General fan vibe during the Blaze days

To give my speculations about the two prevailing mysteries:

I think Maiden didn't tune down for Blaze because they didn't realise this was necessary. I'm not a musician, so I feel awkward talking about this, but wouldn't that essentially mean they have to re-arrange and re-learn all those songs? Maybe they shied away from the effort and thought Blaze would adapt. Perhaps they felt it was sufficient to leave out numbers such as Run to the Hills or Aces High that they knew Blaze wouldn't be able to sing. Blaze himself probably didn't complain, so they (Steve?) didn't know what they were doing to him. I really think that Steve felt loyal to Blaze and stuck to him until the end, and I guess the story of Nicko playing him soundboard recordings makes sense.. there were indeed a few nights on the VXI tour that Blaze was less than stellar on. I maintain that he did his job fine most of the time (just listen to the Madrid bootleg!), but I guess he wasn't up to the standards Maiden would expect. I've always thought that Blaze simply didn't have what it took to get through a full-fletched Maiden tour. The fact that they had to cancel several weeks worth of gigs in America two tours in a row because he was faltering is, quite honestly, a legit reason to fire him, at least for a band that always put such strong emphasis on touring. You all know I love Blaze, but I've always understood why they had to let him go.

The mystery concerning the parallel release of Silicon Messiah and Brave New World may never be solved because maybe, there isn't even a proper reason for it. A record company as big as Sanctuary may have all kinds of trouble coordinating releases, and it's possible there was no other option. Of course, you could imagine it feeling awkward for Rod to promote and market a record by the guy he just fired, so he just tried to do away with it... but then, why sign him in the first place? Nevertheless, I don't look for a conspiracy here, I just think it was terrible timing. Obviously, Maiden had all kinds of priority, so concerns for Blaze's success may simply not have occurred to the management. In other words - Sanctuary just didn't care.
 
Pretty much agree here. Blaze had never done any proper touring compared to the 8 to 10 months of world tours that Maiden did at that time for every release. I think he was just worn out and after it didn't get any better on the Virtual tour they had to let him go.

Yup...Naturally all the effort and finance was put on the new Maiden album, which was a big thing now that Bruce and Adrian was back.. Blaze should never have agreed to continue being managed by Smallwood and Sanctuary to be honest .... Also I think that Maiden and Sanctuary did the right thing by not taking Blaze under their wing and given him support acts and what not...and instead let him stand on his own two feet .I can't imagine it being very cool either to be let go from Maiden and then watch them perform every night as their support act....Better to find your own way then....
 
Not sure if there is some confusion here, but Maiden were not signed to the Sanctuary record label when Brave New World came out - they were simply signed to Sanctuary management. In 2000, Maiden were signed to EMI worldwide except for the USA where they were signed to Portrait/Sony.

Of course, a decision was made by Sanctuary Management to release Blaze's debut on the same week as BNW and it could be argued this was a deliberate act of sabotage. One wonders if the release of Blaze's album was held back to ensure it didn't give Blaze a mouthpiece to badmouth Maiden before their own 'comeback'. It could be imagined that there was a fear that releasing Blaze's debut before BNW would have given Blaze ample press opportunity to bad mouth Maiden and by deferring the release of his debut to clash with BNW, they effectively silenced him.

A real shame, because though I am not a fan of him as a singer, it has to be said that Blaze has been very admirable in his stance towards Maiden.
And it is indeed a shame how he has career has turned out.

But it is not like Maiden have totally left him behind, as I believe their efforts in supporting him are considerable (the use of Steve's studio, appearances on Bruce's radio show).

That said, I think it a shame that they don't give his new releases any exposure on their website - I think that could be huge benefit to him.
 
SixesAlltheway said:
Yup...Naturally all the effort and finance was put on the new Maiden album, which was a big thing now that Bruce and Adrian was back.. Blaze should never have agreed to continue being managed by Smallwood and Sanctuary to be honest .... Also I think that Maiden and Sanctuary did the right thing by not taking Blaze under their wing and given him support acts and what not...and instead let him stand on his own two feet .I can't imagine it being very cool either to be let go from Maiden and then watch them perform every night as their support act....Better to find your own way then....
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From Blaze's perspective, I can imagine that he stuck with Sanctuary because it was the easiest option. He knew the people there, and he must have thought he could use his experience to his advantage. Remember he was determined to make it big at the time.
 
Honestly once he was let go by Maiden I don't think they owed him anything....All that talk about what Maiden and the management should/could have done for Blaze - I just don't get it...Like said, they did help him with some studio time and so..But I don't see why it was Maiden's job at the time to baby his career. Should Paul Di Anno have been support act on the Beast On The Road tour or World Piece tour just because he was the ex singer and needed a push? No, fuck that :p
 
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I really like Blaze, he's seems such a nice guy, always having time for his fans and being completely passionate about his music. And I don't think he really cares that he only plays really small gigs,

Next time he comes around my way for a concert, I'm definitely buying a ticket, as I really admire him.
 
