In a new interview with The Independent, Bruce Dickinson said he thinks metal is meant to help people escape reality.
“One thing that is true about metal music is that it’s fundamentally escapist,” said the Iron Maiden frontman. “Unashamedly so. Nobody needs to be told that they’re living in an authoritarian society, they know that. Don’t lecture them about it, just go and give them a great time because that’s gonna cheer them up more than anything else.”
In a March conversation, the singer talked about mixing different genres to create a new metal style. He explained how metal music can adapt and change, “Metal is not a completely pure, definable form of music. I mean it’s got all kinds of different facets to it.”
Dickinson continued, “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,” the musician shared as he named some notable bands. “All I think is, ‘Hey, is this a cool piece of music?’ That’s it.”
Bruce then explained why he thinks that way, “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.”
Dickinson also thinks it’s hard to find new rock and metal bands that can headline big shows like Metallica or Iron Maiden. According to him, big promoters focus too much on making money and don’t support bands that build their fanbase over time.