In a new interview with MusicRadar.com, Iron Maiden guitarist / songwriter Adrian Smith discusses the band’s new studio album, The Book Of Souls. In the following excerpt he discusses soloing, past and present…

Q: In the old days, were you a lot more methodical about solos on the whole?

A: “I think I was, but I think I didn’t have as much confidence in myself as I do now. I spent my formative years as a singer playing guitar, playing the odd solo and a bit of double lead. It wasn’t until I joined Maiden that I had a lot more solos. I didn’t have any training, I didn’t really have a mentor. There was no YouTube then - you couldn’t see what people were playing, you have to get along as best you can. But probably, in the last 10 or 15 years, I’ve studied the guitar more and become more secure in my technique. I’ve studied more technique and practised more, so I’m a bit more confident in the studio and I don’t have to work every single thing out. But I like to have a few cornerstone ideas.”

Read the complete interview at MusicRadar.com.

Iron Maiden, whose new studio double album The Book Of Souls debuted at #2 in Canada, will make a highly anticipated return in April, flying in for four shows on their enormous Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet Ed Force One piloted by Bruce Dickinson and carrying band, crew, and stage production and equipment over 55,000 miles around the world visiting 35 countries.

The dates are:
 
April
1 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
3 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre                     
8 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
10 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena
 
The Edmonton date will be a landmark for Maiden, being the band’s 100th headline concert in Canada since they first visited the country way back in 1981 during the Killers world tour!

Tickets go on-sale to the public on October 16th.  As usual, there will be an exclusive pre-sale for Iron Maiden Fan Club members, details of which can also be found on ironmaiden.com along with information on how Fan Club members can participate in the draw to be First To The Barrier.

Bruce comments: “We’re all excited to be coming back to Canada. Especially as this time we’ll be able to fly Ed Force One in to all four cities where we’re playing, not just Toronto which was the only way possible on the first Ed Force One tour in 2008. We haven't decided on the set list as yet and won’t until we start rehearsing but we really look forward to playing a number of new songs live, especially as the recording was so much live. However, as it’s been a while since we saw you all, I am sure we will include plenty of older fan favourites too. I think the fans will be delighted by what we have in mind. We are also in the middle of creating the new show and rest assured we are working hard to bring you all something spectacular, something with a lot of heart !!! You certainly deserve it for your patience.“

The support band on The Book Of Souls World Tour will be The Raven Age.

Iron Maiden continue to be actively dedicated to ensuring their fans always have full access to the best possible tickets in the fairest possible way.

Manager Rod Smallwood comments: "We are trying to ensure that our fans get the tickets they want in the prime positions without paying over the odds to unofficial ticketing agencies. Maiden get infuriated with the way fans sometimes have to pay more than the agreed ticket price at our shows. So we will, wherever possible and with the full assistance of the Promoters, arrange a paperless ticketing system at least for the floor and best seated sections to try to eliminate as much of the ticket scalping and exchanges as we can. We put this into practice for North American dates since 2010 and it worked well and we received many positive comments back from our fans. The intention is with paperless ticketing that only those who actually pay initially for the tickets will get into the show so scalping is generally avoided (please see the comments from Ticketmaster below). We are also doing everything we can to avoid any drain of tickets  to the Secondary Ticketing sites which we feel make unfair profits from music fans. Finally, we are of course once again arranging exclusive ticket pre-sales for our fan club members (go to ironmaiden.com for details) so they can be quick off the mark for great tickets and will also continue to run the contest in appropriate venues for fan club members so they can be ‘First To The Barrier’ prior to the show. We hope that these measures will help our fans as much as possible and ask that they keep checking for details on our website.”

Ticketmaster comments: “Where possible the North American Iron Maiden shows will operate a paperless ticket policy. Select tickets will be sold via Ticketmaster’s Paperless Ticket delivery (also known as Credit Card Entry), which means fans will not receive a physical concert ticket for their entry into the event.  Buying paperless helps ensure fans have secure and convenient access to event tickets at the intended original sale price. On the day of show, concert goers just need to bring the credit card they used for the ticket purchase and a government-issued photo ID to the concert. All members of the ticket purchaser's party must be present at the same time to enter the venue. The venue’s ticket usher will swipe their credit card upon entry and present each person in their party with seat locator slips for quick access into the show. To purchase paperless tickets or for more information, fans should visit www.ticketmaster.com/paperless or call the Ticketmaster charge-by-phone number at 1-800-745-3000.”

Notes:

- The new Ed Force One will transport band, crew and over 12 tons of equipment across 6 of the 7 continents of the world

- The band will visit around 35 countries on this tour, flying over 55 thousand miles (88,500km) including first ever visits to China and El Salvador

- Bruce has started his training to qualify as a 747 pilot. He is using a Simulator based at Cardiff Aviation, an aircraft maintenance facility he owns in Wales.

- Ed Force One will once again be customised on the outside with the Iron Maiden logo and new album art de-cals. As the 747 is so huge, only minimal modifications will be needed to the interior as all the equipment and production can be carried in the hold without having to modify the plane for freight.

- The Book Of Souls debuted at #1 in 24 territories : Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Czech Rep, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary,  Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. PLUS #1 in a further 19 territories where physical/retail charts are no longer published, only Digital ones: Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Nepal, Nicaragua, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, Slovakia. The album also debuted at #2 in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland and New Zealand, #3 in Turkey and #4 in the USA and South Africa.