Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain on the Loss of Charlie Watts & Joey Jordison

Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain recently appeared on Talkin' Rock with Meltdown. He discussed, among other things, the passings of two legendary drummers: Charlie Watts and former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison.

"Charlie was such a phenomenal timekeeper, a great player," said McBrain. "There's a saying I've said a couple times before: 'It's not about the notes; it's about the space in between.' That's what Charlie did. He had this incredible feel on the backside of a groove. When I started playing, it was literally Ringo [Starr] and Charlie who were the two influences that I learned from and based my style of playing at the time. And then, the wonderful Keith Moon came along and John Bonham. So, those four guys were my primary influences. But certainly, Charlie...it's a sad loss to the music world and the drumming fraternity across the table."

He continued, "And Joey, of course, you turn about eight chapters down the line and you've got this guy who's playing this incredible, beautiful bass drum technique. I'm a single bass drum player, but I can always really appreciate these guys bringing something else to the table. So, having lost a pair of them, you know, that's really a great loss to us all."

Iron Maiden is releasing Senjutsu, their first new studio album since 2015, on September 3 and is available for pre-order here.