Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson is now streaming his first new solo single in 18 years and it's all the galloping, doomed heavy metal you could ever want. "Afterglow Of Ragnarok" comes alongside a video directed by Ryan Mackfall, and again – who the hell had "Bruce Dickinson does a Candlemass-type thing" on their list for 2023?
Dickinson's new solo album The Mandrake Project is due out in 2024. In the meantime, you can get "Afterglow Of Ragnarok" on 7" vinyl here. The 7" single comes with an eight-page comic prequel to the graphic novel series of the same name, created by Dickinson and scripted by Tony Lee, with illustrations by Staz Johnson. It also features Dickinson's original solo demo version of the song "If Eternity Should Fail", which first appeared on Iron Maiden's album The Book of Souls in 2015.
Dickinson has described The Mandrake Project as a "dark, adult story of power, abuse, and a struggle for identity, set against the backdrop of scientific and occult genius."
In addition to the previously announced 2024 live dates in Brazil and Mexico, the Iron Maiden frontman recently announced a handful of European shows. And if that wasn't enough to keep him busy, he has landed himself a role in an upcoming horror movie called Bjorn Of The Dead.
