(NEW YORK, NY) -- WSOU Music Director Patrick Ritter recently interviewed heavy metal icon Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden fame to discuss his brand-new solo album, titled "The Mandrake Project," which has been ten years in the making.

The album, which Dickinson touts himself as the “best solo record I’ve ever made,” releases on March 1st of this year. The album is also accompanied by a twelve-part comic of the same name, which Dickinson helped create as well. Dickinson connected the album with the comic, which began publishing on January 17th, as “two big trees in a forest…connected at the roots,” explaining how lyrical content in his music connects with the comic project and vice versa.

Ritter and Dickinson went on to discuss specific songs from “The Mandrake Project” album. Dickinson highlighted the creative process of making the videos for songs “Afterglow Of Ragnarök” and “Rain On The Grave,” joking how “like all good ideas [they] got put together in the pub.” Later, Dickinson gave insight into the songwriting process for the songs “Resurrection Men” and “Face In The Mirror,” and how his stream of consciousness and perfectionist nature perfectly complimented his producer Roy Z’s ability to “make something from anything.” The pair also talked about the twenty-five-year-old song “Sonata,” which finally makes its way onto an album, and how it and the album are truly a reflection of “a lot of love and death.” Bruce Dickinson explained how the loss of close friends and his own brush with throat cancer and death translated into “The Mandrake Project.”

Dickinson is currently preparing to tour with his band, composed of Roy “Z” Ramirez on guitar, Giuseppe “Mistheria” Iampieri on keyboards, Dave Moreno on drums, and Tanya O’Callaghan on bass to celebrate the release of this new album with “40 something” solo shows in Mexico, Brazil, and across Europe. Later in the year, Dickinson will be back on tour with Iron Maiden in the U.S., but he hopefully teased a possible 2025 tour to commemorate “The Mandrake Project” in the United States.

WSOU 89.5 FM is an entirely student-led and operated college radio station at Seton Hall University, in South Orange, NJ. The program is designed to give college students real experience in a communications workplace. WSOU has been playing metal music like Iron Maiden since 1986, amassing a dedicated and loyal fan base worldwide. Make sure to stream us on IHeartRadio or tune in to hear the Loudest Rock!