Blaze Bayley

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GhostofCain said:
his studio work with Maiden is far from stellar, being off key in places and quite flat a lot of the time.
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I don't want this to descend into another argument but I couldn't disagree more. I can't find any fault with Blazes's studio recordings - with Maiden or elsewhere.
 
No intention to throw any more unnecessary oil into these flames, but I'm very tempted to give my two cents... So tempted that I actually can't help it, heh.

...sorry, this horse has been beaten to death already.

I agree with most comments above, actually; both those who state that Blaze did well and those who consider Blaze as wrong man for the job to begin with.

Blaze was technically very lacking during those days and he has mentioned that Maiden days taught him a lot when it comes to using his voice and how to deliver different aspects of it. Blaze has never been the most versatile singer around, but you can say that he has definitely improved a lot since those days and done pretty impressive job with his more or less limited range.

One of the biggest problems with his Maiden recordings was the range where he could give a lot of "narrative" output with his delivery and really step up with his performance was rather limited; he does a very good job with most of The X-Factor tunes that are pretty moody to begin with and although a bit monotonous, his delivery with some VXI gems such as Futureal, The Clansman and Como Estais Amigos isn't bad either, but with most of the other songs his performance does fall a bit flat, if not completely bad, due to his technical inabilities with delivering some of the notes and "illustrating" the lyrics at the same time - one of the things Bruce is excellent at, probably one of the best there is. As said, it fits the The X-Factor well enough and with VXI he definitely sounds a tad bit more comfortable overall, but the lackluster production and the material that would benefit from a bit more versatile approach with delivering the lyrics does not help too much. It could have been improved with downtuning and heavier approach with the to a certain extent, especially live, but there were also some lack of technical abilities at the time that seriously hindered some of the performances.

So, I take the middle-ground with agreeing that Blaze wasn't quite capable when it comes to delivering songs and lyrics written in signature Maiden style. Then again, the approach to the songwriting and live performances didn't really make Blaze's job any easier and undoubtedly some actual producer and one or two more comforable setlist choices would have made... um, if not huge, at least notable difference and given a bit more interesting stuff for us to dig from those days. It would not have made Blaze to overcome all the challenges and difficulties overnight, but it would have definitely improved the general technical quality of their efforts in the long run. Whether that would have been enough for them to give that line-up one more shot with a third album is highly debatable. I dare say that maybe not, but it would have made the "pro-Blaze" camp maybe one or two steps bigger at the time.

Personally, I really enjoy most of the studio recordings from Blaze days and there are a couple of songs where he really gives an impressive performance that fits the song, but with stuff like The Clansman and Sign of the Cross, the way Bruce manages to make lyrics come alive and illustrate the story with his delivery gives you a very strong contrast, whether you like Blaze's voice and work or not (I do, but that's not the point).
 
The_7th_one said:
New Blaze interview:
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/bl...i-was-very-very-surprised-that-they-chose-me/

Interesting. I would like to know who were the other guys that Maiden auditioned.
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''I think they had 1,500 demos that they had listened to, and then there were, like, the 12 disciples that were chosen for the audition. And I was lucky I was one of those 12. You went to the studio to sing live. There was 10 songs that were in the set at the time — 10 of the classics that you had to learn — and I went and I'd done my best''.

Damn it, 1,500 demos :eek: It's interesting to see this list with the 12 disciples that were chosen for the audition. I do not think that we managed to make them twelve in the appropriate thread about this matter/theme.
 
I remember to read in a magazine a Steve's interview and he said that was Bruce that recommended them to Blaze for the job, so I suppose that he had that in mind when he chose Blaze.

I have to say that Maiden with Blaze is like another band as the same as Paul the first 2 albums and if Steve and the rest of the guys wanted a different way with Blaze they had to play songs from that 2 albums in which him was more comfortable singing and don't to force him to sing the epic classic songs. And start the band again from there and rise again.

I respect Blaze a lot. It's a great guy that did it the best he could at that time.
About the selection. I'm not surprised that he was choose, because the guy at that moment had a similar apparence with Bruce and he had the raw and the wildness.
I can't imagine how he felt when Rod fired him. It wasn't his fault. It was their fault take that decision.
I would like to hear Steve, Rod or the rest of the guys have the guts to say something honest to the fans at that time. For instance: He has worked really well and it was our fault took that decision and the thing didn't work. We wish Blaze good luck in the future, etc…
Support to him in the company label, help him with his albums and tours…
Instead Raven Age call Blaze to support you, damn it.

To me The X Factor is a 8/10 and Virtual XI is a 5/10, maybe a 6 (because of the production) but the guy did a good work.
It's just my opinion
 
The_7th_one said:
I remember to read in a magazine a Steve's interview and he said that was Bruce that recommended them to Blaze for the job, so I suppose that he had that in mind when he chose Blaze.
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It's possible.
The_7th_one said:
I have to say that Maiden with Blaze is like another band as the same as Paul the first 2 albums and if Steve and the rest of the guys wanted a different way with Blaze they had to play songs from that 2 albums in which him was more comfortable singing and don't to force him to sing the epic classic songs. And start the band again from there and rise again.
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I like Blaze voice and the 2 albums he did with the band (especially VXI), but you cannot omit the classics. Probably he would have done the Di'anno songs better live, than the classics with Bruce. Without any doubt, he is a nice guy.
 
It seems that Blaze Bayley would only have 40 minutes for his 1995-1998 Iron Maiden set at the Rock the Coast Festival. It is somewhat ironic to see Absolva, his backing band, getting 50 minutes!

horarios-noticia.jpg
 
By the look of things he sacrificed set length for the better stage. Silly move, as he probably could have played a longer set at a better time on a small stage.
 
I'll be honest: I don't think Blaze sounds particularly hot on that clip either. I think the drummer playing so fast forces him to basically just yell the lyrics instead of being able to really sing, but even beyond that he sounds a bit disinterested, just kind of going through the motions.
 
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