In a recent interview with The Independent, Bruce Dickinson expressed his belief that metal music serves as a means of escaping reality.
“One thing that is true about metal music is that it’s fundamentally escapist,” remarked the Iron Maiden lead singer. “Unashamedly so. Nobody needs to be told that they’re living in an authoritarian society; they already know. Don’t lecture them about it; just give them a great time because that’s going to uplift them more than anything else.”
In a discussion from March, Dickinson delved into the fusion of various genres to forge a fresh metal style. He highlighted metal’s adaptability and evolution, stating, “Metal is not a completely pure, definable form of music. I mean it’s got all kinds of different facets to it.”
He went on, “So, now, what’s heavy metal to one person is, like, ‘No, that’s not heavy metal. That’s classic rock,’ and all this kind of stuff. They have all these categories, and I absolutely have no f*cking interest in any of them at all…”
“All I listen to is, ‘Hey, is that a cool track?’ It doesn’t matter if it’s, for an example, if it’s Sepultura or whether it’s the Scorpions or whether it’s Cinderella or whether it’s Uli John Roth, I don’t give a sh*t,” he continued, listing several prominent bands. “All I think is, ‘Hey, is this a cool piece of music?’ That’s it.”
Dickinson further elaborated on his perspective, “And that’s what I was like when I was growing up, because nobody had all these ridiculous categories, like 150 different types of metal. I mean, it’s, like, how many different varieties of the herpes virus are there?”
“There’s just as many bloody different types of music,” he added. “And it’s insane. So, I just listen and think, ‘Does that piece of music move me in some way?’ That’s it. It’s as simple as that.”