IRON MAIDEN Drummer Talks 'Flight 666' Movie, Upcoming Album

June 4, 2009

Kory Grow of Revolver magazine recently conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Revolver: IRON MAIDEN have done so many concert films, documentaries, and music-video DVDs over the years. Other than the jet, what makes "Flight 666" special for you?

McBrain: It's a bit of the agony and the ecstasy on this one. It was the first time that we had had 24-7 cameras with us. Not just filming the backstage stuff and the concert; it was filming us going to work and coming from work, while we're at work, and then when we're not working. We were always a very private band. We never were and we still aren't a band that would chase the limelight, chase the paparazzi. We steer clear of places where we knew people would be at to take photographs for OK magazine. When you look at the film… they had 500 hours worth of film to edit from. And there's a lot of it [laughs] that are those sort of things that you didn't want people to see that's on the cutting-room floor. They did a fantastic job.

Revolver: One thing that stood out in the video was, do you play barefoot?

McBrain: Yes, I do. It's something I used to do when I was a kid. As I started playing stronger, heavier, hard-hitting music as I got into my teenage and into my adult life, I started using a Ludwig Speed King pedal. You can't play one of them in bare feet, because it's not very smooth; there are holes in it. So I went to using boxing boots, and so over the years of my drumming, I went from barefoot to boxing boots to back to bare feet when I switched to a DW pedal. And I've been playing barefoot for, I don't know, eight or nine years. The only reason I like to play in bare feet is because I have more freedom.

Revolver: Is IRON MAIDEN working on a new album?

McBrain: We start working on a new record in November. We've got November and the first couple of weeks of December booked into writing. We're gonna do a new album in January 2010, and we should tour with that in late summer, fall time. That's the plan. Hopefully, God willing, everybody's health is good and we can get on with it and get out there again.

Read the entire interview from Revolver magazine.

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