Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith to release fishing memoir 'Monsters of River & Rock'
Not just a Book of Soles...
Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith will release his fishing themed memoir 'Monsters of River & Rock: My Life as Iron Maiden's Compulsive Angler’ on Thursday 3rd September 2020 via Virgin Books.
Alongside being a guitarist and songwriter for one of the biggest heavy metal bands on the planet, Adrian Smith is also a keen fishing aficionado and 'Monsters Of River & Rock' is described ‘a very personal riverside memoir’ that takes readers on an ‘incredible journey, through the highs and lows of life on tour with Iron Maiden, and on the river-bank, as his fishing gear travels with him across the world.’
Adrian’s first ever book, ‘Monsters of River & Rock’ contains 288 pages and is available to buy on Hardback (costing £20) and as a Kindle Edition (costing £9.99).
The synopsis for ‘Monsters of River & Rock’ reads: “Adrian got hooked on fishing as a child growing up in East London, plundering ponds and bomb craters on the Hackney Marshes for newts and sticklebacks and catching perch from the Grand Union Canal whilst on outings with his father. Things began to get more exotic when the young angling enthusiast grew up to become lead guitarist in one of the most successful rock bands in history, and started travelling the world playing to many millions of fans. But once a fisherman, always a fisherman. The gear went with him, the fish got bigger, the adventures more extreme.
“Welcome to the world of Adrian Smith, as he clocks in to his day job furthering the geographical boundaries of hard rock, and clocks off to explore far-flung rivers, seas, waterways, lakes and pools on his fearless quest for fishing nirvana.
“His adventures range from his first sturgeon, a whopping 100-pounder from Canada’s swirling Fraser River that nearly wiped him out mid-Maiden tour, to a close shave with a large shark off the Virgin Islands whilst wading waist-deep for bonefish. Not to mention an enviable list of specimen coarse fish from the UK.
“Charming, funny, and moving in equal measure, Monsters of River & Rock is the ultimate fishing-fantasy armchair read, and is also the story of a rock star in a fast-moving world who seeks peace and tranquillity at the water’s edge – wherever he is.”
At the start of May, Adrian Smith enlisted the band’s road crew – aka the Killer Krew – for a lockdown version of Maiden’s 1984 classic ‘Aces High’.
The video opened with Adrian discussing what he’s been up to during lockdown, including, of course, partaking in his favourite hobby, fishing.
A couple of days later, Iron Maiden announced they won’t be playing any live concerts in 2020 because of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
The heavy metal titans won’t be returning to live action until June and July 2021 when they will play a series of rescheduled Legacy of the Beast Tour dates in Europe.
Iron Maiden's summer 2021 European tour dates are as follows:
JUNE 2021
Warsaw PGE Narodowy - Fri 11
Bremen Bürgerweide - Sun 13th
Prague Sinobo Stadium - Tue 15th
Wiener Neustadt Stadium Open Air - Wed 16th
Barcelona Olympic Stadium - Sat 19th
Lisbon Estadio Nacional - Mon 21st
Bologna Sonic Park - Thu 24th
Stuttgart Mercedes-Benz Arena - Sat 26th
Antwerp Sportpaleis - Sun 27th
Berlin Waldbühne - Wed 30th
JULY 2021
Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium - Sat 3rd
Cologne Rhein-Energie-Stadium - Thu 8th
Arnhem GelreDome - Sat 10th
Paris La Defense Arena - Sun 11th