As Iron Maiden prepare for the release of their 17th studio album, Senjutsu, on September 3, producer Kevin Shirley has opened up about his experience working with the band.
In a new exclusive interview with Metal Hammer about the upcoming release, Shirley is asked if he's nervous about the album coming out, to which he replies: “Well, I’ve learned that you have to be pretty thick-skinned when dealing with some Maiden fans.
"In the early days of me producing them, I got emails filled with vitriol and even death threats because I wasn’t [late producer] Martin Birch, so you have to let it run off you, like water off a duck’s back.
"But I love the album and I hope the fans like it, too – I can’t wait to see these tracks live one day.”
Speaking about getting back in the studio with Maiden, he says: "We just pick up like the previous session was last week. Janick goes to the Irish pub, Adrian goes fishing, Nicko and Davey play golf, Bruce does something extreme – this time he was fencing with the French national team and then broke his Achilles tendon – and Steve and I just work away in the studio, with Denis [Caribaux] engineering. It’s a lot of Groundhog Day, but in a good way.”
Iron Maiden have released two singles from Senjutsu so far – lead single The Writing On The Wall and new single Stratego, which they shared this week. Check out the track below.
