Bruce Dickinson, Iron Maiden’s frontman, has a new solo album that has been put on halt due to pandemic related travel restrictions. According to Loudwire, Senjutsu, Iron Maiden’s 17th album, is out today. 

His last album, Tyranny of Souls, was released in 2005. News of a new solo record circulated in 2015, with Iron Maiden’s The Book of Souls, when Dickinson said that the opening track, “If Eternity Should Fail,” was originally written for his new solo project. Recently, Dickinson made an appearance on Eddie Trunk’s SiriusXM program “Trunk National Virtual Invasion.” When asked about a new project, “Not only would I like to [but] I’ve got a work in progress right now that’s been kind of on and off, on the back burner, for, well, three or four years now.” Due to the pandemic, Dickinson hasn’t been able to work on the album that he put off three or four years ago. 

Recently, Iron Maiden came back from a six-year hiatus with the release of their lead single “The Writing On The Wall.” The song was released along with an animated 3D music video on July 15. Then, on August 19, the band released a power metal song titled “Stratego,” as the 2nd single for their new album. It’s a fast driven metal song that features themes of devotion and self-empowerment. 

Last month, Bruce Dickinson revealed to the public that he had tested positive for COVID-19. The news came just days after the singer postponed the final dates of his spoken word tour after members of his immediate household tested positive for the virus. Dickinson told Rolling Stone that he’d begun feeling symptoms not long after quarantining himself following his household member’s diagnosis. “I thought, ‘Oh well, shit,’” he said. “I was kind of sneezing a bit. For a couple of days, I felt a bit groggy, kind of like the flu, and that was it.” Dickinson is fully vaccinated, and speculated that the vaccine could have potentially seriously lessened the effects of the virus. He went on to say, “And I’m 63 years old. I’ve pretty much got no doubt that had I not had the vaccine, I could be in serious trouble.”