Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith says performing new material 'is the lifeblood of any band'

Iron Maiden axeman Adrian Smith says that incorporating new songs into live shows is the ‘lifeblood of any band’ and it gets ‘your blood flowing’ as a musician.

Ahead of Iron Maiden’s triumphant headline set at Download Festival, Planet Rock’s Paul Anthony caught up with Adrian Smith for an exclusive chat backstage.

Iron Maiden’s setlist on the recently reconvened Legacy of the Beast World Tour has been shaken up and kicks off with a trio of tracks from their critically lauded 2021 album ‘Senjutsu’ – epic title track ‘Senjutsu’, the galloping anthem ‘Stratego’ and lead single ‘The Writing on the Wall.’

During the interview, Adrian Smith told Paul Anthony it was important that Iron Maiden played new material on the tour.

“To come on and play three new songs – we’ve always said it playing new stuff, people want to hear the old stuff, but playing new stuff is the lifeblood of any band,” Smith said.

“You need it to get your blood flowing as a musician. Not that we don’t love playing the old stuff as well in front of people. But the whole production and everything, it was great to get back out and get back in the saddle again. Everyone is firing on all cylinders.”

Commenting on the first time he saw the new production, including the giant Samurai Eddie during the ‘Senjutsu’ segment of the set, Smith said: “I walked in the production rehearsals for the first run-through (of the new show) and I was just amazed by the ‘Senjutsu’ stage production.

“We were just standing there looking at it for ages not saying anything, like awestruck y’know. It’s fantastic.”

Reflecting Iron the album, he continued: “We’re all very proud of ‘Senjustu’. I think it’s probably the best album we’ve done for a while. The production I think was right this time. It just captured the songs perfectly. It’s great to play the songs live.

“‘The Writing on the Wall’ was a little bit different for us, it’s almost got like a bluesy feel to it, but we’ve managed to blend that into the classic Maiden sound, and it’s been well received and I’m grateful for that.”

Check out photos of Iron Maiden’s headline set below alongside images of Shinedown, Megadeth, Mastodon, Black Label Society and many more.

Saturday at Download Festival 2022 in photos:

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• Iron Maiden
• Download Festival