Bruce Dickinson looked back on aspects of Iron Maiden’s inner dynamics which annoyed him and guitarist Adrian Smith when they left the band in the ’90s, and explained that their decision to return was “a choice.”

Although it ushered in a very interesting — and arguably just as underrated — Blaze Bayley era, Bruce Dickinson’s departure from Iron Maiden came as a shock for a large part of the NWOBHM giants’ fans, some of whom only recovered when Bruce returned to the fold in 1999 and another successful era with him at the front began.

A quarter of a decade has passed since, and it all may seem like ancient history, especially given the rock-solid unity that defined the last two-and-a-half decades for Iron Maiden. However, both he and Adrian Smith had good reasons to leave when they did, Dickinson tells Stereogum in a new interview.

Asked to comment on the matter that there have been no lineup changes in Iron Maiden in the new millennium, the vocalist said:

“I think we’ve all grown up just enough to appreciate that we were all separate individuals who got together to play Iron Maiden music. I think what pissed Adrian off, and me to a certain extent, was this idea that we were just this homogenous blob that was Iron Maiden. That we were a single block of concrete. Adrian rebelled against that. I didn’t particularly like the idea either. Because it was, like, ‘Are we not individuals then?’ And then it was, ‘To a certain extent.’ Well, no. Now we’ve rejoined.”

He added:

“The reason we’ve rejoined is because we wanted to, so it’s a choice. And it was actually our choice. It was a request, and it was our choice to rejoin. And now, having done that, let’s have more adult relationships between everybody. It became a lot easier to get on with everybody, a lot easier to speak more honestly and open about things.”

“And also, not to get bent out of shape about things, about somebody has a bad day or somebody’s turned into a megalomaniac this afternoon. Just walk away, because tomorrow morning, they won’t be like that. Whereas back in the ’80s, we’d have had a fucking argument about it, or people would have gone away and sulked about it for weeks. And that just breeds resentment and discontent and things like that.”

“None of us would ever have met each other if it wasn’t for Iron Maiden”

Summing up his experience in the band, Bruce said:

“We’re in the state now where the band’s really successful, and we all get on, probably because — with the exception of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, who lived in the same street together when they were growing up — none of us would ever have met each other if it wasn’t for Iron Maiden. I would never have met Nicko McBrain. I would never have met Steve [Harris].”

“What brings us all together is Maiden. So, this is a great place to be. We’re probably one of the biggest heavy metal bands in the world. We mean a huge amount — and I do understand that — to millions of people around the world. And what’s not to love about still being able to do it?”