helmuth Von Moltke said:
But on the evidence of his solo band’s recent set at Brazil’s Town festival (I watched their full 60 minute set on YouTube last night). And having seen his Kentish Town Forum gig last May myself, I’m sorry but his new band are not the greatest thing going on…. They are good, but no Roy Z has lost them a lot of heft, and it’s not a band for the ages.
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This. They sound good but they are not roy z and adrian smith. Lets see what they can create. We have seen them playing songs from other musicians. And some song have lost strenght.
 
Batman said:
TBH. Roy Z is not Roy Z since... what? 200X? ToS wasn't that great, Mandrake Project is divisive and his input on Halford albums was average at best.
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And bruce in europe during chemical wedding he toured wirh another guy called rhe guru. And the band was great. Lets see what this line up can make but for me too much keyboard
 
srfc said:
Bruce should step up to the plate though, he can write in advance and present the ideas to Steve in demo form like he does for his solo work.
For Senjutsu he showed up with pretty much nothing and wrote lyrics for Adrian's already prepared songs, including lyrics based on a Keanu Reeves movie off Netflix, which is a severe lack of effort compared to the solo stuff, yes he didn't fully realise the Mandrake Project concept but at least there was effort and enthusiasm there.
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Good remark. He is generally enthusiastic though, which is always good. And Steve really liked his new solo ideas (called them his best ever!), so why not Maiden-ized some of them with him.
DorotheaMe said:
I just had an idea: if it's true that Steve feels this stress/pressure, wouldn't it totally make sense to want a whole year (2027) this time?
(where he doesn't have to worry about much, only the new album?
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Makes sense, fingers crossed.
 
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srfc said:
I think Steve is probably keeping his cards close to his chest in that interview rather than being sincere.
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Most likely.
Helmuth Von Moltke said:
This has been an occasional problem for Maiden, about relative levels of enthusiasm and split focus. It was worst in 1990 when Bruce penned some truly lazy lyrics for Maiden.
The fear is Mandrake and the sequel have become the greatest things since sliced bread in Bruce’s head. I do get it, that after 20+ years mainly focussing on Maiden since 1999 he needs an outlet.
But on the evidence of his solo band’s recent set at Brazil’s Town festival (I watched their full 60 minute set on YouTube last night). And having seen his Kentish Town Forum gig last May myself, I’m sorry but his new band are not the greatest thing going on…. They are good, but no Roy Z has lost them a lot of heft, and it’s not a band for the ages.
In my opinion, Bruce is making a mistake if he puts more of his focus on building his solo band, whether for a post maiden future or not. Rather than rounding out his Maiden recording catalogue with his best and most focussed ideas at this stage in his career.
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I agree about the levels of enthusiasm, the need for an outlet (he could have released 1 or 2 more solo albums since 2005, he even wanted to release in 2001) and the split focus (which shouldn't be the case, it's a mistake), but why are you comparing younger guitarists with legends like Adrian and Roy? Let's hear their original material first. And Roy's work on TMP is frankly weak. Also, Bruce really enjoys working and playing with his current band, that's important. They can deliver something interesting and different. Plus they sound great live, studio work is another matter, but one part of the formula is enough, for now. All in all, the new material needs to be good.

Imo - his current solo band, they feel like a proper band (not a side project), like the 1997-1999 lineup. Maybe that's why Bruce is so enthusiastic to work and play with them. No one can recreate the magic of TCW, that's no surprise. AOB/TOS is the aim, very close to TCW.
dickinson1978 said:
We have seen them playing songs from other musicians. And some song have lost strenght.
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How so?
dickinson1978 said:
Lets see what this line up can make but for me too much keyboard
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I think there will be ''prominent'' keys in the studio too. Like in SJ, btw.
 
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Kalata said:
Most likely.

I agree about the levels of enthusiasm, the need for an outlet (he could have released 1 or 2 more solo albums since 2005, he even wanted to release in 2001) and the split focus (which shouldn't be the case, it's a mistake), but why are you comparing younger guitarists with legends like Adrian and Roy? And Roy's work on TMP is frankly weak. Also, Bruce really enjoys working and playing with his current band, that's important. They can deliver something interesting and different. Plus they sound great live, studio work is another matter, but one part of the formula is enough, for now.

I think there will be ''prominent'' keys in the studio too. Like in SJ, btw.

Makes sense, fingers crossed.
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Dont compare SJ with bruce current shows. Keyboards are all over
 
Kalata said:
Most likely.

But why are you comparing younger guitarists with legends like Adrian and Roy? And Roy's work on TMP is frankly weak. Also, Bruce really enjoys working and playing with his current band, that's important. They can deliver something interesting and different. Plus they sound great live, studio work is another matter, but one part of the formula is enough,
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I agree with you that Roy Z may in fact be far beyond his peak, and he seems a bit of a mess in some interviews as well, so Roy doesn’t seem to be adding chemical wedding era (or halford resurrection era) levels of awesomeness these days.

The thing about Bruce’s current band is this.

It reminds me of the appeal that Chris Dale, Alessandro Elana and Alex Dickson had for him in 1994, a younger fresh faced band who are driven and talented.

