In 2020, Adrian Smith and Ritchie Kotzen teased rock fans the world over with a picture of their well-travelled guitars mysteriously and carefully placed against a load-bearing pillar. What subsequently followed was a critically acclaimed debut album that lit a fuse under the backside of classic rock. Four years on, the Smith/Kotzen are at it again with Black Light/White Noise.
Smith/Kotzen – Black Light / White Noise
Release Date: 4 April 2025
Words: Brian Boyle
The Smith/Kotzen unification was never going to be a fleeting fling, solely for the purpose of filling a gap in their respective schedules. Returning just before Christmas with the arresting single White Noise put paid to that theory.
Hearing about the song’s impending release across social media platforms is one of the upsides to having the likes of Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and X rammed down our gullets 24/7, and that is what the song’s subject matter duly addresses.
But it’s the immediate camaraderie between the two fret-brothers that once again gets your blood racing. Admittedly, on the debut, it took a bit of getting used to hearing Kotzen sharing vocals, having already banged out 22 solo albums.
However, there is no bedding in required this time around. On opener Muddy Water, it is like they second-guess one another. There are all the licks and riffs you need, but the vocal exchanges are simply immense.
What these two lads can do with a lump of wood and six strings does not need to be overanalyzed with geeky guitar waffle, as this is far from being a guitar album. The emphasis on melodies and carefully constructed lyrics is the modus operandi here.
Black Light has this in abundance, with Smith, in particular, sounding like he is having a ball back up at the mic. We all know his partner is a born solo artist who could write half an album while waiting for the spuds to boil and is very much his own boss.
However, Smith does not enjoy as much of a creative carte blanche in his regular day job. As a result, you get fruit-bearing moments like Darkside with its Southern panache and the heavy-handed rocker Life Unchained.
What must be commended is the lack of ego on the record. A slick modern blues tune like Wraith is almost too good to be shared. But these songs were built for a dual purpose, and something like Heavy Weather, with its big tribal vibe, might lose its grit with just one pair of lungs.
Like it’s predecessor, Black Light/White Noise does not stray beyond the safe confines of melodically charged rock. But it does not need to. There is nothing to prove for these boys. No new ground needs to be explored.
A song with the soaring AOR quality of Outlaw might have a very generic sound to it, but not for a second does it come off as contrived. Everything you hear is born of an organic kinship.
The last word pretty much falls to Smith, who could be channelling his inner Gary Moore on the nearly eight-minute epic Beyond The Pale.
It’s a shame, but you just do not hear ballads of this calibre anymore, and it encompasses everything that is enduring about this coming together.
As far as this kind of musical duo goes, Smith/Kotzen already have the market cornered. But if anybody wants to have a crack at it, God help you because this is the standard.
Black Light / White Noise exudes passion and experience and is baked with tunes so hot the album should come attached with oven gloves.
Smith/Kotzen – Black Light / White Noise will be released on 4 April 2025 via BMG. Pre-orders are available from here.
