It is interesting how seeing an act live can put things in their music into a different perspective. The Smith/Kotzen show in London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire certainly did that for me. You will soon understand why.
Smith/Kotzen
O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – 21 February 2026
Words: Bogdan Bele
Photography: Steve Ritchie
Smith/Kotzen’s Glory Road
To use a Smith/Kotzen song title as a metaphor, the road to tonight’s show has not, as it usually does for this writer, involved a train. Due to the fact that the wonderful people maintaining the British rail system chose this specific Saturday for some works that stopped all trains on this route in their tracks (pun very much intended), this ended up being a drive.
It proved to be a blessing in disguise, as I got to have our editor, Mr. Steve Ritchie, the man responsible for the great visual side of this piece, along for the ride as my navigator. So we got to discuss all things music and MetalTalk. Not a bad way to travel at all, and living proof that something as trivial as trains will not stop MetalTalk.
We made our way to the venue in time for what certainly was a night to remember.
Smith/Kotzen made their way to the stage after Bad Company’s titular song played in the speakers and went straight into the excellent Life Unchained, from their new album, aptly called Black Light / White Noise.
And this is where what I was saying in the intro part hit me. This project is a sum of contrast and synergy. Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen are both phenomenal guitar players, as well as excellent singers.
However, they are also very different in style, while complementing each other perfectly in a way that simply pulls you in. On one hand, you have the Iron Maiden axeman’s bluesy overtones, both vocally and as a guitar player. If you come into this purely as a Maiden fan, you certainly are in for a surprise.
On the other hand, you have Kotzen’s effervescent technique and incredible vocal range. All these things mix together in a band that has a very interesting structure, in the sense that it has two lead singers, both doubling as lead guitarists.
They duet or alternate vocals on all the songs, and the different styles of singing work incredibly well together.
There is also no sign of the clash of egos that happens when two monster guitar players are in the room. Smith/Kotzen songs are designed to allow them both a lot of space to shine, while remaining songs, rather than technical showcases.
Now, it is very obvious that a lot of the people following this project have landed here from the two gentlemen’s day jobs. They might come from the Iron Maiden crowd, in Smith’s case, or Richie Kotzen’s solo stuff, or The Winery Dogs, or Mr. Big even, for that matter.
It would be simple to take the easy way and throw in a lot of material from any of those. However, Smith/Kotzen is a band in its own right, without ignoring its roots (more on that later).
The setlist is almost exclusively formed of tracks from this project’s two albums and one EP (so far, as there is no reason to let it go, to loosely paraphrase a line from Taking My Chances).
The latest record gets a proper showing, with six tracks played. Richie Kotzen does remark how great it is to finally be out on the road with this latest record. It has been close to a year since its release, after all. It is perfectly understandable that their other lives get in the way, but it would have been a shame not to, with how good the record is.
Apart from the ones mentioned, I love the live version of White Noise, a song talking about making oneself heard in the digital white noise around us all.
The sound is not fantastic to begin with, but it does not take very long to improve. Life Unchained, followed by Black Light, allows everyone on stage to show what they can do.
One must remark that it is easier to shine when you are sitting on such a great groove platform, provided by the exceptional rhythm section of Julia Lage on bass and excellent backing vocals at a few points (also happening to be Mr Kotzen’s wife), and Bruno Valverde on drums.
The show just comes to demonstrate the diversity of what these two gentlemen create when they work together. From bluesier numbers like Glory Road to proper rockers like Got A Hold On Me, it is all in there, with proper catchy tunes, like Taking My Chances, as well as Hate &
Love, in between.
And since I mentioned Got A Hold On Me, it is admirable how they make their way through Julia’s bass amp deciding to stop cooperating mid-song. They soldier through the track while attempts to repair things are made, to no avail.
As Adrian Smith remarks, these things happen when everything is live. And indeed it is. After a short break and a Marshall head being put in the place of the fallen hero, everything resumes and sounds just fine.
One of my highlights is definitely Scars, an emotional track, and the one that truly got me into Smith/Kotzen.
But the night is not over without a surprise. Last time I saw them, some three years ago, Nicko McBrain joined on drums as a special guest. So why ruin a great tradition of having Maiden guests in London?
Some in the room seem to have noticed what was about to come, but Smith jokes that there are no guests and goes into the next track.
However, right after that, they invite the one and only Bruce Dickinson on stage, for a Wasted Years to remember, sung together with everyone in attendance.
To top it all off, we also get a great rendition of what is probably Richie Kotzen’s best-known solo track, You Can’t Save Me.
If there is a conclusion to all this, it is that that is how rock ‘n’ roll should be. Truly and entirely live, with great playing and exceptional vocals.
