“I don’t want to equal people’s expectations – I want to exceed them.” How Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith returned to Iron Maiden and saved the band's career

Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith of Iron maiden performing in 2001

In 2023, it’s easy to think of Iron Maiden as an unshakable monolith of heavy metal. But that’s not entirely true, mad as it might now seem. During the 1990s, The Beast’s career was threatened by the very real prospect of being completely derailed.

Iconic vocalist Bruce Dickinson departed Maiden back in 1993, the band’s momentum having vanished after the lukewarmly received No Prayer For The Dying and Fear Of The Dark albums. The next year, Maiden roped in former Wolfbane vocalist Blaze Bayley as a replacement: the Brummy fronted them for 1995’s The X Factor and 1998’s career-worst Virtual XI.