The disappearance of Adrian Smith from the music scene troubled me a lot during the first half of the 1990's. His abrupt (or so it seemed to me from this distance) relocation from Iron Maiden during 1989, along with the release of what proved to be a whole different concept in A.S.a.P's “Silver and Gold” album, was followed by almost total silence. Which seemed like a complete waste of his talent. So it was with some relief, and not a little trepidation, that I did discover that Adrian was returning to the recording world in the form of a band he formed called Psycho Motel, and this debut effort entitled “State of Mind”.
Following the disappointment of “Silver and Gold”, Adrian’s disillusionment with the industry almost sent him into what would have been a premature retirement. He auditioned for Def Leppard to replace fallen guitarist Steve Clark in 1991, but the job went to Vivian Campbell. From all reports, two events occurred that proved vital to flicking the switch back on again. He appeared on stage once again with his former band Iron Maiden at their appearance at Donington in 1992, where he came on and played during their encore to an enormous reception from the crowd, something that provided a spark. In that same year, according to interviews, he also discovered the band Kings X, and his response to listening to their music was that he decided that he would love to be in a band that sounded like that. It was at this point that he decided to form a new band, which at first had the name of The Untouchables. This eventually transformed to become Psycho Motel.
With a recording contract sorted, the band came together. Adrian recruited Hans-Olav Solli as lead vocalist. Solli had been a part of the band Sons of Angels, a Norwegian/Swedish hard rock band whose 1990 self-titled debut was a major success, selling over 150,000 copies and producing the hit single "Cowgirl". Joining on bass guitar was Gary Leideman and on drums was Mike Sturgis. Smith himself handled all of the guitars and most of the songwriting for the album.
It was an interesting time to create a new band for someone who was such an influential member of such an influential band of the heavy metal scene of the 1980’s. Having already taken the path to the pop metal scene and found that to be a disappointing result, Smith was now looking to create a band with a sound that was right for the mid-1990’s. That in itself was to be an interesting task, one whose result would tell the tale of whether he could create lightning and have it strike twice. The result was the album “State of Mind”, one that, not for the first time, showed just how versatile a musician that Adrian Smith truly is.
One thing I had enjoyed of Adrian's previous project was that he sang lead vocals on the album. That was not to be the case in Psycho Motel, but on this album, it certainly appears to be the right decision. Hans-Olav Solli puts in an excellent performance throughout this album, in a role that is varied throughout. Different songs require him to modify his performance along the way, something he does admirably.
The album opener sets a tone for the album from the outset, ensuring that you don’t go into this thinking it is anything like Adrian Smith has produced in the past, and that you are set to just sit back and experience what he and his bandmates have to offer. “Sins of Your Father” bangs into a mid-tempo rock groove that brings in the influence of the music of the day and age, without mirroring it. There seems to be touches of grunge and alt rock, but this is not a song that looks to copy, it looks to promote the band’s ideals from the start. The rhythm of deep bass and guitar, along with hard hitting drums setting the platform is wonderful, and the vocals surprise with how good they sound. Everything is drawn together in a very neat package, and for good measure there is a great guitar solo from Adrian which reminds you of why you came to the album in the first place. “Worlds on Fire” has a great thumping rhythm that carries the song along, with Adrian’s thrumming rhythm guitar anchoring it to the music of the day. The vocal style differs here from the opening track, selling a different story, and the guitars come through in a toned-down Pantera like fashion. It’s an interesting song; one I’ve never been sure whether I enjoy or am just confused by. The eponymously titled “Psycho Motel” has a hard-core blues base to the rhythm sound once again. Adrian’s guitar solo again extrapolates from the norm, and on reflection on revisiting the album you can hear lots of similarities to his recent collaborations with Ritchie Kotzen on this song. Not only that, but John Corabi styled Motley Crue. There is a lot going on in this song, even though on the surface its settles into its rhythm and groove and pushes along in the same narrative for the majority of the song. But the interspersed licks from Adrian’s guitar, that provide a greater deal of substance to fill some of the gaps here make it a really interesting and I think underrated song.
The clear guitar opening of “Western Shore” gives no indication as to what is to come, with the pseudo-acoustic ballad beginning with just the writers of the track Adrian and Solli on vocals before punching into a chaotic middle section before returning to the clear guitar and passive finish. Yep, all albums need that ballad, and although this is not the traditional form of that kind of song it acts as the equivalent on this album. “Rage” returns us to a more powerful headline, back to the post-grunge harder alternative style that was beginning to seep into the spectrum at the time. Stylistically it tries to follow the corridors of the opening tracks on the album, though without going with the tried-and-tested method of Adrian being allowed his opportunity to place his stamp on the middle of the track. Solli co-writes here alongside Jimmy Lagnefors, and draws the point of difference here between the opening tracks that were written by Adrian alone. This is all covered up by the excellent “Killing Time”, with a truly excellent heavy riff from Adrian running through the song. The change up of tempo does tend to anchor the song to the era it was released for the most part, but when you get to the terrific 2/4 timing in the middle of the track, it brings out the best of the performance. Solli’s vocals are great here, and while Adrian provides backups through this period, you can hear that his voice would suit this song terrifically. Personally, a faster pace and not the muddy back tempo that most of the song sits in would improve this even more. Still, an enjoyable track on the album.
