Adrian Smith / Richie Kotzen

[Everflow]

Association de ces 2 guitaristes pour un projet 70's.

BMG has announced that two of rock's most admired musicians have joined forces for an exciting new side-project. SMITH/KOTZEN is the electrifying collaboration between guitarists and vocalists Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen. Part-time Los Angeles neighbors, full time friends with a healthy mutual respect. Both artists are seasoned performers on the global stage, having honed their skills throughout their careers to create their own unique musical sound.

Debut track "Taking My Chances" sets the tone for this brand new partnership between two rock music trail-blazers. Recorded in Turks & Caicos at the start of 2020, the song is evocative of the classic rock bands of the 1970s, brought bang up to date with punchy hooks, harmonies and sheer guitar virtuosity.

Smith is best known as one of IRON MAIDEN's principal guitarists, having also enjoyed success as a solo artist. Kotzen is the frontman for THE WINERY DOGS as well as having been the guitarist for both MR. BIG and POISON during his long and acclaimed career, which has to date seen him release more than 20 solo albums. Both artists are also prolific songwriters.

Adrian comments, "I think Richie and I complement each other really well. He's a virtuoso guitarist but he's got a great sense of melody — the whole thing just felt very natural."

Richie adds: "We found common ground in classic and blues-based rock — we both come from that mentality. We've been writing and recording together for the past year and I'm ecstatic with the results."

As the gloriously heavy and brilliantly catchy "Taking My Chances" shows, rock fans around the globe will be delighted at the first taste of this marriage-made-in-guitar-and-vocal heaven.

Stay tuned for more news to come from SMITH/KOTZEN early in 2021.

Kotzen alluded to his project with Smith during a February 2020 interview with the "Another FN Podcast". At the time, he said: "I don't like talking about things until they're finished, but if you look at the photographs [on my Instagram] and who I'm with, and that sort of thing, you could assume that there may be a collaboration in the works."

He added: "It's very surreal, because it's a band that I grew up with; it was one of my favorite bands forever, and one of my first hard rock concerts. So it's very surreal. Very cool. [I'm] very excited."

Smith is currently promoting his memoir, "Monsters Of River & Rock", which was released on September 3 via Virgin Books.

[metalrunner]

C est plaisant a écouter.

[jony]

Ouais j'ai trouvé ça sympa aussi.

[Everflow]

[Dave]

Pas mal du tout en effet

[Everflow]

[Everflow]

[Everflow]

[Everflow]

Nouvel EP avec une bonne chanson :

[Talasquin]

Effectivement excellent morceau.
Pour tout dire je trouve que c'est leur meilleur, plus accrocheur que ceux de l'album.
Ent tout cas toute cette vibe 70 est vraiment delectable, le talent des deux bonhomme s'y exprime à plein, on sent la décontraction et le plaisir simple, et leur styles respectifs se complètent parfaitement.
Et bordel, qu'est ce qu'il vieillit bien Adrian Smith.

[metalrunner]

Ce mec c est la classe incarnée maiden peut lui dire merci .

[Everflow]

Deuxième album :

Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen have released “Black Light,” the second upfront single from their brand-new sophomore album. It is accompanied by a dynamic, multi-layered video, again produced and directed by Kevin and Richard Ragsdale aka The Ragsdale Brothers (Daughtry, Dorothy feat. Slash, Theory of A Dead Man), and featuring the duo performing with bassist Julia Lage and drummer Bruno Valverde, alongside acclaimed Russian acrobat, contortionist and former Cirque de 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 UK 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 tonnes. A dramatic bridge leads into a knockout chorus, demonstrating the quality and infectious hooks that are to be found throughout the upcoming second album, Black Light / White Noise, to be released on April 4.

Recorded at The House, Los Angeles, California, produced by Richie and Adrian and mixed by Jay Ruston, the ten-track album is a masterclass in modern rock, with Adrian and Richie’s prodigious talents as songwriters, musicians and vocalists on full display.

“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.”

Black Light / White Noise is a truly magnificent collection of songs that stands shoulder to shoulder with some of their finest work to date. Atmospheric, ambitious, diverse and brilliant, it not only features stratospheric guitar solos and phenomenal rock vocals but soulful touches, intricate playing, beautiful songwriting and an assured poise and style that brings to mind a host of legendary bands and musicians (Thin Lizzy, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Cream, Free, Deep Purple) yet is undeniably the work of Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen in perfect harmony.

Deliciously varied, exquisitely composed and rounded out by a breadth of flavours that can only come with years of experience, Black Light / White Noise is a new sound with the depth of a fine vintage.

[metal militia]

Encore un titre bien sympa!

[Everflow]