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I know I’ll sound unfriendly now, but I see this whole Steve “we’re going to tour and tour” thing as a kind of last-minute cash grab. Of course, the immense love for playing live plays the biggest part, but he knows their time is almost running out, so he wants to go all in. That’s how I see it, because of Steve’s stance on making another album: “It’s too stressful” for him — let’s just have fun onstage and collect money (until we ride into the sunset). This point of mine is half chaff, but part of me genuinely thinks this.

Unless Steve has lied in interviews about the status of the new album.

There’s also the constant cloud of mortality in the equation, so as a fan I must understand Steve’s desire to have fun. You can’t easily fight such concepts — or at all. But as a fan I’m also selfish, so I mutter about a “cash grab” even if it’s purely the love of playing live.

For Steve, playing live equals “Maiden is sound and active to the masses,” but for me as a fan, playing live does not fully equal “Maiden is alive and kicking ass,” unless I attend many concerts of the tour — which I’m not doing. As a sign that Maiden LIVES, I need new music, something that would symbolize or constitute their full vitality preserved in a given moment of time.
 
I know I’ll sound unfriendly now, but I see this whole Steve “we’re going to tour and tour” thing as a kind of last-minute cash grab. Of course, the immense love for playing live plays the biggest part, but he knows their time is almost running out, so he wants to go all in. That’s how I see it, because of Steve’s stance on making another album: “It’s too stressful” for him — let’s just have fun onstage and collect money (until we ride into the sunset). This point of mine is half chaff, but part of me genuinely thinks this.

Unless Steve has lied in interviews about the status of the new album.

There’s also the constant cloud of mortality in the equation, so as a fan I must understand Steve’s desire to have fun. You can’t easily fight such concepts — or at all. But as a fan I’m also selfish, so I mutter about a “cash grab” even if it’s purely the love of playing live.

For Steve, playing live equals “Maiden is sound and active to the masses,” but for me as a fan, playing live does not fully equal “Maiden is alive and kicking ass,” unless I attend many concerts of the tour — which I’m not doing. As a sign that Maiden LIVES, I need new music, something that would symbolize or constitute their full vitality preserved in a given moment of time.

"last-minute cash grab" sounds really unfriendly :) most artists slow down after their 60s, actors choose simpler roles, their lines are given through earpieces, writers either retire or write new formulaic books relying on the success of their old novels... musicians' new recordings also decrease. If we look at Maiden's generation, we can see that many other groups have already stopped producing. Of course, there are exceptions like Priest.

What happens if a new album comes out? Just like with the new Star Wars films, fans rush in to bash them and demand the classics. They would critize the sound, the production, the cover art, the long intros/outros, bruce's struggling vocals etc... And at the new album tour the "play classics" stubbornness will start again. Senjutsu was a very good album, they played 7 tracks from it over 2 tours, but most fans wanted the classics rather than the new songs. The band has grown a lot in recent years, and their mainstream audience has increased. That's why I understand them. If a new album were to come out, knowing that it would truly be the product of a special effort makes me happy. Otherwise, writing 10 new songs for Maiden members wouldn't be that difficult. The real issue is creating an album that would satisfy them as artists.
 
"last-minute cash grab" sounds really unfriendly :) most artists slow down after their 60s, actors choose simpler roles, their lines are given through earpieces, writers either retire or write new formulaic books relying on the success of their old novels... musicians' new recordings also decrease. If we look at Maiden's generation, we can see that many other groups have already stopped producing. Of course, there are exceptions like Priest.

What happens if a new album comes out? Just like with the new Star Wars films, fans rush in to bash them and demand the classics. They would critize the sound, the production, the cover art, the long intros/outros, bruce's struggling vocals etc... And at the new album tour the "play classics" stubbornness will start again. Senjutsu was a very good album, they played 7 tracks from it over 2 tours, but most fans wanted the classics rather than the new songs. The band has grown a lot in recent years, and their mainstream audience has increased. That's why I understand them. If a new album were to come out, knowing that it would truly be the product of a special effort makes me happy. Otherwise, writing 10 new songs for Maiden members wouldn't be that difficult. The real issue is creating an album that would satisfy them as artists.
I can’t oppose what you wrote — it’s all very true. Yeah, give us the classics, not the new songs. Give us the feeling that we’re young and that everything is, and will be, FINE. But a man is just a man, and he will mutter no matter what. Because that’s how it is…
 
I think that after Bruce and Rod's recent comments, and also Adrian's comments a while back, we have to consider the theory that they are a family where everyone will retire when the next one leaves the band to be disproved, whether we like it or not.
They will retire when Steve no longer wants to tour.
 
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