Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, never one to censor himself, has reportedly taken a couple of potshots at Metallica and Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford.
According to Loudwire, the singer recently chastised Halford for apparently using a teleprompter to help him remember lyrics during live shows. “People pay good money and you can’t even remember the sodding words,” exclaims Dickinson. “The daftest one I ever saw was Breaking the Law.”
Also, back in 2011 Dickinson told Metal Hammer that Iron Maiden were a much better band than Metallica.
“I got into trouble for saying that we’re better than Metallica … and, it’s true!” Dickinson added, “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 wind-up. I thought, if I’m going to turn into an a–hole, I might as well, you know, go for it!”
In a new interview with the Guardian, Dickinson’s comments were brought up to Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, who offered a humble response. “I will never argue with that,” says Ulrich. “I will always support Bruce Dickinson in whatever nonsense he says. That’s part of the fun. So go Iron Maiden! It’s fine.”
additional source: loudwire.com
153 Responses
Excuse me Mr. Halford. Can you see? Sing this one. I love it?
EVENING STAR:
I TRAVELLED TO A DISTANT SHORE
I FELT I HAD TO GO
AN INNER VOICE HAD CALLED ME THERE
BUT WHY I DID NOT KNOW
I SAW THE EVENING STAR RISE UP
SHINING OUT TO THE SEA
EVENING STAR………
I will also be sending big print versions of songs from TURBO as I’m a proud fan of that one and I don’t care what others think.
I’M LAYING AWAKE AT NIGHT…I CAN’T KEEP YOU OUT OF MY MIND…
ALL I CAN HEAR IS MY HEARTBEAT…AND A VOICE IN THE DARK OF SOME KIND…
WHERE ARE YOU NOW…THE PAINS ARE COMING BACK TO ME ONCE AGAIN
OH I WISH YOU WERE HEAR..TAKING GOOD CARE OF ME..
I WANT YOU..
I FEEL AS THOUGH I’M OUT IN THE COLD…
One of the best Priest songs ever.
Love the way that they opened the live follow up with that song.
Amen
Iron Maiden hasn’t written a good song in 2 decades. The Final Frontier was atrocious.
Starting to sound like Paul Stanley.
An old bitter fart, who should swallow a whole glass of happy pills before he get out of bed, that Paul Stanley 🙂
I agree by the way.
Nope you are mistaken with peter criss , you know the guy who fucked up every change he got wth kiss. And still complaning about it. But since this is the eddie trunk site i’m not supriced about the remark toward paul stanley. P.s. sorry for the bad englisch , but being dutch and all …you get the idea
What remark exactly? Does Peter not say in his own book the many times he is to blame??
Not even close dude. Bruce is just playfully obnoxious…but Paul on the other hand is just plain mean in a hateful (almost psycho) sort of way.
Perfect description- playfully obnoxious and thats how he presents himself in interviews and DVDs etc that I’ve seen. Which is why Lars hopped on and didn’t give a toss about it.
I love Maiden and have always loved Dickinson’s voice and writing contributions, but I think when he opens his mouth it should be to sing or say “Scream for me Meadowlands!” (or whatever venue/city Maiden is in at that moment) and not to comment in a negative way about two great metal bands. One that preceeds Maiden and one that came after. Regarding his jab at Halford, hey if ya need a little help remembering some lyrics from time to time, so what?! I’d rather hear hear the singer sing the right words than substiute the wrong ones. And what’s the point of someone who’s in a metal band saying that his band is better that another metal band? That’s for fans to debate/fight about when they’re sitting around knocking back a cold one; or for Eddie, Jim and Don to kick around when something like that comes up on TMS. Dickinson’s comment about Metallica reminds me of the time I heard/read Jack Bruce say that Cream was better than Led Zeppelin. Please. And cheers to Lars for taking the high road on Dickinson’s Maiden-Metallica comparison.
Is this even a big deal? Iron Maiden is worlds better than Metallica, and if Halford needs a teleprompter for “Breaking the Law” he derserves to be slagged.
Robert,
While it may not necessarily be a big deal per se, it a poor reflection on Bruce Dickinson as a person. He should carry himself with a bit more class and decorum, especially since he likens himself an intellect. He comes off as arrogant, and as a self described, “a-hole.”
