Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris recently spoke with HardDrive Radio about the making of the new British Lion album, The Burning, how touring and being a part of two different projects can change an artist's perspective, upcoming tour dates, possible new Iron Maiden music, and much more.

On touring the US for the first time with British Lion

Harris: "Coming to a place for the first time, we've got to put our toes in the water and see what happens. That's a scary thing because we've got no idea weather people are actually going to turn up or not. It's a vast country. Loads of people in California - where we're not going - are into it, but we're playing Lexington, KY and hopefully people will come to the show. You never really know so it's a bit scary. You can't take anything for granted; even with Maiden we don't.

British Lion released their sophomore album, The Burning, on Friday, January 17 via Explorer1 Music (E1). It features 11 new songs and was released in digipak CD, double gatefold vinyl and digital download formats. The band comprises vocalist Richard Taylor, guitarists David Hawkins and Grahame Leslie, Steve Harris on bass & keyboards and drummer Simon Dawson. Recorded, engineered and mixed at Barnyard Studios by Tony Newton and produced by Steve Harris, The Burning is crammed with powerful hard rock melodies.

Richard Taylor says: “We’ve been working on The Burning for the past couple of years and everyone is really pleased with the results. We started playing some of the songs live on recent tours and got a fantastic reaction from our fans so we are really excited to be sharing this album with the world. We’re also looking forward to heading out on the road again and seeing everyone at the shows.”

Paul Woolnough, CEO and Co-Founder of Explorer1 Music says: "Explorer1 offers a completely new turn-key solution for touring and recording artists such as British Lion in today's fast-changing industry. After watching the band evolve over the last couple of years and recently launching E1, it seemed the perfect time to partner and collaborate on the US release of The Burning’and British Lion's touring activities. I am proud to welcome Steve and the rest of British Lion into the E1 family and look forward to working together for many years to come."

Tracklisting:

"City Of Fallen Angels"
"The Burning"
"Father Lucifer"
"Elysium"
"Lightning"
"Last Chance"
"Legend"
"Spit Fire"
"Land Of The Perfect People"
"Bible Black"
"Native Son"

"The Burning" video:

"Spit Fire":

"Lightning":

The Burning is a follow-up to British Lion’s 2012’s eponymous debut album, Steve’s first ever musical venture outside of Iron Maiden which was pronounced both “brilliant” and “a big hearted ferocious triumph” by the music press. The band have since been tirelessly honing their live show performances with club tours every year and festival dates whenever time allows, building and establishing a firm and dedicated fan-base, reaching 24 countries across the globe so far, and now with their first ever Stateside tour on dates below.

Steve says: “It’s great for us to finally come to America to play some shows around the release of the new album there through Explorer1 Music. The E1 team have been extremely pro-active and we’re delighted to be working with them on both the record and the tour.”

Tickets available here. Every ticket to the British Lion US Tour includes a digital download of the new album. Support at all shows will be The Picturebooks.

Dates:

January
24 - San Antonio, TX - The Rock Box
25 - Dallas, TX - Trees
26 - Memphis, TN - Growlers
28 - Nashville, TN - The Cowan
29 - Joilet, IL - The Forge
31 - Cleveland, OH - The Odeon

February
1 - Lexington, KY - Manchester Music Hall
4 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
5 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits
8-13 - Monsters Of Rock Cruise
15 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Revolution Live
17 - Savannah, GA - Victory North
18 - Greensboro, NC - The Cone Denim
19 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon Club
20 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre