Iron Maiden Guitarist Adrian Smith Talks ‘Maiden England’ Tour + Progress on New Album

As heavy metal legends Iron Maiden get ready to embark on their North American ‘Maiden England’ tour, guitarist Adrian Smith took some time to speak about the band’s decision to base their setlist on their ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’ album, where they are with recording a new album and much more.

During an interview with the Aquarian, Smith revealed the reason why Maiden decided to revisit their classic ‘Seventh Son’ album for their latest tour. “Well, we just thought it’d be fun to revisit that period in time—there were some good songs there,” says Smith. “It’s just great revisiting some of the songs we haven’t played for a long while.

Smith continues, “It keeps us fresh and it’s just, you know, we got a lot of new fans coming on board now, a lot of younger fans who probably never saw or were around when we did that tour. That’s one factor of it for us revisiting that time and I think there’s some good songs from that period, so it’s fun to do.”

Two years having passed since Iron Maiden released their 15th album, ‘The Final Frontier,’ fans have been foaming at the mouth for a new album from the band. ‘The Final Frontier’ hit the No. 1 spot in nearly 30 countries and debuted at No. 4 in the U.S. — and all-time high in the career of Iron Maiden.

Smith offered an update on where Maiden are in terms of recording the follow-up to their 2010 effort. “We’re just focusing on this tour,” reveals Smith. “We tend to put all our energy in what we’re doing at the time. We don’t really get together and rehearse songs or anything on the road. We tend to take a bit of time off it and see maybe next year. We haven’t got any plans at the moment but more than likely we’ll be doing something.”

Stay patient Maiden maniacs! Looks like we’ll be getting another album in the not-too-distant future.

Iron Maiden begin their ‘Maiden England’ tour tonight (June 21) in Charlotte, N.C. — so stay tuned for our coverage of Maiden’s Boston and New York dates.