“Time is a Hunter” is for all intents and purposes almost a doom metal song, something I never would have expected Adrian Smith to write. But here we are, the tempo, the riff, the vocals… all of it adds up to a doom signature track. And Adrian does it amazingly well, the drawn back mood beautifully portrayed as he solos over the magnificent rhythm set up for the occasion. Solli almost channels Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin during this track as well which makes it even more auspicious. This song continues to surprise and impress me even to this day. "Money to Burn" follows, and has the slow chugging guitar riff over a solid drum beat that is fine for the circumstances. It feels like a more commercial sounding track, again channelling the direction bands like Motley Crue and Dokken had travelled in the mid-1990’s. Solli’s vocal lines here travel along a style walked by the glam metal bands of the late 1980’s with the contemporary styled music that Adrian had composed for this album. "City of Light” is also what could almost be called designer hard rock, trying to utilise some characteristics of grunge without acknowledging that it is, and basing the rest around the non-threatening rock sound with the scope for hearing a little bit of that old Adrian Smith scripted guitar riffing and soloing. The middle section solo is by the best part of the song, and listening to the way Adrian composed it is lots of fun. The album then concludes with “Excuse Me”, which does sound vocally like an attempt to incorporate an Alice in Chains vibe. Actually, overall the whole song does give that impression. It isn’t a direct copy of course, but the characteristics brought to this track leaves little doubt that the band wanted this to be what its output was based on. I personally enjoy the song but sometimes feel a bit icky about the way it has been put together.
I most certainly had no idea that this band nor album existed when it was initially released. My information flow on new bands and new music had come to a trickle with the end of Australia’s Hot Metal magazine, and the difficulty in tracking down Metal Hammer or Kerrang magazines in Australia on a consistent basis. So it wasn’t until around 2001, so five and a bit years after this album was released, that I actually found out about it. In some article written somewhere at that time, it was spoken about how he had played with Bruce Dickinson on his last couple of solo outings, and it also then mentioned that he had had his own project prior to this called Psycho Motel. THAT news spurred me on, and sent me down a rabbit hole in search of more information, which led to the discovery of the band and the two albums that they released.
The amount that you like or dislike this album is likely to be tied almost directly to how much you like Adrian Smith and his music. When his guitar breaks through the speakers it is a guiding light. But it IS almost completely different from everything else he had done prior to this album. And that was slightly challenging when I first discovered the album. In many ways, I feel that it lines up against Bruce Dickinson’s “Skunkworks” album, which was recorded and released around the same time. “Skunkworks” is basically Bruce’s grunge album, and while “State of Mind” is not a grunge album, it does have some elements that it draws from that genre of music. “Skunkworks” was also a third completely different solo release from Dickinson, and had trouble attracting his fan base as a result. “State of Mind” was Adrian Smith attempting something different again from what he had written and recorded before as well. I’ll have more to say about Bruce’s album on a future episode, but while I found this to be a slightly interesting album when I first discovered it, there wasn’t enough here at the time to keep me listening on a consistent basis. Compared to what I was discovering and listening to at the time, bands such as Blind Guardian and Dream Theater and Symphony X, it was out of their league.
Over the years though, it has come out more often, and my enjoyment of the album has improved over that time. Getting used to what the album offers, and being able to find what I enjoy about it, has been an important component of that. Listening to it away from other noises, and enjoying the nuances not only of the band itself and Solli’s vocals, but the enjoyment of Adrian’s undeniably brilliant guitaring, gives a different perspective.
Over the past two weeks I have brought this out for another spin or 12, and each time my enjoyment level has pretty much improved. I have taken a far more serious listen to the album, not just listening for pleasure but listening to be critically aware of what I feel about each track. And while not all of them hold a deep love for me, there is certainly enough good moments on this album that would be of interest to fans of the music of the era and also to those who enjoy Smith’s work in his other projects. The songs I have selected for today’s episode I believe are the best, and also offer a differing identification of what the album has to offer.
Psycho Motel did eventually play some support slots for Iron Maiden on “The X Factor” world tour, something that must have been an interesting experience for all involved. And a follow up album did eventuate, which is an burgeoning story in itself. That of course will have to wait for another episode, but it also led to the continuing road that would eventually see Adrian Smith return to the band that he helped to elevate to the top of the world. And, would do so once again.
