Black Abyss Babe
I live for my dreams and a pocket full of gold
Whether they need it is up for debate but anyway, well deserved 
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Former IRON MAIDEN Members PAUL DI'ANNO And BLAZE BAYLEY To Be Inducted Into 'Metal Hall Of Fame'
Former IRON MAIDEN members Paul Di'Anno and Blaze Bayley, along with the creator of the MAIDEN mascot "Eddie," Derek Riggs, will be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame. Di'Anno wrote and sang on MAIDEN's first two legendary albums. They are still considered by many IRON MAIDEN fans to be their...
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Former IRON MAIDEN members Paul Di'Anno and Blaze Bayley, along with the creator of the MAIDEN mascot "Eddie," Derek Riggs, will be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame.
The Metal Hall Of Fame is part of the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization D.A.D. (Drums And Disabilities). D.A.D. provides free therapy and advocacy services for special needs children and wounded veterans in health facilities, schools, and community centers in over 15 countries.
This is not HoF, article exploits it for clicks.
Former IRON MAIDEN members Paul Di'Anno and Blaze Bayley, along with the creator of the MAIDEN mascot "Eddie," Derek Riggs, will be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame.
The Metal Hall Of Fame is part of the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization D.A.D. (Drums And Disabilities). D.A.D. provides free therapy and advocacy services for special needs children and wounded veterans in health facilities, schools, and community centers in over 15 countries.
This is not HoF, article exploits it for clicks.
ironmaidenlewes
Trooper
Would anyone like a new War Within Me Tshirt in large? I have a spare I'm happy to post (UK only) for a £10 donation to the charity Blaze was performing for last night (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ukmetalmerger). Let me know.
Ah, the 1/6 insurrection has finally resulted in a positive outcome for someone!
The_7th_one
Ancient Mariner
Randalf
Ancient Mariner
A few words about Blaze's new album - not very deep thoughts, as I'm still processing it and to be perfectly honest, I wasn't terribly excited about it from the start. This has been the case, for me anyway, for almost ten years now when it comes to Blaze's new music.
Every time, and I'm not even exaggerating, it's basically every time he announces a new record that I'm rather skeptical. Maybe it's all due to King of Metal being... well, you know. While not entirely garbage, it sort of confirmed that Blaze needs a strong songwriting partner to get the best, and thoroughly great product out. And while Infinite Entanglement was indeed a positive surprise - and I really liked the acoustic EPs too - I was still a bit wary, as...
Ehm.
Well Blaze going "I'm gonna release three concept albums based on a sci-fi story I've written myself" doesn't necessarily sound like you could expect a heavy metal 2001SpaceOdysseyInterstellar. Retrospectively, I was probably a bit too wary indeed, as Blaze toyed with similar themes with Tenth Dimension - which is a great album - and usually his lyrics are actually quite good. I mean, despite a handful of "I will give everything now, and I will not wait!" moments, it's not like his lyrics pale in comparison to various other acts around - quite the contrary!
But yes, once again, I had my doubts whether this War Within Me album might actually work... It does!
I've been thinking that maybe my hesitation with his albums is some intentional urge to not let Blaze being... well, such a nice guy to affect my opinion on his music. Blaze treats his fans very well and of course the enthusiasm of the fanbase - especially in relation to it's size - is extremely cool, and definitely gives something to both parties involved. But then there's this factor: Blaze fans, basically Maiden fans who also love Blaze, declaring how great he is and how he should be up there with the big names, filling arenas and whatnot, and Blaze often beefing up this cult-ish nature of things by underlining how the third album with Iron Maiden might've changed everything and the infamous "it was a business decision" and whatever sometimes seem to put Blaze to a position where everything he does and touches is automatically (underrated) gold.
