Bruce Dickinson has released his new solo album, The Mandrake Project, via BMG. In a new interview with Kory Grow for Rolling Stone, the Iron Maiden frontman discusses the album while brandishing deadly weapons at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In the following excerpt, Bruce touches on his 2015 cancer battle:

Dickinson understands tragedy, since he narrowly averted it about a decade ago. In 2015, he revealed he’d been diagnosed with throat cancer, which he describes as a “three-and-a-half–centimeter, golf ball–sized tumor in the base of my tongue and a strawberry–sized one in my lymph node.” He went through 33 radiation sessions and nine weeks of chemotherapy at the same time. “I love the medical term,” he says. “They describe that [therapy] as a ‘significant insult to the body.'”

The insult was worth it. Dickinson is now cancer-free. Sipping coffee and looking around the gallery, he’s grateful to be alive. “I really appreciate every day, but that means that every day I have to do something, even if it’s consciously doing nothing — at least do something consciously,” he says. “When I did my series of one-man shows around the States almost two years ago, I made up as a T-shirt that said, ‘Life is better than all the other options.’ And if I had a mantra to live by, that would be it.

“I’m lucky that I can still sing,” he continues. “So if I can somehow do anything that entertains people, makes people think more, feel more, do more things, then I’m doing something good. I’m big into trying to make people feel things now rather than being impressed with myself and going, ‘Oh, look at me.’ It’s actually, ‘No, no. Look at you.’ If you can manage to listen to an album during 58 minutes of your life that you’ll never get back again, it’s a musical and emotional journey. That was really important to me because it’s something that I never achieved explicitly ever with any band, including Iron Maiden. In Iron Maiden, the music does move people, but in a slightly different way. The emotions are slightly different. With this one, I’ve got a bigger palette to paint from.”

Read more and see some cool Bruce photographs by Griffin Lotz, at RollingStone.com.

Ahead of the release of The Mandrake Project and the start of a four month tour,  Bruce recently revealed the addition of two new guitarists in the touring lineup.

Swedish born guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum credited producer Philip Naslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq will add their fire to band members Dave Moreno, Mistheria and Tanya O’Callaghan.

“Sadly, and with regret, guitarist and producer Roy Z will no longer join the band on tour due to some personal commitments,” explains Dickinson. “He will remain in LA to work on some re-mixing and re-mastering of the catalogue. We all know the show must go on though and this project is too important to everyone to not be the very best it can be. I’m gutted about Roy because he assembled most of the album and touring band, introducing Mistheria & Dave Moreno to the project and mentoring guitarist Chris Declerq. I’m so excited about what both Philip and Chris will bring on stage together and now my only ambition is to grab a little piece of the audiences’ hearts every night.”

Dickinson's tour in support of The Mandrake Project will launch on April 15 at The Observatory in Orange County, CA. Find the complete tour itinerary here.

Dickinson has released The Mandrake Project worldwide on multiple formats. Across ten inventive, expansive and absorbing tracks, Dickinson and his long-term co-writer and producer Roy Z, have created one of 2024’s defining rock albums. Sonically heavy and rich in musical textures, The Mandrake Project sees Bruce bring to life a musical vision long-in-the-making, and features some of the finest vocal performances of his career.

Recorded largely at LA’s Doom Room with Roy Z doubling up as both guitarist and bassist, the lineup for The Mandrake Project was rounded out by keyboard maestro Mistheria and drummer Dave Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce’s last solo studio album, Tyranny Of Souls, in 2005.

The Mandrake Project is Dickinson’s seventh solo album. Order here.

The Mandrake Project tracklisting:

"Afterglow Of Ragnarok"
"Many Doors To Hell"
"Rain On The Graves"
"Resurrection Men"
"Fingers In The Wounds"
"Eternity Has Failed"
"Mistress Of Mercy"
"Face In The Mirror"
"Shadow Of The Gods"
"Sonata (Immortal Beloved)"

"Rain On The Graves" video:

"Afterglow Of Ragnarok" video:

"Making Of" video: