In a new interview with Kerrang, Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson talked about his 2015 cancer diagnosis and the fear of losing his voice.
When asked if he thought cancer might rob him of his voice, Bruce replied:
“Yeah, or I thought, ‘What if this changes your voice to such an extent you can’t sing like you used to?’
“But you know, I thought, ‘If ‘The Book of Souls’ is the last thing I ever did that has that voice, I’d be a very happy bunny.’ I would be happy with this album being my voice’s last statement.”
Discussing how the record ended up as a double release, Bruce commented:
“In a way, it was purely accidental because we didn’t have any idea about the album order until we finished it. [Chuckles]
“So we got to about track six and I went downstairs [in the studio] to Steve [Harris, bass] and went, ‘We either stop now or it’s a double album.'”