While Iron Maiden prepares to celebrate a half-century of dominance with their upcoming “Run For Your Lives” world tour, guitarist Adrian Smith has offered a fascinating glimpse into the creative engine that keeps the metal legends running. In a new conversation with Spain’s Modern Guitar Lab, the 68-year-old musician broke down his songwriting approach, revealing that even after decades in the business, the magic often comes from new toys and the chemistry of collaboration.
With the band members living in different corners of the globe, Smith explained that the initial phase of writing is a solitary pursuit. He typically retreats to his home studio to curate a collection of polished demos before presenting them to the rest of the group.
“I still spend a couple of weeks before every Maiden album, I sit in my home studio, ’cause we’re all separated all over the world, so we’re not together with Maiden,” Smith said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “So I always have six, eight, 10 ideas in a demo form, so they’ll have drums, guitars, even some melodies on the guitar.”
Once the foundation is laid, the collaborative process begins. Smith noted that his writing relationship with bassist Steve Harris and vocalist Bruce Dickinson has evolved, with roles shifting over time.
“Then, depending on the idea, I’ll show it to Steve or Bruce, because Steve is almost more into writing lyrics and melodies these days. So quite often, he’ll just write lyrics to what I’ve written. But I write lyrics as well, and titles.”
He cited specific examples from the band’s recent catalog where a simple title or melody kickstarted a chain reaction.
“I think there was a song called ‘Speed Of Light‘ [from 2015’s The Book Of Souls] a couple of albums ago, and I had that idea, and Bruce liked the title, but then he wrote around [it]. But I had the title and the kind of melody for that. ‘The Writing On The Wall‘ [from 2021’s Senjutsu] was the same thing. I had the title for that, but Bruce took it further on. So, yeah, it’s all about sparking off someone else, which is great.”
While Smith admits he lacks the patience to master the piano (“I wish I could play piano… I just don’t have the patience to really learn it”), he is a firm believer in using technology and new gear to force inspiration. He shared the legendary origin story of the 1986 anthem “Wasted Years,” which was born not from a traditional writing session, but from a piece of equipment he didn’t quite understand.
“Like song ‘Wasted Years‘, when I was in Japan in the ’80s, they gave me a guitar synthesizer, one of the first ones, a Roland. I remember getting it out of the box — we were rehearsing in the Channel Islands in Jersey — and I plugged it in and it just started making this crazy noise. But it was like a sequence. And I kind of listened to it, and then I started playing this riff, and it ended up being ‘Wasted Years‘. I wouldn’t have come up with that riff if it wasn’t for that thing.”
A similar situation occurred with the track “Back In The Village” from the Powerslave album, inspired simply by purchasing a specific guitar.
“I had a white flying V, which I’ve never really played. I bought it in the ’80s. And as soon as I picked it up, I played this riff and it ended up being a song called ‘Back In The Village‘… But I never played the guitar. But I got that song off it. So it was worth the money.”
Smith and his bandmates will soon be revisiting those classic eras on a massive scale. Iron Maiden recently announced the North American leg of their “Run For Your Lives” world tour, a trek designed to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary.
The tour promises a setlist drawn exclusively from the band’s first nine albums, accompanied by a state-of-the-art stage production. The 16-date run kicks off at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and includes stops at major venues like TD Garden in Boston and BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, with support from thrash titans Megadeth and Anthrax on select dates.