Furthermore, if it true that Halford needed a teleprompter during Breaking the Law, he does not deserve to be slagged. The humane response should be one of concern. You sound like a really compassionate person-LOL!
BTW, I do believe if the situation was reversed, guaranteed Halford wouldn’t criticize Dickinson.
Dana from ET.com 🙂
Come one Dana! This is rock and roll, not a charity! These guys charge substantial amounts of money, people take off of work, get babysitters, etc. etc. If his health is in poor condition he should give people a refund. (Shaking my head) honestly, we are his fans not his wet nurse. This guy is a pampered rock star…
Sorry, that should be come on….
To each their own Shannon,
But I think it really says something about Dickinson’s character when he has to slam Halford in the press, for what essentially seems to be, no good reason. Unless he was asked directly, that was an opinion that he could have kept to himself.
If one were to apply what you are saying about Halford to the world at large, then I guess we should eliminate all the old people and animals because they cannot possibly perform as well as they did in their youth.
It’s simple, if you feel it’s a rip off, or that you are being cheated, don’t go. But, one shouldn’t impose their beliefs on others. You have no right to expect that Halford, Jagger, McCartney, Osbourne and any other artist who uses a teleprompter to “retire” simply because they cannot perform up to your standards. Obviously, the demand is still there as people comtinue to pay for what you deem to be an inferior product. If you don’t agree, as Eddie says, vote with your wallets.
Dana 🙂
Well…1) Priest perform at a higher level of intensity than any of those other artists you mentioned. 2) The comparison of an average vocation to an entertainer doesn’t apply here. I.E. a performer is much like an athlete, that is what applies here, So old people and animals?( This is misplaced compassion, we are talking about a millionaire +! ) They have to retire before it becomes obvious that they can’t do it anymore. I have watched Priest for decades, I can tell, that he is going through the motions (and even if he isn’t doing it purpose, as you say, that my perception is there is enough, I am their fan, it’s not like I want to see them do poorly). 3) He probably, deep down agrees with me, but money is a great deodorant!
Okay Shannon,
I think there are way more important issues to worry about than a Rock Star using a teleprompter, and another one, who is much younger and certainly isn’t infallible, slamming him about it.
Again it’s a product, pay as you wish.
D 🙂
PS-Some people might disagree about the level of intensity for Jagger. Although, I have never seen the Stones myself, from concert footage I have seen over the years, Jagger is all over that stage.
Sorry Dana, art is important, this stuff should be talked about.
I agree, so let’s discuss some of my favorites: Pierre Auguste Renior, Michelangelo, Jaques Louis David, François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard 😉
D 🙂
…if Jagger attempted to sing Judas Priest songs he would be spitting out fleshy bit of his lungs! His temples would explode…that’s not even a close call Dana..:)
It wasn’t meant as a comparison, but for a man of an advanced age (a septuagenarian, I believe), he can still bring it despite the ole teleprompter. Speaking of which, Halford can still kill it on Victim of Changes. Try doing that night after night.
D 🙂
Decorum? This is rock and roll! 🙂
Yes and that doesn’t mean you have be a tool 🙂 Especially since Dickinson seems to think he is in a higher class than most rock stars, due to his education and years of being a pilot, you would think his behavior would match his own standards.
D 🙂
What gets me is that it seems as though some one rather attribute Rob’s recent performances to his health, rather than the much more plausible (and, wouldn’t this actually mean that Rob is, in fact, better off?) notion that he just doesn’t care anymore.
Again, I cannot speak for him. But from my few experiences meeting him, no, he is still very passionate about the music.
D 🙂
I agree with Dana. This isn’t about Halford’s health. It is about Dickinson acting like a tool. He had absolutely no cause to slam Priest or Metallica, neither of those bands, or any of their members has ever said anything negative about Maiden or Bruce. These are just high school level insults, thrown for no reason at all. Maiden used to be great, but they have convinced themselves (or at least Bruce has, I haven’t heard this clap trap from Steve Harris) that they are elevated beyond being a rock band, that they are some sort of intellectual art piece, and therefor superior to all, ie. arrogant.