IRON MAIDEN's ADRIAN SMITH On 'The Book Of Souls': 'We Didn't Rehearse Before Going Into The Studio'

David "Devo" Oosthuizen of South Africa's The Blacklist recently conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On what IRON MAIDEN did differently during the recording process for the band's new album, "The Book Of Souls":

Adrian: "We didn't actually rehearse before going into the studio. I mean, we had songs… some ideas, but we actually kind of finalized the writing of the particular song on the day in the morning and recorded it in the afternoon. Sometimes we recorded the song as we were learning it, if you know what I mean. So it's very kind of, you know, spontaneous. We'd never done that before. We normally rehearse for a couple of weeks, get songs finished and learn the parts. But this time [we did things differently]. But it turned out pretty good."

On his favorite period of IRON MAIDEN:

Adrian: "I really enjoy what we're doing now. I think that the set we've got now is a great balance of the old and the new. We're playing quite a bit of stuff off the new album, but we're playing our favorite of the older songs, of the classic songs. The stage set is designed around the album cover, so we've got all the Mayan imagery going on. And I think the actual opening of the show is one of the most dramatic things we've ever done, so it's quite theatrical and it goes great with the music. So I really enjoy what we're doing now as much as anything we've ever done, if not more."

On the secret behind IRON MAIDEN's longevity:

Adrian: "I don't know what it is. I think it's just the band has an energy all of its own. Sometimes if some of us are tired or we start dropping a bit, you just get wrapped up in it again, the whole energy. And I think part of that comes from the audience as well, when you get on stage and they're so up for it and so passionate about our music. It kind of lifts you up, even if you feel a bit tired or whatever on the road."

On the setlist for IRON MAIDEN's upcoming South African shows:

Adrian: "It's gonna be a balance [between the new album and the classic songs]. The thing is, with the Internet now, as soon as you play one show, everyone knows the setlist, so it'll probably be pretty much what we've been playing for the last month or so. Because the show is so theatrical, there's a lot of cues in it, so it's not like we just get up there and play and change songs every night. It's a coordinated show, so we probably won't be changing much. It's a good balance of [the classic tracks and] our favorite of the new songs, from the new album, 'cause we wanna promote the new album, 'cause we're very proud of it. As a band, as musicians, we like to be moving forward and be creative. That’s always been the biggest buzz for me."

IRON MAIDEN's world tour, in support of "The Book Of Souls", kicked off on February 24 in Sunrise, Florida (a suburb of Fort Lauderdale).