Iron Maiden have been touring relentlessly since their last album, The Book of Souls, so it’s easy to forget that 2020 will mark five years since its release. However, it appears we may be getting new music from the metal legends next year.
The band’s longtime producer Kevin “Caveman” Shirley posted a year-end recap on his Facebook page, strongly hinting that Maiden spent significant time in the studio in the first half of 2019 working on their next album. “I left my family for Paris, where I spent the next three months working very hard on an unnamed but not-very-secret project,” wrote Shirley at one point in his recap. “I finished with a loud ringing in my ears.”
Shirley’s “not-very-secret” line may relate to an April report from the Italian website Maiden Concerts. The site gathered various social media links which indicated that all six members of Iron Maiden and Shirley had been in Paris over a period of several weeks.
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Iron Maiden released The Book of Souls in 2015, the same year singer Bruce Dickinson revealed a cancer diagnosis. The band delayed touring until Dickinson was given a clean bill of health, launching “The Book of Souls World Tour” in early 2016 and wrapping it up in summer 2017. Maiden then announced “The Legacy of the Beast Tour”, spending good portions of 2018 and 2019 on the road, and recently announcing more dates for 2020.
The next LP from Iron Maiden will be their 17th studio album, and sixth to be produced by Shirley, if the aforementioned reports are confirmed. Stay tuned as more details emerge.