Iron Maiden legend Bruce Dickinson has announced a UK and European tour set to take place next spring, along with details of the first single from his highly anticipated upcoming solo album.
Dickinson will hit the UK for a run of dates in May 2024, before heading out to mainland Europe for a couple of months for a tour that will include a few festival dates. The tours will be in support of the singer's brand new studio album, The Mandrake Project, his first solo effort since 2005's Tyranny Of Souls, and the man himself has now also revealed when the first single from the album will arrive.
Titled Afterglow Of Ragnarok, the song is described in an official press release as "a dramatic and epic track that introduces the world not just to the music of the album but to the compelling narrative that forms the basis of The Mandrake Project." It will be released on Friday December 1 and will be accompanied by a video that Dickinson himself seems pretty excited about.
"It was important to set the tone of the project with this track,” says Dickinson. “As befitting its title, it’s a heavy song and there’s a great big riff driving it…but there’s also a real melody in the chorus that displays the light and shade that the rest of the album brings… and just wait until you see the video!"
The Mandrake Project will arrive in 2024 and will be accompanied by a comic book series that further explores the story of the album. A 7" release of the Afterglow Of Ragnarok single will also feature a b-side of a demo version of Dickinson's original solo version of If Eternity Should Fail - a song that ended up being used by Iron Maiden for their 2015 album The Book Of Souls. The single release will also be accompanied by an eight-page comic prequel that will set the stage for the main series next year.
Listen to a preview of Afterglow Of Ragnarok below, and check out the full list of Bruce Dickinson's UK and European tour dates for 2024 further down.
Bruce Dickinson UK and Europe tour dates 2024
May 18: Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, UK
May 19: O2 Academy, Manchester, UK
May 21: Arena, Swansea, UK
May 23: Rock City, Nottingham, UK
May 24: O2 Forum Kentish Town, London, UK
May 26: L’Olympia, Paris
May 28: 013, Tilburg
May 29: De Oosterport, Groningen
June 1: Budapest Barba Negra
June 3: Arenale Romane, Bucharest
June 5-8: Mystic Festival, Gdansk
June 5-8: Sweden Rock Festival, Solvesborg
June 9: Rockefeller, Oslo
June 16: Huxleys Neue Welt, Berlin
June 17: Grosse Freiheit 36, Hamburg
June 19-22: Copenhell, Copenhagen
June 24: Zeltfestival Rhein-Neckar, Mannheim
June 25: Circus Krone, Munich
June 27-30: Hellfest, Clisson
June 30: Rockhal, Esch-Sur-Alzette
July 3-6: Rockharz Open Air, Ballenstedt
July 5: Ippodrome Delle Capannelle, Rock In Rome, Rome
July 6: Bassano Del Grappa, Metal Park, Vincenza
July 9: E-Werk, Koln
July 13: Hala, Zagreb, CROATIA
July 16: Kolodrum Arena, Sofia, BULGARIA
July 19: Kucukciftlik Park, Istanbul, TURKEY
Speaking about The Mandrake Project last month, Dickinson stated: "This album has been a very personal journey for me and I am extremely proud of it. Roy Z and I have been planning, writing and recording it for years, and I am very excited for people to finally hear it. I’m even more excited at the prospect of getting out on the road with this amazing band that we have put together, to be able to bring it to life. As you can see, we’re playing as many shows as we can, in as many places as possible, for as many people as we can!” “
