BN: What do you think of some of the big metal tour packages like Ozzfest...is that something you would like to be involved in, or put together something similar with Maiden?

BRUCE: We do it to an extent in Europe, with the Metal 2000 Festival, which are from 50,000 to 100,000 people. Some of these Metal 2000 festivals we're bringing out Slayer and Entombed and these kinds of bands, and some shows are with bands like Korn and Nine Inch Nails...so we run the whole gamma.

BN: Apart from Ozzfest, which is huge, there's really no big metal package tours here in the states, but in Europe, you've got tons of them! Any chance of doing something like Metal 2000 in the US?

BRUCE: Yes, but it's too late to do it this year. We're very big in Europe so we're locked in with European festivals. But perhaps next time around.

BN: Any ideas of a support band for this upcoming US tour?

BRUCE: We're looking at Rob Halford. Roy Z just finished producing Rob's new album and it sounds f**kin' incredible!

BN: I heard that you and Rob recorded a track together for that album.

BRUCE: That's right. This album goes right back to Screaming for Vengeance era Priest! The band is f**kin' great and Rob is singing better than he ever sang at his peak in Priest. He's really screeching like a banshee!

BN: Are you still working on solo material with Roy in between Maiden?

BRUCE: What we've done so far is just some preliminary demos. Two things are gonna happen next year: We're gonna put out an album called Katikoos (?), which is gonna be rare and unreleased stuff from the last 10 years. It'll include the original version of "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter" from Tattooed Millionaire, as well as unreleased tracks from the Keith Olson record and extra tracks from Japan, Brazil, and b-sides.

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