Courtney Cox (musician)

Courtney Cox is an American guitarist and former member of the all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens and currently the lead guitarist for heavy metal band Burning Witches.

Courtney Cox
Cox in 2023
Background information
Also known as	Adriana Smith (stage name)[1] CC Shred
Born	(1989-05-18) May 18, 1989 (age 35)
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genres	Heavy metal, hard rock, tribute
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Guitar
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Powerslave Napalm
Member of	Burning Witches
Formerly of	The Iron Maidens Femme Fatale
Website	facebook.com/Courtneycoxofficial

Career

A native of Philadelphia, Courtney Cox started playing guitar around age 13. At 15, she enrolled at The Paul Green School of Rock Music. During her tenure there, she performed in U.S tours with acts including Jon Anderson and Adrian Belew, performing with such artists as George Lynch and Perry Farrell. During that time, Cox co-founded an all-female King Diamond tribute band called Queen Diamond.^[2]

At age 19, Cox moved to Los Angeles. In December 2008, she was invited to be a guest performer with the Iron Maidens, and later she became an official member of the band. As a member of the Maidens, Cox's stage name is "Adriana Smith", a female version of Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith.^[3] She has also performed several national and international concert tours in the U.S. and in Japan.^{[1][4][5][6][7]} Cox performed with members of Phantom Blue at the Michelle Meldrum Memorial Concert in May 2009 at the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, California.^[2]

As the first female artist for Caparison Guitars, Cox released the "signature model Horus-M3 CC". In 2010, she placed runner-up in Guitar World's Buyer's Guide Model Search.^[8]

In 2023, Courtney is currently a lead guitarist for Swiss metal band Burning Witches filling in for Larissa Ernst while Larissa is expecting a child.

Discography

Cox with the Iron Maidens in 2011

Iron Maidens

• Metal Gathering Tour Live in Japan 2010 (2010) - The Iron Maidens^[1][6]

Burning Witches

• Unleash The Beast - Burning Witches official video (2023)
• World On Fire - Burning Witches official video (2023)
• Evil Witch - Burning Witches official live performance video (2023)