On June 3rd, Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson cancelled his show at Arenale Romane in Bucharest, Romania due to a viral infectiuon. He issued the following statement:
"I have been pushing my voice through a viral infection for the past few shows. I was hoping that the two days after the Dutch shows would have been enough vocal rest, but the Budapest show was a real struggle. The audiences have been fantastic, but I have a duty to the rest of the tour and a responsibility to look after my instrument....it's the only one I've got!
"With a very heavy heart I have had to make the decision to cancel tomorrow's show in Bucharest. It was not the outcome I hoped for. I am seeing a throat specialist Doctor tomorrow to confirm the wisdom of my decision, but after 40 years of singing I know when things are not right and the voice has to take a temporary rest. I am gutted for the fans in Bucharest. I can only say sorry and thank you for your support and understanding."
Playing at this year's Sweden Rock festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden on June 8th, Dickinson spoke with Sveriges Radio P4 Live and addressed the cancellation and his recovery.
Dickinson: "I had a four-day, five-day break, so I had to take a five-day course of antibiotics and take some other stuff, take some swelling down on my vocal cords. I got a bug about two weeks ago, and it was getting worse and worse and worse. The last show I canceled was 17 years ago, so this was rare. Because I don't cancel shows hardly ever, it was obvious that it was real. I was singing through it, and normally when I sing through it, you start getting better, but it was getting worse. So I said, 'I have to…' There's no space anywhere to rest on this tour. There's one show and there was some days around it. I said, 'I can take a five-day break, go to see the doctor, do what he tells me, shut up for five days...' Just do all the stuff you do (to recover). I know how to look after my voice, but when you get sick it's another thing entirely."
Check out the interview below or go to this location.
Bruce Dickinson has announced a limited-edition CD release for his new single, "Resurrection Men", out July 26 via BMG and available to pre-order here.
“The surf guitar at the intro – the Dick Dale bit – that’s me!” explains Dickinson about "Resurrection Men", in between dates on his hugely acclaimed first solo tour of Europe in two decades.
“We were just mucking around with the tremolo setting, we put the chords down and I went, ‘Ok, that’s kinda cool!’ It was like, ‘What if Quentin Tarantino made a metal record?’ Then it goes somewhere different, we get a bit heavy, and we did this whole middle section and it was like, ‘Were you just channelling Geezer Butler in another life?’ It was early Sabbath – Behind the Wall of Sleep. Just, ‘Oh my god that’s heavy!’”
The three track CD comes in gatefold digi-sleeve and includes a limited number of double-sided Mandrake ‘Movie Posters’ (375mm x 285mm) for pre-orders via the official Mandrake Project store only (themandrakeproject.com), reflecting the comic book artwork for Episode 3 which will be released via Z2 comics on July 17th.
The two CD bonus songs, "Afterglow Of Ragnarok" and "Abduction", were recorded live at Dickinson’s show in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 4, 2024 as part of his current world tour for The Mandrake Project.
Tracklisting:
"Resurrection Men"
"Afterglow Of Ragnarok" (Live)
"Abduction" (Live)
Dickinson’s tour continues in Europe throughout June and July with remaining dates listed below.
June
16 - Huxleys Neue Welt, Berlin, Germany (Sold Out)
17 - Grosse Freiheit 36, Hamburg, Germany (Sold Out)
19 - Copenhell, Copenhagen, Denmark *
21 - Graspop Metal Meeting, Dessel, Belgium *
22 - Summerside Festival, Grenchen, Switzerland *
24 - Zeltfestival Rhein-Neckar, Mannheim, Germany *
25 - Circus Krone, Munich, Germany (Sold Out)
27 - Resurrection Festival, Galicia, Spain *
29 - Hellfest, Clisson, France *
30 - Rockhal, Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg (Sold Out)
July
3 - Rockharz Open Air, Ballenstedt, Germany *
5 - Ippodrome Delle Capannelle, Rock In Roma, Rome, Italy *
6 - Bassano Del Grappa, Metal Park, Vincenza, Italy *
9 - Palladium, Koln, Germany
11 - Masters Of Rock Festival, Vizovice, Czech Republic *
13 - Hala, Zagreb, Croatia
16 - Kolodrum Arena, Sofia, Bulgaria
19 - Kucukciftlik Park, Istanbul, Turkey
21 - Release, Athens, Greece *
* festival performance
