In a new interview with Metal Hammer, producer and guitarist Roy Z reminisced about working with the Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, and nearly killing him. When asked about the first time the two met, the producer reminisced about the days he wanted no one to hear his music and when the Iron Maiden frontman intruded on his studio:
“It was 1993 and we were working in the same studio – him in the day, me [with the band Tribe Of Gypsies] at night. I’d told my engineer that I didn’t want anyone to hear my music, no exceptions. One day I came in and there was this guy at the desk, listening to my shit, long hair flying everywhere.”
The moment Roy Z was ‘ready to kill’ someone for listening to his music without his permission, who later turned out to be the Iron Maiden rocker. He continued:
“I was ready to kill somebody. But then he turned around and went, ‘Hey, I’m Bruce, I love your band, who are you?’ He asked if I wanted to come to the UK and write with him. That fall, he announced he was leaving Maiden and it just went from there.”
There Was ‘No Pressure’ On Their Work Together
Roy Z, who has played the guitars for Dickinson’s new project, ‘The Mandrake Project,’ got the frontman’s approval. But in addition to his guitar playing, Dickinson himself too played the guitar for a few of the new tracks, namely Resurrection Men’ and ‘Face In The Mirror.’ When asked about how it all came about, Roy Z explained:
“I just said, ‘Hey, it’s your solo record, let’s have fun.’ He’s written riffs, but we’ve never had him play guitar on a record of anything. With ‘Resurrection Men,’ Bruce was like, ‘Can you get us a [surf guitar pioneer] kind of sound?’ I said, ‘Here’s an amp that does that, so show me what you’re thinking.’ He ended up doing really well because he was inspired by us vibing on it. It was a no-pressure kind of thing.”
‘The Mandrake Project’ was released on March 1, and Dickinson’s solo tour will be starting on April 15.
You can hear ‘Resurrection Men’ below.