Obviously, his recent albums have been rather good and the Absolva/Blaze lineup seems to work very well on stage and in the studio, and the quality of his recent records has sure gained him some much-deserved appreciation everywhere. I'm not saying Blaze isn't good - he definitely is! I'm merely underlining how funny, on it's own way, this whole niche market around Blaze is and how it's surprisingly hard to evaluate the music without letting the mentioned factors affect it. Then again, ambitious thematics and concepts aside, Blaze operates on rather safe field and he's truly a pro in that.
It's just kinda funny how the whole "Underrated Blaze" sometimes makes him... slightly "overrated"?
I often try to avoid the whole something being underrated/overrated discourse, but couldn't help this...
That all being said, I also think that there is some power in Blaze's determination to give his everything to the music he loves and in many ways, he does embody a lot of things that music fundamentally is about.
...damn, I was supposed to say something about the new album as well. Let's try!
- Like his previous efforts with the Absolva guys, there's a respectable amount of good riffs and melodies!
- It's interesting how Absolva, which is fairly close to traditionalMaiden British Heavy Metal and Blaze, a traditional heavy metal musician togehter result in... yes, just that, but there's this almost power metalish taste. Kinda cool, but somewhat unexpected, looking back to the days when Infinite Entanglement was announced
- Lots of Blazeisms, like woo-oohs and his FIGHT THE HARDSHIPS lyrics, but that's what you'd expect from a Blaze Bayley album; it's more of a neutral quality at this point, rather than a pro/con, as long as it doesn't get ridiculous
- Funny enough, this is exactly an album that might get a bit ridiculous, but it really doesn't; and to be fair, Blaze held his horses quite well in the Infinite Entanglement trilogy as well, so it's not that big of a surprise anymore... what I'm trying to say? Uhm, probably just that even with some flaws, such as the production and heavy use of autotune(?), I have to admit that on the sector he and the Absolva guys operate in, Blaze Bayley band really knows what they're doing. Maybe that's the lesson for me.
Once again, it's an album that does not go down in heavy metal and rock & roll history as some heavily underrated gem, but it's solid, even above average metal album that leaves a very good taste. The world might be filled with ok-good albums of more or less stylistically similar music and the devotion of Blaze's fanbase is, for sure, partly result of the generally very devoted nature of the Iron Maiden fanbase, where Blaze-market is like some niche, but very dedicated school club within a huge university.
All things considered, Blaze does know how to make very good album and while the BALZE!!! cult and glorification sometimes gets a bit funny, I'd never dare to disparage his relentless effort and dedication for his music, which, thankfully, still holds up very well!
Every time, and I'm not even exaggerating, it's basically every time he announces a new record that I'm rather skeptical. Maybe it's all due to King of Metal being... well, you know. While not entirely garbage, it sort of confirmed that Blaze needs a strong songwriting partner to get the best, and thoroughly great product out. And while Infinite Entanglement was indeed a positive surprise - and I really liked the acoustic EPs too - I was still a bit wary, as...
Ehm.
Well Blaze going "I'm gonna release three concept albums based on a sci-fi story I've written myself" doesn't necessarily sound like you could expect a heavy metal 2001SpaceOdysseyInterstellar. Retrospectively, I was probably a bit too wary indeed, as Blaze toyed with similar themes with Tenth Dimension - which is a great album - and usually his lyrics are actually quite good. I mean, despite a handful of "I will give everything now, and I will not wait!" moments, it's not like his lyrics pale in comparison to various other acts around - quite the contrary!
But yes, once again, I had my doubts whether this War Within Me album might actually work... It does!
I've been thinking that maybe my hesitation with his albums is some intentional urge to not let Blaze being... well, such a nice guy to affect my opinion on his music. Blaze treats his fans very well and of course the enthusiasm of the fanbase - especially in relation to it's size - is extremely cool, and definitely gives something to both parties involved. But then there's this factor: Blaze fans, basically Maiden fans who also love Blaze, declaring how great he is and how he should be up there with the big names, filling arenas and whatnot, and Blaze often beefing up this cult-ish nature of things by underlining how the third album with Iron Maiden might've changed everything and the infamous "it was a business decision" and whatever sometimes seem to put Blaze to a position where everything he does and touches is automatically (underrated) gold.
