Earlier this month, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame revealed the list of nominees for 2019 and since has faced quite a bit of backlash from rock fans and artistes alike. In fact, in the last few years of Rock Hall's tradition, a large number of iconic rock acts have been left out of the nominations and the disappointment continued this year as well.

Several big names in the music world have been critical of Rock Hall's choices over the years. Members of Radiohead and Pearl Jam have expressed their apathy towards the honor in the recent past. Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor recently said: "I honestly couldn’t give less of a sh*t" when asked about the Hall of Fame's failure to nominate NIN for the third consecutive year in a row.

The latest to join the club is heavy metal legend and Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson. While at a recent stop on his spoken word tour in Melbourne, Australia in support of his recent memoir 'What Does This Button Do?', Dickinson was asked by a fan if he thought Maiden should be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, to which he replied, "Absolutely," before adding, "I actually think the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is an utter and complete load of bollocks, to be honest with you."

He continued: "It’s run by a bunch of sanctimonious bloody Americans who wouldn't know rock 'n' roll if it hit them in the face. They need to stop taking Prozac and start drinking f*****g beer."

There is good reason for Dickinson to be miffed with the three-decade-old foundation based out of Cleveland, Ohio. Iron Maiden is undoubtedly one of the longest enduring metal acts in the world and has surprisingly never been nominated till date, in spite of practically pioneering an entire genre of metal music - The New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM).

Music acts are eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction 25 years after their first significant release, and with Iron Maiden releasing their debut album in 1980, they’ve been eligible since 2005. Metal enthusiasts have been often critical of Rock Hall's continued snubbing of the genre.

Maiden is just one of several groundbreaking acts in a long list of metal bands that have been snubbed over the years - a list that includes the likes of Judas Priest, Slayer, Motörhead, Megadeth, Tool and more.

Nominees for 2019 include Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine, Janet Jackson, Roxy Music, Stevie Nicks, The Cure, Def Leppard, Kraftwerk and more vying for induction. The inductees will be revealed in December, with the ceremony taking place on March 29 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Watch Bruce Dickinson address the Rock Hall question on a fan-shot footage below: