Blaze Bayley

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Black Abyss Babe said:
I really disagree here - the Janick haters are noisy on social media but compared to the hundreds of thousands of screaming fans that turn up for the concerts (who aren't screaming "Janick go home" so far as I can tell) I really don't think they are significant at all. (They just want you to think they are!) Also I would take a punt that most of them at least belong to the contingent of "fans" who lost interest in the '90s, then came back at the reunion expecting a fasttrack back to Powerslave (or whatever constitutes the "glory days" in their tiny minds), then they blamed Janick when that didn't happen.
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I can vividly remember Janick being constantly criticised during the 90s for butchering Adrian's solos from fans who were still following Maiden, so it was something that was going on way before the reunion.

Black Abyss Babe said:
The issue with Blaze is different though, and there was a real issue there: whoever or whatever might have been responsible, it just sounds like his general health wasn't up to the touring they were doing. It was the same situation as with Di'Anno (although he really had brought it on himself): basically they just couldn't rely on him to be able to give a performance when he needed to, and shows were being cancelled as a result. And if they had just issued a large amount of bonds, they couldn't afford to lose money on the touring.
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The issue with Blaze is that he was not good enough, plain and simple. In a way, he was quite lucky we did not have Youtube to dissect his live performances. That being said, he tried his best and, let's face it, he was trying to replace someone who is irreplaceable.

Black Abyss Babe said:
I do like Blaze, I appreciate his contribution to Maiden (especially some of the songs he wrote - "Como Estais Amigos" is one of the best Maiden songs ever imo) and I think he did and still does have an amazing voice. I'm just not convinced he was really right as Maiden's frontman. But I'm happy for him that he is now doing his own thing on his own terms, and if he play a show near to me I shall certainly try to go and see him. All the best Blaze - wishing you success, long life and happiness!
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I still think Blaze is a mediocre singer and fairly limited (so is Ozzy and I love early Black Sabbath) but I quite like some of his solo albums (Silicon Messiah, Tenth Dimension and The Man Who Would Not Die in particular). I hope he continues releasing good quality music and hope to see him live whenever he comes to this neck of the woods.
 
Fair enough, but the point still stands that the Janick bashers are in the minority. The fact is that Maiden hold on to him because they know that the band as a whole works better with him in it, and the majority of fans are happy with this outcome (whether they think they like him or not). For poor old Blaze, whatever the reason, that just didn't happen. If a few naysayers had been the only problem there then I really think that Maiden would have brazened it out and four years in the majority would have fully accepted him, or at least got used to him; therefore I must conclude that the decision to remove him was taken because the band had realised that in the long run it just wasn't going to work.

And if people stay home because they don't like it that's okay, isn't it? Other people will come in who do like it, and the '90s was a bad time for metal generally. Maiden need to stay true to themselves and one of their greatest strengths is that they have consistently done so from the off. Let's not forget that the original run of Deep Purple eventually called it a day because they realised that they had become irrelevant to themselves - no-one would want Maiden to suffer the same fate I think.
 
Black Abyss Babe said:
Fair enough, but the point still stands that the Janick bashers are in the minority. The fact is that Maiden hold on to him because they know that the band as a whole works better with him in it, and the majority of fans are happy with this outcome (whether they think they like him or not). For poor old Blaze, whatever the reason, that just didn't happen.
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A frontman/singer is really different than a guitar player .. especially in Maiden where .. as great as the three of them are .. they are not really front and center like traditional lead guitar players .. ala Blackmore, Eddie Van Halen, etc.

The massive drop in interest is not Blaze's fault, it started before Bruce left ... trends, new bands coming up, etc. In retrospect, Bruce leaving and coming back was the best thing that could have happened to Maiden ... but there is no doubt in my mind they would not be anywhere near where they are now with Blaze or anyone else except for Bruce. I tend to doubt they would still exist actually.

Bruce is the voice of Maiden ... period.
 
bearfan said:
Compared to now and the 80s ... that would be all countries
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They didn't play bigger venues during the 80's in all countries.

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The same venue in Sweden (8000 capacity), 14 years apart. Just an example.
 
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bearfan said:
The massive drop in interest is not Blaze's fault, it started before Bruce left ... trends, new bands coming up, etc. In retrospect, Bruce leaving and coming back was the best thing that could have happened to Maiden ... but there is no doubt in my mind they would not be anywhere near where they are now with Blaze or anyone else except for Bruce. I tend to doubt they would still exist actually.
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Absolutely. Blaze allowed the band's popularity to wane in the 90's and then Bruce's return allowed them to sky rocket back to stardom because of the excitement. If they had made two more 90's albums with Bruce, I tend to agree that they would have continued losing steam and probably be done by now.

In essence, Blaze took a bullet for the band's longevity and made it possible for them to be bigger than ever today.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Absolutely. Blaze allowed the band's popularity to wane in the 90's and then Bruce's return allowed them to sky rocket back to stardom because of the excitement. If they had made two more 90's albums with Bruce, I tend to agree that they would have continued losing steam and probably be done by now.

In essence, Blaze took a bullet for the band's longevity and made it possible for them to be bigger than ever today.
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That and we got some really good solo albums from Bruce as a very nice bonus

Edit: I should add, some good stuff from Adrian as well
 
It really was good for everybody. We got two Maiden albums that produced at least two classic tracks and had a handful of commonly-accepted-as good songs, some absolutely brilliant Bruce material, a cool Adrian album, then the reunion inspired many new classic Maiden songs and gave us Silicon Messiah. So...thanks Blaze!
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
In essence, Blaze took a bullet for the band's longevity and made it possible for them to be bigger than ever today.
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I think this essentially sums it up and Blaze himself also seems to see it this way, judging by recent interviews. But I can still wince for the poor guy, what a horrible thing to have to go through ...
MrKnickerbocker said:
It really was good for everybody. We got two Maiden albums that produced at least two classic tracks and had a handful of commonly-accepted-as good songs, some absolutely brilliant Bruce material, a cool Adrian album, then the reunion inspired many new classic Maiden songs and gave us Silicon Messiah. So...thanks Blaze!
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Indeed - thanks Blaze!
 
Black Abyss Babe said:
I think this essentially sums it up and Blaze himself also seems to see it this way, judging by recent interviews. But I can still wince for the poor guy, what a horrible thing to have to go through ...
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Exactly.

I would really like them to bring Blaze as support act for a few shows. Just give the guy a break. Blaze embodies passion for music and has released a chunk of great albums on his own. Will never happen though. If it was something that Steve would allow (maybe Blaze isn't intereted either) I'd imagine it would already have happened. Blaze's career would likely benefit greatly from it though. Maiden fans are a huge potential base for him, but only a fraction seem to be familiar with his post Maiden efforts.
 
So I saw Blaze sing for Wolfsbane on their first tour when they opened for Dark Angel & Overkill. Then I saw him sing for Maiden on TXF tour.
Now, finally, I am getting a chance to see his solo band. That means I am finally listening to his solo material. Love the new CD as well as his first. I like IE...except for the title track. Those vocals are really annoying on that song...

Even though Blaze is playing Houston (where I live), I will be out of town that weekend. So instead, I am driving to Austin the night before to see him.
 
TheTalisman said:
I don't think Blaze has had a dayjob for the last 9 years or so, but I think he worked as a shop assistant between 2004-2006, when he had nearly nothing going on. These days, he is out playing nearly all the time + he has done a lot of guest vocals to have an additional income. And he actually sells a few records on his own label too.
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Sounds similar to Mark Tornillo (singer for Accept). He is an electrician in between tours.
 
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