IRON MAIDEN’s BRUCE DICKINSON: ‘I Don’t Want To Be In The ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME’ https://t.co/9bfFa6vnDk pic.twitter.com/sqmdsf6wrP

— BLABBERMOUTH.NET (@BLABBERMOUTHNET) June 16, 2023

Opinion tends to be divided on everything concerning the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame- from how much of an honour the induction actually is to Iron Maiden’s exclusion being down right criminal. But Dickinson has shed light onto how the band really feels about it, claiming they couldn’t care less about the distinction-mainly due to the fact that the band are not dead yet.

Eligible for induction since 2004, the band have been snubbed twice as recently as 2021 and 2023. Shortly thereafter, many fans critics and music industry insiders voiced their displeasure at what many consider to be an affront on what many would consider the greatest heavy metal acts of all time.

Dickinson, for his part, is quite bullish about the whole thing, claiming the music industry might feel threatened by metal as it does not conform to current trends within popular music.  Speaking about his band’s continued, Dickinson said, “we don’t give a monkey’s. Because the people that get us are not the people who run the music business establishment, whatever that is. Because that is largely run by people that can’t make a living doing anything else. I don’t want to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Because we’re not dead yet!” 

Of course, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has not sat idly by and ignored the criticism. Citing that they understand the feeling some fans have toward their favourite bands, they are happy to see such emotions stirred in Iron Maiden supporters. President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Greg Harris said about being inducted, “we love that people…care if [Iron Maiden are] in or out, and that their fans care. The truth is anybody that’s nominated, the odds are good that they’ll eventually gonna get in. In fact, I think it may be as high as 90 percent eventually go in.”

So, Iron Maiden fans can take heart that the odds are heavily in their favour to one day in the near future, join their rock and metal colleagues already inducted. Meanwhile, the band continue to remain as active in the scene as ever, having released their 17th studio album, Senjutsu back in 2021. They have also recently began the European leg of their Future Past Tour in support of Senjutsu which include key dates in the UK.

Find tickets for Iron Maiden’s Future Past Tour here.

Iron Maiden Future Past Tour:

21/06/2023 – Zag Arena – Hanover, Germany
24/06 – 3Arena – Dublin
26/06 – Ovo Hydro – Glasgow
28/06 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
30/06 – AO Arena – Manchester
03/07 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
04/07 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
07/07 – O2 Arena – London
08/07 – O2 Arena – London
11/07 – Ziggo Dome – Amsterdam, Netherlands
13/07 – Sportpaleis – Antwerp, Belgium
15/07 – The Return of the Gods Festival – Milan, Italy
18/07 – Palau Sant Jordi – Barcelona, Spain
20/07 – Estadio Enrique Roca – Murcia, Spain
22/07 – Bizkaia Arena Bec – Bilbao, Spain
25/07 – Westfalenhalle – Dortmund, Germany
26/07 –  Westfalenhalle – Dortmund, Germany
29/07 – Festhalle – Frankfurt, Germany
31/07 – Olympiahalle – Munich, Germany
01/08 – Olympiahalle – Munich, Germany
04/08 – Waken Open Air – Waken, Germany

Iron Maiden’s 17th studio album Senjutsu and Drake’s sixth release Certified Lover Boy, both came out on the 3rd of September. So far, Iron Maiden lead the way with 8000 sales more of physical and stream copies. 

Across their forty years career, British rockers had five UK Number 1 albums including their last two releases: Final Frontier from 2010 and The Book of Souls from 2015. Their latest album Senjutsu received great reviews, vary from four to five stars across the globe. The Guardian calls it “an ambitious, eccentric masterpiece” and “stunning escape-velocity songwriting that proves – yet again – that Maiden’s true golden age is their current one“. Rolling Stone labelled the album “one of the most rewarding and vital albums in Maiden’s catalog“. 

Drake, on the other hand, has had three UK Number 1 albums so far with Views (2016), Scorpion (2018) and Dark Lane Demo Tapes (2020). Certified Lover Boy opinions differ and seem pretty low for the musician comparing to his older work.

Pitchfork said the album feels like “back-and-forth between the more introspective and honest love records and the ones where he seems to be going into a self-aware mid-life crisis is felt throughout the record“. Adding that there are rare moments on the records where Drake sounds like “a real human being with real-human-being problems besides having to choose who to take home from the strip club“. In a three-star review, The Guardian labelled it “another album of toasts, boasts and dubious love songs“. NME gave it only two starts and calls it: “a boring, bloated disappointment” that “offers nothing new to the rapper’s canon, merely going through the motions on his old formulas instead“.

On the midweek UK Album Charts, there’s also Little Simz with her Sometime I Might Be Introvert, currently at NO 3. Last week’s No 1 album Donda by Kanye West falls at number 5.

Check out the Official Chart update that takes place every day from 5:45 pm here.