Blaze Bayley

...so I was driving home behind a late model Chevy Trax this evening, and wondering whether Blaze should sue:

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Discussion of a theoretical third Blaze-era Iron Maiden album came up in the setlist thread, so I was wondering what that might have looked like if Bruce and Adrian had never come back.

We already know that “Blood Brothers”, “The Mercenary”, “Dream Of Mirrors”, and “The Nomad” had been worked on while Blaze was still in the band. “The Thin Line Between Love And Hate” was the only other BNW song with no writing involvement from Bruce or Adrian, so that one would likely be in too. And the music for “Brave New World” was Murray/Harris with Dickinson just providing the lyrics, so it probably would have shown up with a different name.

From Blaze’s end we know that “Ghost In The Machine”, “Born As A Stranger”, “The Launch”, and “Stare At The Sun” were all written with Maiden in mind.

So what does that leave us with...?

Iron Maiden - Dream Of Mirrors (2000)

1. Born As A Stranger
2. The Mercenary
3. (Brave New World with different lyrics)
4. Blood Brothers
5. Ghost In The Machine
6. Dream Of Mirrors
7. The Nomad
8. The Launch
9. Stare At The Sun
10. The Thin Line Between Love And Hate

An interesting mix. It would be bizarre to hear Blaze sing “The Thin Line...”, and who knows what direction the song formerly known as “Brave New World” might have gone. The Silicon Messiah songs would have had much lighter guitars and gotten a more Maidenesque coat of paint, too. Odd to think about.
 
Diesel 11 said:
I'd almost expected it to be something like Dream XII or The XIIth Dream given the way they titled the other two Blaze albums.
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LOL. Gotta change up the naming scheme at least once per millennium.
 
Blaze does not play any guitar at all, so I don't think a third Maiden album with him would have sounded anything like Silicon Messiah, because he writes vocal melodies and lyrics based on finished guitar riffs.

As an example, Ghost in the Machine was written based on a riff which guitarist Steve Wray put on a demo he sent to Blaze for auditions etc.
Wray also mentioned that Blaze had a demo ready before they started writing, but it was just Blaze whistling something and making drum noises with his voice, according to the the book "At the end of the Day" .

I think the lyrics in Reach for the Horizon, The Launch and a bit of Stare At the Sun are based on the movie "Gattaca" from 1997, maybe he would have brought that idea to Maiden.
A big movie in my life has been Gattaca because it came along about the time I was working on "Silicon Messiah" and I found that the motif for the movie is that there's no gene for the human spirit, in other words, sheer force of will can get you further than talent.
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http://uftureviews.blogspot.com/2014/02/blaze-bayley-interview.html
 
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TheTalisman said:
I think the lyrics in Reach for the Harizon, The Launch and a bit of Stare At the Sun are based on the movie "Gattaca" from 1997, maybe he would have brought that idea to Maiden.

http://uftureviews.blogspot.com/2014/02/blaze-bayley-interview.html
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Interesting, it sounds like it influenced the concept for the Infinite Entanglement-trilogy too.

Actually, the "sheer force of will can get you further than talent"-part might just be the most accurate description of Blaze's career in general.

Don't get me wrong, I probably like his voice and music more than most people, but there's is no doubt that it's because of him working his ass off and never giving up that he's where he is today, rather than his vocal talent (or lack thereof, as some would say). As to whether he has gone further than he would had he been in possession of a voice like Bruce's, for example, is debatable, but the man deserves credit for his strength and determination.
 
I think Blaze overall has a good voice. Live he struggles (during his time with Maiden), but in the studio I like his voice a lot. Nowadays, he is a lot better live too.

Di'Anno also has a very good raspy voice and of course Bruce is the best, but they all have a distinctive voice that is different than the others and they're all great.
 
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Just to be clear, I definitely like Blaze's voice - read the full sentence in my post to know what I meant with "probably".
 
Some more North American dates.

APRIL
27 - Teaneck, NJ - Debonair Music Hall
28 - Elmhurst, NY - Blackthorn 51

MAY
08 - Lombard, IL - Brauerhouse
09 - Westland, MI - Token Lounge
10 - Toronto, ON - The Rockpile
11 - Quebec City, QC - L'Anti Bar & Spectacles
12 - Montreal, QC - Le Piranha Bar
16 - Smithtown, NY - The Rail
17 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
18 - Kilmarnock, VA - Private
 
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