Next up on AAA, and the final episode of Season 1, is an archive interview with Bruce Dickinson, recorded in 1988 as Iron Maiden were touring Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

The album was recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich and produced by the late Martin Birch, whose work also included Rainbow Rising and large parts of the Queen catalogue. The interview captures Dickinson at his most articulate and focused, talking through the writing and recording of what remains one of Maiden’s most discussed albums.

Tom Russell and Bruce go through Seventh Son of a Seventh Son track by track, covering the concept behind the record, how the songs were developed, and the balance between structure, ambition, and performance. It is a detailed look at Maiden in full command of their ideas and their audience.

The conversation also turns to the Monsters of Rock festival at Donington that year, where Iron Maiden headlined a bill that included Kiss, David Lee Roth, Megadeth, Guns N’ Roses, and Helloween. After the interview, Tom, Scott McArthur, and Andy Muir discuss the interview, including the tragic crowd crush at Donnington in which two young men lost their lives, and how that day is remembered now.

The episode also includes Tom’s recollections of visiting Steve Harris’s house, complete with his now-famous English pub in the shed, and a story about being invited to what was described at the time as Bruce Dickinson’s “last” gig before leaving the band.

An episode rooted in a specific album, combining detailed musical discussion with first-hand stories from one of heavy metal’s most significant periods.