THE BEAST

Bruce Dickinson   says that his claim that   IRON MAIDEN   was "better than   METALLICA " was just about "throwing down the gauntlet" and wasn't directly aimed at the San Francisco-based metal giants.

Back in 2011, the   IRON MAIDEN   frontman elaborated on a past comment in which he boasted that his band was superior to   METALLICA . Refusing to back down from the stance, he explained to   Metal Hammer : "I got into trouble for saying that we're better than   METALLICA … and it's true. They might be bigger than us and they might sell more tickets than us and they might get more gold-plated middle-class bourgeoisie turning up to their shows, but they're not   MAIDEN . I did say it's a bit of a windup. I thought, 'If I'm going to turn into an asshole, I might as well, you know, go for it.'"

Now, in a brand new interview with   Rolling Stone ,   Dickinson   was asked for his current take on his past comments about the   James Hetfield -fronted outfit. He said: "Look, I'm acutely conscious that when you say things in print, people are going to pick up on things. The stuff about   METALLICA , quite frankly, was a really good windup. We have a great relationship with   METALLICA . It wasn't aimed at   METALLICA . It was aimed at the rest of the world to say, 'We're back and we mean it. We mean it so much that we're going to say something pretty outrageous, so why don't you come to the show and find out. We dare you.' It's throwing down the gauntlet, and I'm the lead singer. It's my job. It's what I do.

"So is it arrogant? Uh, yeah," he admitted. "You're the lead singer of   IRON MAIDEN , and you're going to be arrogant every now and again, because it kind of goes with the territory, yeah.   Mick Jagger , is he arrogant? Yeah, probably — it's   Mick Jagger , for fuck's sake. Do I make a distinction between me walking down the street and me onstage with   IRON MAIDEN ? Yeah."

When questioned about   Dickinson 's initial comments,   METALLICA   drummer   Lars Ulrich   took the high road, telling   The Guardian : "I will never argue with that. I will always support   Bruce Dickinson   in whatever nonsense he says. That's part of the fun. So go   IRON MAIDEN ! It's fine."

Dickinson   is promoting his autobiography,   "What Does This Button Do?" , which was released in the U.S. on October 31 via   Dey Street Books   (formerly   It Books ), an imprint of   HarperCollins Publishers . Via Blabbermouth