When Bruce Dickinson split from Iron Maiden in 1993, he barely let the dust settle before finding himself a new creative confidant in Roy Z, the California-based guitarist and producer working with him on 1994's Balls To Picasso and every subsequent solo release.
Bruce might have rejoined Maiden in 2000, but that didn't mean his partnership with Z was done - in fact, the pair have been toiling away at ideas for a new solo album since at least 2012. With The Mandrake Project finally brought to life this week, we asked Roy about his relationship with the Maiden frontman and how things have changed over the years...
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT MEETING BRUCE FOR THE FIRST TIME?
“It was 1993 and we were working in the same studio - him in the day, me [with the band Tribe Of Gypsies] at night. I’d told my engineer that I didn’t want anyone to hear my music, no exceptions. One day I came in and there was this guy at the desk, listening to my shit, long hair flying everywhere.
I was ready to kill somebody. But then he turned around and went, ‘Hey, I’m Bruce, I love your band, who are you?’ He asked if I wanted to come to the UK and write with him. That fall, he announced he was leaving Maiden and it just went from there.”
WHEN DID BRUCE SEND UP THE BAT SIGNAL ABOUT MAKING A NEW ALBUM THIS TIME?
“We were originally set to go in 2012. That’s when we did the first batch of demos. Maiden were going to have some time off, so it was like, ‘Let’s get this done!’ The plan was to release it in 2013 and possibly do some shows. But that all kind of changed. We did 12-14 songs, so a few of them didn’t come out on this record. Hopefully they’ll see the light of day.”
HAVE YOU EVER WRITTEN A SONG THAT SOUNDS LIKE IRON MAIDEN AND THEN THOUGHT, ‘NO, WE CAN’T DO THAT’?
“When we first started, he did not want anything to sound like Iron Maiden. But we like a lot of the same bands. I’m really into old Sabbath, old Deep Purple, Rainbow, and Bruce is as well. So we have a great foundation of influences.”
BRUCE PLAYS GUITAR ON THE TRACKS RESURRECTION MEN AND FACE IN THE MIRROR. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?
“I just said, ‘Hey, it’s your solo record, let’s have fun.’ He’s written riffs, but we’ve never had him play guitar on a record of anything. With Resurrection Men, Bruce was like, ‘Can you get us a [surf guitar pioneer] kind of sound?’ I said, ‘Here’s an amp that does that, so show me what you’re thinking.’ He ended up doing really well ’cos he was inspired by us vibing on it. It was a no-pressure kind of thing.”
HAVE YOU PERSUADED BRUCE TO PLAY GUITAR ON THE TOUR?
“No. Unless he wants to!”
The Mandrake Project is out now via BMG. Bruce Dickinson's solo tour starts April 15. For the full list of dates, visit his official website.
