Interview by Paul Salfen
Adrian Smith, the legendary Iron Maiden guitarist, and Richie Kotzen, the virtuosic voice and fretboard master behind The Winery Dogs, have returned with a blistering new single, “Black Light,” a powerful preview of their upcoming sophomore album Black Light / White Noise, due April 4th via BMG. The track is a thunderous, emotionally-charged piece that fuses gritty blues-rock with progressive flourishes, a sonic marriage only Smith/Kotzen could deliver.
“Black Light” is the second single to emerge ahead of the album’s release, and it arrives accompanied by a visually arresting video directed by Kevin and Richard Ragsdale (known for their work with Daughtry, Dorothy feat. Slash, and Theory of a Deadman). The performance clip features Smith and Kotzen joined by bassist Julia Lage and powerhouse drummer Bruno Valverde, with a dramatic twist—jaw-dropping visual storytelling from Russian acrobat and former Cirque de Soleil performer Gyulnara Karaeva, who embodies the song’s theme of deception and hidden truth.
“It was a fun video to make,” Richie Kotzen shares. “Adding the UV performance section was fantastic and took us back to the album shoot that we did in London last year.”
“Our friend Gyula really added something to it,” adds Adrian Smith. “It helped the song’s narrative of all is not what you see!”
Interestingly, “Black Light” nearly didn’t make the final tracklist—until a late-night studio session revealed its potential. The track’s metaphorical use of UV light to expose unseen realities gave rise not only to the song’s title but the name and aesthetic of the album itself. With artwork conceived through the lens of UK photographer John McMurtrie and UV-enhanced custom guitars, the visual identity of Black Light / White Noise is as rich and textured as the music within.
Recorded at The House in Los Angeles, the album was produced by Smith and Kotzen themselves and mixed by renowned engineer Jay Ruston. From the opening moments of “Black Light,” with its seething riff, explosive vocal interplay, and dynamic rhythm section, the album promises a journey through decades of influence and instinctual collaboration. Whether Adrian’s raspy, blues-driven vocal leads the charge or Richie’s soaring rock timbre cuts through the mix, each moment reveals a duo in complete artistic sync.
“We had a lot of fun making this,” says Adrian. “We’d be writing and I’d want something inspired by some of my old hard rock or blues go-to bands, then it’d go into a more progressive feel – and then Richie has these strong soul influences, so there’s a lot to dig into there too.”
“Smith/Kotzen is all about finding common ground,” Richie explains. “Maybe Adrian will tend to go heavy, and then I’ll lean more in the fusion or funk or soul side of things, but somewhere in the middle is our sound—that heavy blues rock vibe that we really connect on.”
Fans eager for a closer look behind the curtain will get the chance on March 5th, The duo appears at The GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles and Fans eager for a closer look behind the curtain got the chance to see a live Q&A hosted by Chris Jericho and an exclusive acoustic performance, offering an intimate glimpse into the making of Black Light / White Noise.
The record stands as a testament to Smith and Kotzen’s musical chemistry—a bold, genre-spanning statement rooted in decades of shared experience. Atmospheric, ambitious, and refreshingly unforced, Black Light / White Noise wears its influences on its sleeve—from Thin Lizzy and Hendrix to Prince, Cream, and Deep Purple—yet emerges unmistakably as its own voice. It’s the sound of two masters still hungry to explore, still finding new edges to their shared language, and still pushing rock forward.
