LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 28: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden performs at London Stadium on June 28, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jo Hale/Redferns)
Redferns
There was a plethora of electrifying games this past NFL Sunday, but one game happened to feature a surprise performance from one of Heavy Metal’s most revered vocalists. Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson performed the national anthem at the Pittsburgh Steelers game in Acrisure Stadium. It’s not every Sunday that heavy metal is spotlighted on one of the most televised events in the country. The U.K. singer managed to pull off the Star-Spangle Banner quite well, though it didn’t seem to aid the Steelers in their performance as they lost to the Seahawks, 31-17.
As Loudersound notes, Dickinson had previously revealed he was set to perform the national anthem on The Charismatic Voice podcast. “I’ve got to sing the national anthem in Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Dickinson revealed on the show. “They’ve asked me to do this. I’m going to do it a cappella and stuff, and as long as you start at the right place, you’re good to go.” The Iron Maiden frontman is currently on tour with his solo project (Bruce Dickinson: The Mandrake Project), and during the band’s performance at their Boston show earlier last week, Dickinson had broken the news to the crowd about his then upcoming NFL debut.
The NFL Continues To Showcase Metal Icons
Bruce Dickinson hasn’t been the only heavy metal icon that’s performed at an NFL game this season. Just last week, when the NFL kicked off Week 1 of its regular season, Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick opened up the Bengals-Browns game at Huntington Bank Field. Performing a montage of rock and metal anthems, Skolnick gave a shreddy performance to light up fans and get things rockin’ between these two rival teams.
Metal and rock music are synonymous with contact sports like the NFL. Music from household names like Metallica, AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, and Pantera is constantly played at the stadiums that host these exhilarating sporting events. This is in part why it has been frustrating for fans of both metal and the NFL, as the league has continued to ignore big name rock and metal acts for events like the Super Bowl halftime show.
Specifically, the elephant in the room has always been Metallica. Many feel that Metallica would be the perfect fit to perform during the Super Bowl halftime show. In previous years Metallica had commented on the matter, though they didn’t sound optimistic about the opportunity ever coming their way.