While many bands and artists rely on backing tracks to help round out their sound during live performances, Iron Maiden insists they will never be one of them.
In the latest issue of Classic Rock magazine, singer Bruce Dickinson said that he and his Iron Maiden bandmates would rather “bow out with dignity” than put on a show that isn’t up to par.
“The idea that you can turn it into the Disneyland Maiden, by using backing tracks, a few tricks… No!” Dickinson said. “Maiden has to be one hundred percent real – and f*cking fierce!”
He continued, promising that Maiden will always perform their songs fully live: “Only recently this guy, a big fan, said to me: ‘It’s so great to see Maiden still doing it.’ I said: ‘Yeah, and we’re doing it for real!’ There’s no detuning. This guy said: ‘Lots of bands use backing tracks now…’ I said: ‘No! No, no!’”
“[If we use backing tracks,] that’s the day I quit,” he added. “Or the day we stop. If it’s not real, it’s not Maiden.”
Last year, during an appearance on the “Rich Roll” podcast, Dickinson again recounted the same conversation he had with that fan. “We still play all the songs in the original key. We don’t detune. We don’t do anything like that on any of the songs,” Dickinson stated. “And this guy was saying, he said, ‘Oh yeah, but you’ve be going around for years. All these bands now, they all detune and they all use backing tracks and they all use…’
“I said, ‘Okay, stop right there. No. We’re not gonna do that because it’s not authentic. It’s not real.’ You start to get into the world of Disney World now. So, no. If I can’t do it the way I should be doing it, I shouldn’t be doing it at all.”
And it’s not just Dickenson who feels this way, as the rest of Iron Maiden seem to be in agreement. Bassist Steve Harris says eventually they’ll know when it’s time to stop, but that time is not now.
“I think you’d know in yourself if you can’t cut it any more,” Harris explained. “And I like to think that we’re still out there giving it large.”
