During an appearance on today's (Tuesday, July 23) edition of SiriusXM 's "Trunk Nation" , IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris reflected on the fact that it's been 19 years since the band released "Brave New World". MAIDEN 's first studio LP since the return of longtime lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith was also the band's first studio recording as a six-piece, as Janick Gers , who replaced Smith in 1990, remained with the group.
"It's amazing, really," Harris said (hear audio below). "I don't know where the time goes. It's crazy. It's scary, really, what happened to the time.
"Yeah, [the tours] just [seem] to be getting bigger and better. What can you say? It's great. We're really enjoying it. Everyone's enjoying it. I don't know how long we're gonna be doing it for, so everyone's looking at it… we're just totally enjoying every gig. We're taking each day as it comes, really."
According to Harris , there has been no talk of MAIDEN retiring anytime soon, despite the fact that all the members are in their 60s.
"We all feel that if we feel we're not cutting it anymore, then we'll discuss it and that will probably be the end of it," he explained. "But at the moment, we don't feel like that. We feel that we definitely still are pulling our weight, so to speak. We're just doing well. So far so good. I don't wanna tempt fate, but we are doing good."
Harris also talked about the setlist for MAIDEN 's current "Legacy Of The Beast" tour, which was inspired by the band's mobile game and comic book of the same name. The stage set design features a number of different but interlocking "worlds" with a setlist covering a large selection of 1980s material with a handful of surprises from later albums to add diversity.
"I'm really enjoying all of it," the bassist said. "I like playing the more difficult, or technical songs, but then again, I'm really enjoying playing '[Flight Of] Icarus' . We hadn't played that for a long time either. And we're actually playing it slightly more uptempo than the original album, which I think is what we should have done in the first place, in my opinion. So I'm enjoying it. The whole set is really enjoyable to play. I didn't choose the set, funny enough. Usually me and Bruce choose it together, but it was actually… I thought it was Bruce that chose it, but apparently it was [manager] Rod [ Smallwood ]. It doesn't matter whose idea it is; any good idea is a good one."
MAIDEN 's current set includes a Spitfire buzzing the stage during the opening number, "Aces High" . The plane is a 90-percent-sized replica of an actual Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb registration number AA 853 from 302 Squadron that saw active duty in 1941.
Support on the North American leg of the "Legacy Of The Beast" tour comes from THE RAVEN AGE . Additionally, FOZZY will be guests for the Banc Of California Stadium show in Los Angeles.
MAIDEN 's 2019 North, South and Central America trek comprises 44 shows in six countries, which, combined with the band's 2018 European dates, means that by the end of this tour, the group will have taken the "Legacy Of The Beast" show to over one and three quarter of a million fans around the globe.
The first leg of the "Legacy Of The Beast" tour opened in Europe last year to outstanding critical acclaim, not just by the 750,000-plus fans who came to see the show but right across national press and rock media, including The Times (U.K.) newspaper calling it "an extraordinary show filled with world class theatrics… a masterclass in performance and staging."
