Review | Smith/Kotzen – Black Light / White Noise

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Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith and The Winery Dogs and solo-artist Richie Kotzen surprised us in 2021 with a quite spectacular collaboration as Smith/Kotzen, resulting in a self-titled debut-album where the two guitar heroes traded beautiful riffs and solos packed in catchy songs. And the best thing of all was that both their voices blended in together. It sounded all so natural and so very classic, paying musical homage to certain UK bands from the past such as Cream. As natural as Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce sang together in that group, just as good was the vocal performance by both guitarists.

That Richie Kotzen could sing was a well-known fact but Adrian as lead singer was quite a rare occasion. His performance on the A.S.A.P.-album ‘Silver And Gold’ record in 1989 was a positive surprise and every now and then he showed his singing ability during some guest spots with other artists. The duo also released the EP ‘Better Days… And Better Nights’ at the end of November 2021 containing some live-tracks.

ROUND TWO

Between all their commitments with Iron Maiden, The Winery Dogs and in the case of Kotzen working on his latest album ‘Nomad’, the duo managed to write and record round two of their collaboration in the form of ‘Black Light/White Noise’. Videoclips of the songs ,,Black Light’’ and ,,White Noise’’ have been circulating on YouTube for a while now and in case you saw that and were wondering who the good looking female bass player is… Her name is Julia Lage who has her own career in music. This Brazilian beauty is active with Vixen and is married to…Richie Kotzen! And she plays also in Smith/Kotzen but due to the Iron Maiden schedule it is not likely that Adrian and Richie will promote their new album on stage this year.

SAME VIBE

Richie and Adrian worked together with engineer Jay Ruston (who again mixed the album), while the duo themselves took care of production. They have chosen to give ‘Black Light/White Noise’ more or less the same vibe as their debut, trading off catchy riffs and juicy solos embedded in excellent songs. The ten songs are absolutely a must for guitar freaks although it must be said that the boys have put their chords and chops in favour of the compositions. It is not that they just ‘dress to impress’. It is all about integrity in the music that is a mix of feisty hard rock, a taste of blues and a whole lotta classic rock.

SMITH/KOTZEN – THE CONCLUSION

Fact is that the bulk of the songs are really lying close together when you are talking about consistency and quality. The total sound is pretty heavy indeed, the guitars are dominating clearly while again it is striking how good the voices of Adrian and Richie match up. They have their own identity. Yet, you can clearly pick out who is who. The most striking track for me is album closer ,,Beyond The Pale’’. It takes of slow and haunting. It is the most ‘laid back’ song on ‘Black Light/White Noise’ for sure.

I needed a couple of turns to captive the essence of the song. Especially the guitar interlude in the middle of the track is exquisite and full of emotion. But be very aware that Adrian and Richie are rocking hard on this album, from basically start until finish. No touring together this year although there are plans for 2026. Until that time we will have to settle for this fine and lasting record of Smith/Kotzen that will send guitar freaks over the edge!

Release date: 4 April 2025