I appreciate all of you trying to find always new points of view, keys of analysis, and stuff, to "justify" them. Our favourite band is the laziest band around, nowadays. It's as simple as that. Sad but true, as Metallica sang.
Don't blame the pandemic. Blame the overall 6 years of Maiden England Tour + Lotb Tour (2 done, 1 planned to re-do, 5 YEARS IN TOTAL for the same tour to end, pandemic or not pandemic that's how it is). That's the root of all """evil""". All of that crucially cut out all the chances to have 6 or maybe even 7 Maiden studio albums already now, since Bruce and Adrian came back in '99.
I'm not complaining. I'm simply not expecting anything, anymore, which is a completely different thing, and way sadder.
Something got broken around 2012, when the crazy "3 years-leg-nostalgia tours" started to become the norm.
Man, until 2011 they didn't friggin' miss a beat.
I miss those times. Album cycle, kickass and short history tours (with the huge Somewhere Back In Time being the only 2 years exception) and then ready with the following album cycle. They've been simply majestic, as far as I'm concerned, until TFF Tour 2nd leg and up to En Vivo! release, in early 2012.
Then the beer thing started, in 2013... And... Here we are. Only one studio album released over the last 10 years.
Let's just think we shouldn't expect anything, not anymore. They entered the state of mind where they don't care at all about what we ask, write or think.They'll deliver everything only when and how they want it to.