Iron Maiden studio album 17 rumours and speculations
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Iron Lurker
Ancient Mariner
Yep, the marketing campaign is not for us diehards who post/lurk on a fan forum on a daily basis.
The_7th_one
Ancient Mariner
This practice of secrecy came with The Book of Souls. The Final Frontier recording was detailed in Kevin Shirley's diaries trough the official website. I remember when the band published in the fc magazine that they were recording in Bahamas or whenever. Even they told it to the metal magazines.
Helmuth Von Moltke
Educated Fool
Seems like a different era... a decade already since Maiden engaged with us in that way. The awful cancer experience may have wiped out the opportunity to do something similar as BOS was being recorded / finished. This time it is the pandemic
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
The only thing that stopped Kevin publishing the diaries was Rod Smallwood.
Fabio Maiden
Educated Fool
One thing is certain, recording Maiden albums at Guillaume Tell Studios means bad luck for the future plans, these days! Both last two albums were delayed, first for cancer and then for pandemic. TBOS delay was about 6 months, while for the 17th one the delay will be 2 years (I think original plan was to release it in August/September 2020, now I see August/September 2022 as the most likely release date). If maths is not an opinion, a 3rd album recorded there in a row would see an 8 years delay (the previous delay multiplicated by 4: that's the formula!), before to be released 
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Fabio Maiden
Educated Fool
With "these days" I meant 2014 --> 2019, not 1999/2000.
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
Maybe the secrecy with TBOS album was because of the situation with Bruce (back then)...
But was it so secretly with this album? - Here's an interview with Bruce (around 2013) in which he said that probably the album will be out in 2015. In another interview (from 2013 too) he said that the band has already started to write material for the new album.
Maiden are not a ''keeping everything in secret'' type of band, after all...
I think October/November 2022. The tour ends in July (if no more dates are added), video release from the tour in August, new single in September and then the new album in the next months with the 1st leg in 2023 (2nd leg in 2024). The situation would be similar to TBOS album release and tour.
Fabio Maiden
Educated Fool
Do you consider so certain a video release from the LOTB? I wouldn't, honestly. I think, at this point, they'd like to close that chapter as soon as possible, and then focus attention, merch and sales on the new record.
My bet is that, given the important amount of tour time wasted because of the pandemic, 2022 will be the year of 2 Maiden legs: the first of LOTB, the second of the new album tour.
Even knowing their dates standards per year, I definitely can't see coming only a 20/25 dates leg in a full year, after 3 years since the last leg of concerts.
In 2023 Nicko will be 71. I can't see an album tour going into 2024 with him being 72, to be honest... If it will be the case, that'll be his very last, I guess.
The only big issue is:
How can you sell tickets for the new tour in a coherent and normal advance of time (let's say 5 or 6 months between the first day of tickets sale and the start of the tour) while you're still promoting/touring the LOTB machine?
TBOS tour tickets went on sale in September 2015, tour started in February 2016, 5 months later.
If they don't want to loose more time, they could think of a "quick tickets sale campaign" this time around, given the strange circumstances. I mean: LOTB tour ends in July. Album announcement right after it. Tickets go on sale right after it. Album release in September. 1st leg of the new album tour October->December 2022. 2nd leg March->June 2023. That could be a plausible scenario. They don't have much time to loose. And they rested enough, since November 2019.
That's how I see it.
That being said, I'm 90% certain we'll have a new single out by 11 months from now, before the start of LOTB 3.
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RLonger
Educated Fool
Probably you're right but we must remember the Covid is still active and against all the optimistic plans and announcements all tours and even soloed shows planned for 2022 aren't so sure now... So let's see how all things are in the UK. Delta type of Covid, the numbers of infected people are still growing.
Kalata
Out of the Silent Planet
I don't consider so certain a video release from LOTB tour (I hope for it), but it's a must, isn't it? - with the incredible stage design and setlist, it would be a bigger waste than no video release from AMOLAD 2006 or even SOT 1986/1987.
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I'm not sure if they could fit 2 legs in one year - yeah, they will have almost 3 years of break behind them, but the schedule is tight. The tour ends in July (*if no more dates are added) and I expect a good amount of new album promotion. But if the album is released in September, they can start the tour in October or (at the latest) in November (through the end of the year). 2nd leg in 2023 with a big summer tour of 5 months, for example.
-> 2 months for LOTB tour and 2/3 months for new album tour in 2022 would be great and a plausible scenario. I think 40 dates per year is normal for Maiden. The later start of the tour next year takes a lot of the whole year for the band. But then again, BNW (only 9 dates) DOD (1 month) and AMOLAD (1 month) tours 2nd legs were really short.
