Psycho Motel

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Psycho Motel

Background information
Origin	England
Genre(s)	Progressive Rock
Years active	1994-1999
Label(s)	Sanctuary
Associated acts	ASAP, Iron Maiden, 21 Guns
Members
Adrian Smith, Andy Makin, Gary Leidermann, Mike Sturgis
Former members
(Hans Olav) Solli

Psycho Motel was a British progressive rock band, formed by Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith.

The band was formed in 1994 by Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith after he left Maiden in 1990. Adrian briefly experimented with a project going under the name of ASAP (Adrian Smith and Project) before seemingly retiring from the music business altogether. However, he was tempted back to form a band called The Untouchables, whose sound owed something simlar to ZZ Top and also to Bryan Adams. From that root grew the Psycho Motel project, debuting with the album State of Mind in 1995, followed two years later by the second release, Welcome to the World. As far as Smith was concerned, the two records were distinct from each other:

"They're quite different, because there are different singers on them. The first album we had a Norweigen guy called Solli who used to be with a band named 21 Guns. We did tour in Europe but he couldn't continue with us, because he had some personal stuff to take care of. He got divorced plus he lived in Norway, which is kind of difficult. So we had to find another singer. The I found Andy, a young guy, 26 years old and we did the second album with him. he brought a more modern influence to the band. I was sort of doing a retro thing with my Hendrix and Zeppelin influences. On the first album with Solli, there was a more of a Robert Plant type vocal. The second album is more modern, because Andy was into Alice In Chains and Soundgarden so it made for a great blend. I really like the second album, although I've played the first album a couple of times and realized it's just as good."

Quote from Adrian Smith, as quoted from the Welcome To The World album cover.

After the relase of Welcome To The World, Adrian went to help on two albums and two tours with Bruce Dickinson which were both highly successful. After this, both Adrian and Bruce re-joined Iron Maiden in 1999 and Adrian split up Psycho Motel. When asked if he would consider re-forming the band in 2001, he said that they had "no plans at the moment" but they would "possibly do some stuff next year". This has yet to happen with his continued success with Iron Maiden.

In 2006, both albums were re-released with bonus tracks.