Iron Maiden has been melting faces and defying time for nearly 50 years, but even the most iconic metal gods have to acknowledge the ticking clock. In a candid new interview with Music Radar, longtime guitarist Dave Murray spoke about the band’s future, their eventual retirement, and their upcoming Run For Your Lives world tour.
Murray, who has been shredding with Maiden since 1976, emphasized that the band would know when it was time to hang up their guitars. “To me, there’s nothing worse than seeing a band you like on stage and they look like they shouldn’t really be there doing it,” he said. “We’re nearly hitting the seventies mark now, but I think we will all know when it would be time. It would be a mutual decision.”
He stressed that when the moment comes, Maiden won’t “flog a dead horse” just for the sake of it. “I think there’s a time and a place to bail out with dignity and grace — as opposed to dragging it out,” Murray continued. “If you can leave it at that high level, and then bow out gracefully, I think it would be satisfying for us.”
The Show Must Go On… For Now
Despite the long-term contemplation, Maiden isn’t calling it quits just yet. With their Run For Your Lives tour kicking off in May 2025 in Hungary and running through August in Poland, the band is still going full throttle. “We’re all set up for this tour, and after that, we’ll see what the future holds,” Murray said. “At the moment, the band sounds great, we still have that excitement and adrenaline when we go on stage.”
The tour will also mark a major transition for the band following drummer Nicko McBrain’s retirement in December 2024. After more than four decades with Maiden, McBrain played his final show in São Paulo, Brazil. Stepping into his legendary shoes is Simon Dawson, a seasoned session drummer and longtime bandmate of Steve Harris in British Lion.
Maiden’s Legacy and Future
Iron Maiden has always been about evolution rather than stagnation. From their recent Future Past world tour to their ambitious 50th-anniversary plans for 2025-2026, the band is still determined to push boundaries. Their upcoming anniversary shows promise to feature classics from their first nine albums—songs that, as the band teases, “many we will likely never play again in the future.”
As Bruce Dickinson once put it, Maiden isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon. “I think we’ll probably drop dead onstage,” he joked in a 2022 interview. “I can think of worse places to drop dead.”
With their trademark energy still intact and a multigenerational fanbase rallying behind them, Iron Maiden’s retirement may be a topic of discussion—but not a reality just yet. For now, the only thing fans need to prepare for is another epic, fire-breathing, ear-splitting tour.
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