I'll tell you the real problems with Virtual: 1. People are so prejudiced about Blaze. He has much more deeper and monotone voice than Bruce and all. "Oh it's a Blaze-album, so it sucks" 2. Many people don't have even listened to the album completely. They just listen one song and then say "it sucks" 3. People don't listen this album as a whole. All the songs may not be so great, but the totality of the album is the thing that matters. 4. The album cover is very very ugly. I don't really think that Virtual XI is a bad album. It may not be the greatest product of Maiden, but I still think that this is not the worst Maiden-album. FOTD is much worse, but it's overrated because it has a great title track. Blaze fucking rules, and Virtual XI is not the worst album. X Factor is awesome too.
Oddly enough, I dislike this album for almost all opposite reasons. 1. I enjoyed Blaze's style in the darker, depressing tone of X-Factor. On this material though, he & the band come across as pedestrian at best. 2/3. The album as a whole becomes tedious with its many repetitive vocal lines... and much of the music seeming like it is in the same key. (Nevermind the sense that most of the lead riffs sound very similar to those used in previous albums with better energy/execution) 4. I have the CD with the very cool hologram sleeve... which, unfortunately, I enjoy more than the CD itself. Granted, I feel like this overall album is closer to being a product of its time (90s Post-Grunge/Hard Rock era) than its namesake would imply (Melodic Metal) ... and I am not a fan of that style in general so I'm probably not the best person to judge this collection of songs.