Obviously, his recent albums have been rather good and the Absolva/Blaze lineup seems to work very well on stage and in the studio, and the quality of his recent records has sure gained him some much-deserved appreciation everywhere. I'm not saying Blaze isn't good - he definitely is! I'm merely underlining how funny, on it's own way, this whole niche market around Blaze is and how it's surprisingly hard to evaluate the music without letting the mentioned factors affect it. Then again, ambitious thematics and concepts aside, Blaze operates on rather safe field and he's truly a pro in that.
It's just kinda funny how the whole "Underrated Blaze" sometimes makes him... slightly "overrated"?
I often try to avoid the whole something being underrated/overrated discourse, but couldn't help this... That all being said, I also think that there is some power in Blaze's determination to give his everything to the music he loves and in many ways, he does embody a lot of things that music fundamentally is about.
...damn, I was supposed to say something about the new album as well. Let's try!
- Like his previous efforts with the Absolva guys, there's a respectable amount of good riffs and melodies!
- It's interesting how Absolva, which is fairly close to traditional
- Lots of Blazeisms, like woo-oohs and his FIGHT THE HARDSHIPS lyrics, but that's what you'd expect from a Blaze Bayley album; it's more of a neutral quality at this point, rather than a pro/con, as long as it doesn't get ridiculous
- Funny enough, this is exactly an album that might get a bit ridiculous, but it really doesn't; and to be fair, Blaze held his horses quite well in the Infinite Entanglement trilogy as well, so it's not that big of a surprise anymore... what I'm trying to say? Uhm, probably just that even with some flaws, such as the production and heavy use of autotune(?), I have to admit that on the sector he and the Absolva guys operate in, Blaze Bayley band really knows what they're doing. Maybe that's the lesson for me.
Once again, it's an album that does not go down in heavy metal and rock & roll history as some heavily underrated gem, but it's solid, even above average metal album that leaves a very good taste. The world might be filled with ok-good albums of more or less stylistically similar music and the devotion of Blaze's fanbase is, for sure, partly result of the generally very devoted nature of the Iron Maiden fanbase, where Blaze-market is like some niche, but very dedicated school club within a huge university.
All things considered, Blaze does know how to make very good album and while the BALZE!!! cult and glorification sometimes gets a bit funny, I'd never dare to disparage his relentless effort and dedication for his music, which, thankfully, still holds up very well!
CA Bryers
Ancient Mariner
I agree with pretty much everything you wrote here. I do consider Blaze to be a bit underrated, but only amongst the Maiden circles who wrote him off when he got fired because many of them are missing out. Those who tried his solo stuff and didn't like it, eh, fair enough, but his voice, limited as it is, is much stronger and has more character than it was and had in Maiden. I do wish Maiden had offered him an opening slot on the BNW tour to give his solo career a running start, but I understand it could've been weird and they were under no obligation to do so. That said, I think a big chunk of Maiden fans seeing them in 2000 and heard Blaze's Silicon Messiah material might've given him a second look that, outside of Maiden, he really does work.A few words about Blaze's new album - not very deep thoughts, as I'm still processing it and to be perfectly honest, I wasn't terribly excited about it from the start. This has been the case, for me anyway, for almost ten years now when it comes to Blaze's new music.
Every time, and I'm not even exaggerating, it's basically every time he announces a new record that I'm rather skeptical. Maybe it's all due to King of Metal being... well, you know. While not entirely garbage, it sort of confirmed that Blaze needs a strong songwriting partner to get the best, and thoroughly great product out. And while Infinite Entanglement was indeed a positive surprise - and I really liked the acoustic EPs too - I was still a bit wary, as...
Ehm.
Well Blaze going "I'm gonna release three concept albums based on a sci-fi story I've written myself" doesn't necessarily sound like you could expect a heavy metal 2001SpaceOdysseyInterstellar. Retrospectively, I was probably a bit too wary indeed, as Blaze toyed with similar themes with Tenth Dimension - which is a great album - and usually his lyrics are actually quite good. I mean, despite a handful of "I will give everything now, and I will not wait!" moments, it's not like his lyrics pale in comparison to various other acts around - quite the contrary!
