IRON MAIDEN Guitarist Talks About New Album

September 12, 2006

John Powell of JAM! Showbiz recently conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On IRON MAIDEN's musical catalogue being littered with songs exploring the glory and the horror of war:

"In Britain, you grow up with the backdrop of war and also all the terrible things that happened in Northern Ireland. I grew up watching that on television. It is a big part of your psyche here."

On the lyrical inspiration behind "A Matter of Life and Death":

"Expressions and words just come into your head when you hear a piece of music when you are writing. The themes just sort of suggest themselves and sometimes almost write themselves too. The music we came up with was quite powerful. We just needed some big themes and so with all the stuff that is going on in the world today, it seemed relevant."

On the songs themselves not being preachy in tone:

"First and foremost, music is an art and you don't want to be preaching at people. 'A Matter of Life and Death' is observation and comment set to music. It is probably the only good thing about getting older. You gain a bit more of a wider view of things and you get more philosophical, which is great for lyric writing."

On leaving the band in 1990 to pursue a solo career:

"I think at the time, I felt a bit stifled. I had been in the band since I was quite young and grew up in the band. It reached a point where I couldn't grow any more. In a band, you need a 110 per cent commitment and enthusiasm. I needed a break as well. I had a young family and I wanted to spend time with them. I basically spent nine to ten years on the road. I was a little burned out."

On Eddie, the demonic, skeletal mascot, which has become as synonymous with the band as their melodic, symphonic sound:

"I don't even think we could do a show without him now. He is a big part of the band. We are all about music but Eddie bridges the gap between the band and the fans. I think a lot of kids are fascinated with the Eddie character. They are drawn into that then they listen to the music and become fans. That is what a good logo is all about. It draws attention to the band and then it is up to the music to hook people or not."

Read the entire interview at this location.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).