In a new interview with Argentina’s UnDinamo – La Última Radio De Rock, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith was asked for his opinion on the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) as a compositional tool. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “No, I don’t like it. I don’t like it. I mean, people seem to be craving more reward with less effort. I think part of the enjoyment and the fun is the journey of getting there and the process and the struggle. It makes you feel good when you get it. If someone just gives you something, it’s all finished and done. And I think from our point of view, the albums that Richie [Kotzen] and I do [under the SMITH/KOTZEN banner] are pretty organic. There’s no loads of overdubs. It’s just two guitars [and our] voices. A few overdubs, of course, [but we] try to keep it organic, keep the human feel.”
Referencing some bands’ reliance on the use of backing tracks during live shows, Adrian added: “A.I., it just makes me shiver. And when you hear about bands canceling gigs, ’cause they’ve lost their laptop computer — I mean, come on.”
Asked if he thinks A.I. is “a threat to younger musicians” who are looking to break into the industry today, Adrian said: “The record industry is dying on it ass because of music streaming. People aren’t getting paid or can’t earn any money out music. Sure, you can make an album on your computer and anyone can make an album, so it’s kind of cheapened everything. There’s no struggle anymore. You used to have to save the money and work to buy one hour in the studio. It was so expensive.
“Yeah, it’s difficult for young bands now, difficult for young bands,” Adrian continued. “I’m glad I was born when I was, because I got the best of both worlds. With MAIDEN, we can make the whole thing solvent by doing shows, but records are — it’s tragic. People expect it for nothing; they want music for nothing. They don’t wanna pay for it.”
Adrian previously weighed in on the debate about people using artificial intelligence (A.I.) to create music last April during an interview with Andrew McKaysmith of the Scars And Guitars podcast. Asked if he would personally ever use A.I. to compose songs, Adrian said: “No way. I don’t know. I don’t even wanna think about it. I mean, A.I. What was it someone was telling me the other day? Somebody, as a birthday present or as a present to his friends, he had a song written by A.I. for each one of them, using their voice. And it’s just mind-boggling. It’s like the beginning of the end. I mean, social media’s bad enough. But this is just another level.
“I can’t see it having any effect,” he continued. “I mean, even digital recording and Pro Tools now has enabled anyone to make up something that — you can present something that sounds respectable, but it’s all done by computers. At least I grew up old school where you had to actually play in the studio; you couldn’t tune it up afterwards. So that makes you more of a craftsman. Digital recording we use because it’s convenient and it saves time and it saves money.
“A.I., man, I don’t know. [Laughs] I don’t know,” he concluded.
Smith is best known as one of IRON MAIDEN’s principal guitarists, having also enjoyed success as a solo artist.
“Black Light/White Noise”, the second album from Adrian’s SMITH/KOTZEN project, in which he is joined by guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen, was released via BMG in April 2025. The 10-track LP was recorded at The House, Los Angeles, California, produced by Richie and Adrian and mixed by Jay Ruston.