With all the talk of whether or not Metallica might be planning to hold a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, fans are understandably wondering which other metal bands could do shows at the state-of-the-art venue. Just don’t count on Iron Maiden being one of them.
Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson was recently a guest on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, and during the conversation, he was asked about the chances of the legendary group performing inside the digital dome. The answer may not be what fans want to hear, though.
“No. It’s not Maiden,” Dickinson said candidly. “Maiden’s about the relationship between the band and the audience, and the show, whilst it’s a show, is an enhancement to what we do. The Sphere, as far as I can gather — I mean, I appreciate what you’re saying about it’s all-encompassing, it’s this and that, it’s the other — but I think the band would be very uncomfortable with the idea.”
“I mean, we just do a lot of stuff — we run around, we go around — and at the Sphere, what’s the point?” he added. “In fact, what’s the point of even being there, if you’re a band?”
While Dickinson may not be keen on the idea of playing the Sphere, the Metallica guys seem to be on a trek to do just that, though no concrete plans have emerged.
Speculation over Metallica’s possible Sphere residency began rising back in July, when drummer Lars Ulrich made an appearance on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show and teased that the band might have a uniquie opportunity to partner with the venue.
“I’m not going to confirm anything, because there’s nothing to confirm. But I’m not going to deny it, because we’re all such fans of this venue,” he said at the time. “All of our managers and our production people have been there and looked at it. It’s something that we’re considering, [but] nothing is etched in stone or green-lit. It’s something that we’re looking at at some point when the 2026 tour is done.”
“I would fucking love to do it, let there be no question about it,” Ulrich added. “It’s not signed, sealed, and delivered, but speaking to me and asking my opinion, I would fucking love to do it.”
Not to disagree with Bruce Dickinson’s assessment of his own band, but as someone who has seen both Iron Maiden and Metallica live, I genuinely believe that both would put on a killer Sphere set, and I think fans would love it.
The post Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson Weighs in on the Possibility of Playing Las Vegas Spehere—and Its Not Promising appeared first on VICE.