Nicko is in great shape imo, so I'm not worried about him.
You don't have to worry about tickets sales too... especially for Maiden.
In the end, I think that they want to be a 100% sure that they can tour with the new album. That's one of the reasons why they hold the album imo (and because the LOTB tour is not over yet). The whole situation in the world really messed up their plans big time.
- The album would probably be announced along with the release of the new single (September 2022 is my guess).
You could be right. They can play it during LOTB Part 3. Here's a curious pattern:
BNW tour -
DOD tour - new song was played during the previous tour (Give Me Ed tour): not an album tour!
AMOLAD tour -
TFF tour - new song was played during the 2010 reunion era leg: again, not an album tour!
TBOS tour -
LOTB tour - maaaaybe: not an album tour, like with the previous two examples. The scenario with LOTB3/Album #17 tours could be the same as Give Me Ed/DOD tours.
And Rod promised even more spectacular LOTB tour next year...
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Fabio Maiden
Educated Fool
It can surely be considered a must, but they don't seem to believe in releasing DVDs/Blu-Rays anymore... Steve thinks video formats don't have market like 15/20 years ago. We haven't had an official physical video release since 2013, and I think that prooves what I'm saying, unfortunately. I would EASILY have preferred the other way around, so video releases as a priority when it comes to live concerts, but who am I to say...
I see more likely a free-for-stream pro-shot thing shared on their YouTube channel, instead. Like they did for Live Chapter. I also don't think they would ever release two different things from the same tour (even if from the same legs) in a 2 years span. I think from July 2022 onwards (if everything goes as planned, obviously) the LOTB era will be officially and totally closed, so without any video release or anything.
Yeah, it's visually a spectacular tour. But there's already a nice hd pro-shot from Rio 2019 on YouTube, for people to relive and rewatch the visual and musical experience. They were a bit ill that night, but it's still the greatness of a Rock In Rio. And there's the audio release, even if it's not their best quality performance overall.
My idea is that they want to monetize as much as they can with the new dates (the main reason why they rescheduled lotb part 3 after 3 years), and then moving on.
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Fabio Maiden
Educated Fool
Exactly what I had written: two different legs in a year (2022) are possible/plausible, this time around! It will be the last occasion in their career, to do that / to have to do that.
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Fabio Maiden
Educated Fool
In 2019 he was, yes.
But he will be 71 in 2023. And 71 is always 71, doesn't matter where you look it from... One thing is playing drums in Rolling Stones, other thing is playing drums in Iron Maiden... And I know it sounds like a paradox, but 3 years without any live activity won't help, in this case.
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Helmuth Von Moltke
Educated Fool
Step in Joe Lazarus: not as easy as that, but with Bruce the ‘baby’ in the band at 65 in 2023, they could keep going until 2025ish. Yes they may need an ‘engine replacement’.
The three amigos can still perform standing fairly still as long as they can play, with Janick and Steve adding some physical performance. I can see the band carrying on until 2025, at which point Steve is 69 and the amigos 68. Barring I’ll health of course.
Fabio Maiden
Educated Fool
Yup, that's the key-point. Knowing their mentality, I doubt they'll keep going on without a classic member in the line-up... But if Nicko asked them to, when he'll feel too old to continue, they could accept that idea, who knows. Yeah, if that was the case, I can see a "within-the-family solution" coming: Joe Lazarus or Justin McBrain, Nicko's younger son (the older son is a drummer, too, but Justin seems to be more active, music-wise).
I honestly think Bruce could keep going until he's 68/69, at least. That man is incredible, he hardly has any bounds. Apart from when he was tired/ill (like end of 2019 leg), he always did great. He possibly did better, performance-wise, in 2018 than in 2014: that is to say how age seems to be just a detail for him, a performer who always searches for the best solutions and techniques possible.
Same goes for Steve, I can see him playing until he's 69/70. As for the three amigos, Janick is the one I see better at the moment, but yeah: I can see all of them going on until 2025, or even 2026.
Nicko was my main concern, because of his age and because of the physical effort a standard Maiden tour demands.
I mean: If they'll stick to the "old plan" ("when the first of us 6 will call it a day, Maiden will be over"), with these uncertain pandemic times and with a 2022 not 100% sure of having Maiden concerts back yet, well... The future could be not so bright
#FuckPandemic
It ruined and messed up everything...
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
I might be alone in thinking this, but I’d rather see them bow out gracefully if they cannot perform as they did pre-pandemic than carry on with a different line-up.
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