Inquiring minds are naturally hungry to know more about Bruce Dickinson‘s solo project, an endeavor whose recent resurgence has resulted in new album “The Mandrake Project.” There is no better source to discuss this project’s nuances than the album’s guitarist, producer, and long-time Dickinson collaborator Roy Z. In an interview with Metal Hammer, Roy Z. talks about numerous hot topics, including his relationship with Dickinson not just now, but also when the two artists first met more than thirty years ago.
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.”
Bruce play guitar on the tracks “Resurrection Men” and “Face In The Mirror” (on “The Mandrake Project”). 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.”
Dickinson has also shared the video below, which further describes the making of “The Mandrake Project“
