Bruce Dickinson had been a part of Iron Maiden in 1993. While, Adrian Smith had left in 1990. The situation changed when both Smith and Dickinson returned to the fold in 1999, culminating in what can be described as Maiden’s “reunion” album, 2000’s “Brave New World” that saw the band recover their stamina, which has been kept until today with many noteworthy additions to their discography.
It was noted that The Blaze Bayley-fronted albums “The X Factor” and “Virtual XI” were met with a lukewarm response by fans and critics also had a similar review on the same. These remained footnotes on Maiden’s catalog.
Bruce Dickinson talks about rejoining the band
In an interview with Classic Rock, Bruce looked back on those days. The interviewer asked the singer about how soon was he asked about rejoining [Iron Maiden], and whether it was a tough decision to make.
“I think the first I heard of it was from Merck Mercuriadis, who was working with [Maiden management] Sanctuary Music. I discussed it with Roy [Z, guitarist] and the guys in the solo band. They told me: ‘The world needs Maiden… go for it.'”
Bruce then added on how it felt to go back to the Maiden camp:
“After we got back and wrote together again I was amazed how good it was. Honestly, the band felt brand new, fresh, and exciting. That’s when I nailed my colors to the mast about how confident I was that this would be the best Maiden tour ever.”
Fast forward to the present day, and the musician seems bewildered by the band’s continued success:
“I had no idea just how big Maiden would get. I had no idea about Ed Force One, no idea that stadiums would become a regular destination, or that we would be making albums like ‘Senjutsu’ and animated mini-movies like ‘Writing On The Wall’.”
