IRON MAIDEN's Adrian Smith: “I’ll never be a shredder”
31-03-2025
IRON MAIDEN and SMITH/KOTZEN guitarist Adrian Smith reflected on some of the key influences that shaped his playing style and described Richie Kotzen’s fingerpicking as “voodoo.”
For the past 50 or so years, Adrian Smith has proven to be the kind of golden standard for a heavy metal guitarist — a perfect team player who enhances the songs with punchy riffs and catchy hooks, and knows when and when not to take the spotlight and let it rip. Even though Smith, alongside the rest of IRON MAIDEN, inspired a new generation of metal guitarists who took their chosen art to new & previously unexplored horizons, his own playing is deeply rooted in the kind of blues rock he listened to while growing up.
Asked in a recent interview with Sonic Perspectives to explain the origins of his playing style, Smith said (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):
“Well, you absorb influences. When I was a kid, it was Free, Paul Kossoff… I think Richie Blackmore was the closest thing in the ’70s you had to a shredder. You didn’t really have shredders, but he was *the* shredder in those days. I wouldn’t say I was influenced [by him]. I like Blackmore, but there’s no way, as a kid, you could play ‘Highway Star.'”
“So, we started out playing Stones songs, Beatles, even Chuck Berry. Davey [Murray] knew all those licks, Chuck Berry licks. So, it’s kind of blues-based playing. I was influenced, probably, by the second generation of blues [guitarists], like Paul Kossoff, the guys in [Thin] Lizzy, and Michael Schenker. But I was never be like a shredding kind of guitar [player], so more melodic. I like the space, I like the feel, so that’s what I try and do.”
In the same interview, Adrian Smith also reflected on the style of his Smith/Kotzen partner in crime, Richie Kotzen. According to the Iron Maiden ax-wielder, Kotzen’s fingerpicking style feels like “voodoo”:
“It’s interesting because it’s a completely different sound. I mean, I do sometimes use it when I’m just noodling around, that plucking, fat sound you can get, but the speed he gets doing it is just unbelievable. I don’t know how he does it. I mean, I’ve watched him in the studio laying down solos, and I don’t know how he does it. To me, it’s voodoo. But at the same time, he’s got a good melodic sense as well.”
BMG will release the second album by IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith and THE WINERY DOGS frontman and solo artist Richie Kotzen, “Black Light / White Noise”, on April 4, 2025. The official music video for the LP’s second single, “Black Light” was recently released.
Watch “Black Light” below.
The dynamic, multi-layered clip, again produced and directed by Kevin and Richard Ragsdale a.k.a. The Ragsdale Brothers (DAUGHTRY, Dorothy feat. Slash, THEORY OF A DEADMAN),features the duo performing with bassist Julia Lage and drummer Bruno Valverde, alongside acclaimed Russian acrobat, contortionist and former Cirque Du Soleil performer Gyulnara Karaeva.
“Black Light” was a song that very nearly didn’t make it on to the album until a late-night session saw them strike studio gold. And it’s lucky they did as not only is it a song about deceit and deception, where the black light is a metaphor that reveals the truth about a person lurking under the surface, but it’s become a true album highlight, even lending its name to the album title. With help from U.K. photographer John McMurtrie, it also inspired the album cover with his UV lights picking up special paint on the black/rosewood custom Fender and Charvel guitars.
“It was a fun video to make,” confirms Richie, “as they have all been when we play together. Adding the UV performance section was fantastic and took us back to the album shoot that we did in London last year.”
“Our friend Gyula really added something to it,” adds Adrian, “it helped the song’s narrative of all is not what you see!”
The track itself rides in on a thunderous drum beat and a seething riff before Adrian‘s raw bluesy vocal explodes from the speakers complemented by Richie‘s higher pitched rock tones. A dramatic bridge leads into a knockout chorus, demonstrating the quality and infectious hooks that are to be found throughout “Black Light / White Noise”.
“We had a lot of fun making this,” says Adrian. “We’d be writing and I’d want something inspired by some of my old hard rock or blues go-to bands then it’d go into a more progressive feel — and then Richie has these strong soul influences so there’s a lot to dig into there too. Influences are what makes the musical world go round — they go through you and come out slightly differently.”
“SMITH/KOTZEN is all about finding common ground,” adds Richie. “Maybe Adrian will tend to go heavy, and then I’ll lean more in the fusion or funk or soul side of things, but somewhere in the middle is our sound: that heavy blues rock vibe that we really connect on.”
Kotzen comments: “We’re so proud of this new album. It follows on from our debut and the EPs by focusing on collaborating on riffs, lyrics, harmonies and vocals. There’s a SMITH/KOTZEN DNA now and it’s definitely something we need to get out on the road with. I was pleased to work with my friend Jay Ruston on the mixing of the album, let alone my wife Julia (Lage) — who actually plays on ‘White Noise’ as well as four other tracks.”
“We’re like an extended family now,” adds Smith. “We have a sound and a vibe and I don’t think many artists are doing what we do — sharing the vocals and the guitars. It takes me back to those classic bands like HUMBLE PIE and CREAM — which is not a bad place to start!”
The album will be available in these formats: Clear, splatter vinyl (limited to certain retailers) / Black vinyl / Digipak CD / Lossless audio digital.
The full track listing of “Black Light / White Noise” is:
01. Muddy Water
02. White Noise
03. Black Light
04. Darkside
05. Life Unchained
06. Blindsided
07. Wraith
08. Heavy Weather
09. Outlaw
10. Beyond The Pale
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