But yes, once again, I had my doubts whether this War Within Me album might actually work... It does!
I've been thinking that maybe my hesitation with his albums is some intentional urge to not let Blaze being... well, such a nice guy to affect my opinion on his music. Blaze treats his fans very well and of course the enthusiasm of the fanbase - especially in relation to it's size - is extremely cool, and definitely gives something to both parties involved. But then there's this factor: Blaze fans, basically Maiden fans who also love Blaze, declaring how great he is and how he should be up there with the big names, filling arenas and whatnot, and Blaze often beefing up this cult-ish nature of things by underlining how the third album with Iron Maiden might've changed everything and the infamous "it was a business decision" and whatever sometimes seem to put Blaze to a position where everything he does and touches is automatically (underrated) gold.
Obviously, his recent albums have been rather good and the Absolva/Blaze lineup seems to work very well on stage and in the studio, and the quality of his recent records has sure gained him some much-deserved appreciation everywhere. I'm not saying Blaze isn't good - he definitely is! I'm merely underlining how funny, on it's own way, this whole niche market around Blaze is and how it's surprisingly hard to evaluate the music without letting the mentioned factors affect it. Then again, ambitious thematics and concepts aside, Blaze operates on rather safe field and he's truly a pro in that.
It's just kinda funny how the whole "Underrated Blaze" sometimes makes him... slightly "overrated"?
That all being said, I also think that there is some power in Blaze's determination to give his everything to the music he loves and in many ways, he does embody a lot of things that music fundamentally is about.
...damn, I was supposed to say something about the new album as well. Let's try!
- Like his previous efforts with the Absolva guys, there's a respectable amount of good riffs and melodies!
- It's interesting how Absolva, which is fairly close to traditionalMaidenBritish Heavy Metal and Blaze, a traditional heavy metal musician togehter result in... yes, just that, but there's this almost power metalish taste. Kinda cool, but somewhat unexpected, looking back to the days when Infinite Entanglement was announced
- Lots of Blazeisms, like woo-oohs and his FIGHT THE HARDSHIPS lyrics, but that's what you'd expect from a Blaze Bayley album; it's more of a neutral quality at this point, rather than a pro/con, as long as it doesn't get ridiculous
- Funny enough, this is exactly an album that might get a bit ridiculous, but it really doesn't; and to be fair, Blaze held his horses quite well in the Infinite Entanglement trilogy as well, so it's not that big of a surprise anymore... what I'm trying to say? Uhm, probably just that even with some flaws, such as the production and heavy use of autotune(?), I have to admit that on the sector he and the Absolva guys operate in, Blaze Bayley band really knows what they're doing. Maybe that's the lesson for me.
Once again, it's an album that does not go down in heavy metal and rock & roll history as some heavily underrated gem, but it's solid, even above average metal album that leaves a very good taste. The world might be filled with ok-good albums of more or less stylistically similar music and the devotion of Blaze's fanbase is, for sure, partly result of the generally very devoted nature of the Iron Maiden fanbase, where Blaze-market is like some niche, but very dedicated school club within a huge university.
All things considered, Blaze does know how to make very good album and while the BALZE!!! cult and glorification sometimes gets a bit funny, I'd never dare to disparage his relentless effort and dedication for his music, which, thankfully, still holds up very well!
As for War Within Me, I've only listened to it one time on YouTube while I wait for my copy to show up, and yeah, it's what you expect from the Blaze/Absolva team-up: lots of songs full of good riffs and interesting vocal melodies from Blaze. Didn't notice the auto-tune too much (mostly the vocal harmonies sounded like they could've been processed somewhat), but we'll see when I get my CD. And you can't really rip on Blaze's "I will give everything now, I will not wait"-type lyrics in a Maiden forum, when Maiden have blessed us with "comin' to getcha!" a good few times.
