By now you should have heard Iron Maiden's new album, The Book of Souls, but one Maiden fan got to hear some Maiden music long before it was ever properly recorded. Guitarist Adrian Smith's phone full of ideas wound up in the hands of a fan who found a few surprises after recovering the lost device.

In an interview with Music Radar, Smith explained, “I’ve got tons of song ideas on my phone. But it was a bit embarrassing, really, because in America we do runners from gigs, so we jump offstage, jump straight into the cars and go haring off, and we stop at a gas station or a lay-by and change in the dark on our way to the airport. It sounds crazy, but I actually lost my phone in America doing that and it was full of ideas. I had no password on my phone, so this guy found it and he went through my ideas, and there’s me sitting in my underpants in a hotel room on video singing and playing guitar!"

But at least the story has a good ending: "I got a letter [from him] and he sent it back to me," says Smith. "He said he was a fan and said he loved my little performances on the phone! Of course, I thanked him and sent him a load of merch.”

It's not certain when the phone debacle took place but the band's new album, The Book of Souls, has been met with wild fanfare. In the interview, the axeman details the band's writing process for the album, which was a more collaborative effort full of new techniques like different tunings.

When discussing the third track on the album, "The Great Unknown," Smith even revealed a hint about the setlist for the upcoming tour, adding, “I was messing around with a tuning, an open D tuning [DADF#AD]... It sounds very strange, but it kind of works. "The Great Unknown’s" riff came out of that tuning, really. But I also used a capo on it, which makes it weirder, and I’m dreading playing it live [laughs]. But that’s a different little thing I did on this album.”

Iron Maiden are gearing up for another world tour, with singer Bruce Dickinson flying the band, crew, and gear in the new Ed Force One jumbo jet. To check out dates for The Book of Souls World Tour, click here.

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