Bruce seems to like starting afresh, and fair enough. My issue with it this time round is that I just don’t think the ‘house band from Hell’ is that incredible. They are fine, but it feels like a side project band, not a really heavy hitting one.

Which would be fine if his creative focus was Maiden, but in terms of new music, it doesn’t seem to be. Or maybe it genuinely is because Steve is reluctant? We don’t know, it’s the most vital secret in maiden world right now for me (rather than more tour dates).
 
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Helmuth Von Moltke said:
I agree with you that Roy Z may in fact be far beyond his peak, and he seems a bit of a mess in some interviews as well, so Roy doesn’t seem to be adding chemical wedding era (or halford resurrection era) levels of awesomeness these days.

The thing about Bruce’s current band is this.

It reminds me of the appeal that Chris Dale, Alessandro Elana and Alex Dickson had for him in 1994, a younger fresh faced band who are driven and talented.

Bruce seems to like starting afresh, and fair enough. My issue with it this time round is that I just don’t think the ‘house band from Hell’ is that incredible. They are fine, but it feels like a side project band, not a really heavy hitting one.

Which would be fine if his creative focus was Maiden, but in terms of new music, it doesn’t seem to be. Or maybe it genuinely is because Steve is reluctant? We don’t know, it’s the most vital secret in maiden world right now for me (rather than more tour dates).
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Exactly what i felt when i saw them last year. As i said i have seen how they sound playing versions of other musicians. Remember its just bruce the only one
 
Helmuth Von Moltke said:
It reminds me of the appeal that Chris Dale, Alessandro Elana and Alex Dickson had for him in 1994, a younger fresh faced band who are driven and talented.
Bruce seems to like starting afresh, and fair enough.
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I guess it's a fair enough comparison with the SW lineup, although it's different (not just the style), a true band and a much more stable project. For Maiden, they all have a say, but Steve is the boss. And maybe Bruce needs such fresh challenges every now and then.
Helmuth Von Moltke said:
Which would be fine if his creative focus was Maiden, but in terms of new music, it doesn’t seem to be. Or maybe it genuinely is because Steve is reluctant? We don’t know, it’s the most vital secret in maiden world right now for me (rather than more tour dates).
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This. Steve being reluctant for the first time is so odd. It's hard to believe it. If Bruce and Adrian write a couple of songs again, he has help from Janick for one or two songs, then a couple from Adrian (1-3, who always has ideas like Bruce and him), maybe one from Dave - and for him 3+ songs on his own. Not to mention Bruce could potentially give one of his solo ideas again. It certainly helps for the writing pressure, right. Like the last 2 albums. I wonder if lyrics and arrangement of others ideas is harder for him than music ideas.
 
To be honest, Steve isn't negative or scared about recording an album. I think we're starting to get a little carried away.

Bruce said Simon is a good drummer and maybe they should record a new album. Steve replied that he doesn't have time, and that's pretty much it. The comment about the creative process doesn't suggest, in my opinion, that he's afraid or tired, but simply describes the process. The key point is that he starts by saying, "I haven't got time," describes the process, and ends by saying, "it's a lot of work." That's exactly what we should take away from the entire interview—Bruce wants to record an album, Steve doesn't have time right now, and his creative process requires that he have time. And then we have info about no tour time in 2027.
 
Batman said:
To be honest, Steve isn't negative or scared about recording an album. I think we're starting to get a little carried away.

Bruce said Simon is a good drummer and maybe they should record a new album. Steve replied that he doesn't have time, and that's pretty much it. The comment about the creative process doesn't suggest, in my opinion, that he's afraid or tired, but simply describes the process. The key point is that he starts by saying, "I haven't got time," describes the process, and ends by saying, "it's a lot of work." That's exactly what we should take away from the entire interview—Bruce wants to record an album, Steve doesn't have time right now, and his creative process requires that he have time. And then we have info about no tour time in 2027.
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2027 could be the year. Im sure that there will be a last record
 
Batman said:
To be honest, Steve isn't negative or scared about recording an album. I think we're starting to get a little carried away.

Bruce said Simon is a good drummer and maybe they should record a new album. Steve replied that he doesn't have time, and that's pretty much it. The comment about the creative process doesn't suggest, in my opinion, that he's afraid or tired, but simply describes the process. The key point is that he starts by saying, "I haven't got time," describes the process, and ends by saying, "it's a lot of work." That's exactly what we should take away from the entire interview—Bruce wants to record an album, Steve doesn't have time right now, and his creative process requires that he have time. And then we have info about no tour time in 2027.
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Well said. Carried away indeed, the 2027 break should be a key.
But Steve also added: ''I dunno, is the answer to that''. This is a usually ambiguous and expected answer, especially for Maiden's way of working. So this should be good. Regarding the lack of time, the interviewer added that he made a distracted grumbling noise in response, so there's that.
Also, why Bruce said maybe instead of should.

edit: it won't be that busy ofc, but what if Steve releases and tour a new BL album in 2027, would that affect Maiden's plans?
 
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