I agree it's a pretty safe album, it doesn't diverge too much from the sonic formula of the IE trilogy, but the songs on it are very consistently good, with a few great ones in there. Looking forward to giving it many good spins when it arrives.
The_7th_one
Ancient Mariner
Blaze is full of energy and creativity. He's happy writing and recording and get out on tour. He's hungry to bring his music to his fans and everybody who go to his gigs. I like his last album, I hope he sells a lot of them. He deserves it. He has released 4 studio albums and 1 Live album in 6 years. Maiden 1 studio album and an awful Live album. They're a f***ing lazy band.
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
Although I would not call Maiden's latest live album "awful", I wholeheartedly agree with you.
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Maiden are probably 40 years older than the school boys Blaze has backing him, cut them some slack. Nicko has his bus pass, they are under no obligation to do anything. They're in their final lap, and people need to come to terms with that, there's a reason they aren't busting out loads of new material, a sad reason, they are managing a slow wind down.
The_7th_one
Ancient Mariner
I meant awful because the copy-paste crowd noise between songs, not for the band sound. I don't know what the hell is that noise. But I'm sure if you put an amateur guy doing tricks with pro-tools it would be better than that. It's maybe the worse Live album I heard in which the crowd doesn't sound like a crowd in a pavilion . And I'm thinking if the band performance is not from Mexico and Steve has copy-paste some songs from different performances in other cities and called Bruce to record his Scream for me Mexico! to fix it. (Because I think videos from Mexico disappeared from Youtube). I don't know but I'm ashamed from that record.
The_7th_one
Ancient Mariner
But you can feel the passion that Blaze puts in each word in a interview discussing of the songs, the lyrics, the music. It's real passion. I hat know he has a young band behind him but when I see him singing in a gig he seems the youngest, He's alive. I'm talking about writing, recording, passion… when you look 6 years back, Maiden just reunites just for three months. I see blabbermouth and other news sites and everybody is writing and recording, or releasing new music although they can't play. Other example of stupidity is Anthrax, when Benante says that they won't release new music because they can't get out there to promote. The hungry for this band is over too. And Maiden has showed with their last album that they can release an album and get out touring 6 months after it. Many bands and artist are releasing phenomenal albums. Testament did a fantastic record, they can't tour but they will but meanwhile the fans are enjoying with their new music. Megadeth have worked in the new album last year remotely and they have recorded it later all together in the same place. Judas Priest have written the next studio album and even Rob Halford have writing songs for a album.
I don't know, Sometimes I feel that some bands have lost the hungry the interest and the passion many years ago.
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
The main reason why they are not busting out loads of new material is extending nostalgia tours over several calendar years because they do get together for roughly 3 months every year. They could easily, if they wanted, record and release new material and make justice to the PR line of not wanting to become a cabaret band.
Call me a cynic, but the money is in touring, not in remaining a creative entity.
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The_7th_one
Ancient Mariner
They will be older the next year playing the same f***ing show. They made millions with the stadiums and festivals shows these years, They know it and they still want to do it. With the announcement of the 3rd leg. One word: Greed. Two words: Cabaret band. They were exposed to the world. The tour had been a success and they wanted to make more money playing the same 'shit'. Perhaps they feel obligated to play that show or pay the money back to the fans, promoters, etc…if they cancel, I don't know how that circus works. But the relationship of the band with the fans is not there.
Their website is shit, twitter and social media are non-existent and they just use it when they want to sell us something, books, beers, football uniforms (who the hell is going to buy that kind of shit?) A FClub forum and membership that is not worth it, an endless mobile game that even themselves have played it.
Well they are old guys, yes, and maybe we will have to hear how Nicko made the intro of Where Eagles Dare for one million times and how they waste their last years playing the same shit doing the same show.
Blaze is going old but he's working on new stuff, as I said before, He has been more productive in 5 years than Maiden in the last 15 or 20 years. He's got all my respect just for that.