I think Blaze has come to terms with the fact that he's a tiny underground act now. He advertises it as part of his identity, even 'crowdfunding' his albums. If anything, he can work a small venue really well and establishes a strong bond with his audience.
 
Perun said:
To give my speculations about the two prevailing mysteries:

I think Maiden didn't tune down for Blaze because they didn't realise this was necessary. I'm not a musician, so I feel awkward talking about this, but wouldn't that essentially mean they have to re-arrange and re-learn all those songs?
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Not really. Everything would be exactly the same except the guitar techs have to tune the guitars lower before the concert and maybe use heavier gauged strings.

I really don't think there was any conspiracy against Blaze. I just don't see any reason for it. Blaze's post Maiden career was pretty doomed from the start, at best he'd get a slightly bigger following than what he ended up with. No amount of bashing or high sales for Silicon Messiah would hurt Maiden in any way. I don't see any scenario where Maiden with Bruce isn't the winning horse. Seems to me like it was either laziness or obliviousness or care on the label's part. I doubt there was any intention to ruin the man's career. it'd be too much effort for no good reason.
 
harrisdevot said:
Honestly, do you think he would have agreed to open for a a band he was fronting one or wo years before ? It would have been very difficult I think.
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That's a very good question. It would only be speculation, but I think he would. Blaze doesn't seem the "stubbornly proud" type, as he's admitted post-Maiden he's had to get day jobs like working in a wheelbarrow factory, etc. From a promotional standpoint, opening for Maiden would have been a no-brainer for him (had it been offered). I mean, those Maiden fans would have been his absolute target audience. Winning some of them back by showcasing a set full of strong Silicon Messiah material and singing those songs live written for his range could have definitely turned some heads and perhaps given him a running start on his solo career.

But who knows? Maybe he was offered it, and turned it down. I doubt it, but you never know unless you're one of the guys involved. I'll have to ask him if he ever comes back through the US.

As for whether Maiden even OWED him anything...not necessarily, no. But he did get a bum deal getting sacked for the "prettier ex-girlfriend," so to speak, and he was always 100% committed to Maiden through the '90s, whereas the aforementioned ex-girlfriend--not so much. So yeah, deserving of a little help? Sure. Owed? Probably not.

And the above "should they have given Di'Anno an opening slot" argument isn't analogous to the Blaze situation (being Di'Anno was fired for drugs, laziness, etc.).
 
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IM doesn't owe anything to Blaze imo. actually Blaze owe them. he made a name for himself being the voice of Iron Maiden not the other way around. I believe he would have toured with IM for the BNW tour as the opening band, but I bet the slot was never offered to him.

again, I don't have the slightest issues with Blaze, and Silicon Messiah is a very good album, but Blaze should have never fronted IM. his type of voice just doesn't fit...

edit: btw, I doubt the releasing of BNW and SM albums on the same week was pure coincidence... especially knowing how all these labels and management corporations work...

edit 2: for an example of downtuning listen to an 80's or 90's Megadeth song played live today. Mustaine hardly has a voice anymore so they needed to downtune. it's basically the same song played in a lower key...
 
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cynick said:
IM doesn't owe anything to Blaze imo. actually Blaze owe them. he made a name for himself being the voice of Iron Maiden not the other way around. I believe he would have toured with IM for the BNW tour as the opening band, but I bet the slot was never offered to him.

again, I don't have the slightest issues with Blaze, and Silicon Messiah is a very good album, but Blaze should have never fronted IM. his type of voice just doesn't fit...

edit: btw, I doubt the releasing of BNW and SM albums on the same week was pure coincidence... especially knowing how all these labels and management corporations work...

edit 2: for an example of downtuning listen to an 80's or 90's Megadeth song played live today. Mustaine hardly has a voice anymore so they needed to downtune. it's basically the same song played in a lower key...
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Or Judas Priest. With Ripper they usually tuned to D, and they have tuned to D# with Rob since his return (although Rob played the original key with the Halford band during the 2010 tour. They did three or so Priest songs).

Priest sounds great in D#. Maiden could've easily tuned down to D# without it affecting their sound too much.

Edit: On a related note:
10411135_713927008721929_2529648123563560367_n.jpg
 
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yeah, a bit surprised JP downtuned in the Ripper era, as he's a nice competent vocalist. or maybe they downtuned because they wanted to sound heavier, seeing it was the Jugulator/Demolition era. Ripper could sing the falsettos with the best of them, I didn't think he needed help playing those classic JP songs.

great pic.
 
cynick said:
yeah, a bit surprised JP downtuned in the Ripper era, as he's a nice competent vocalist. or maybe they downtuned because they wanted to sound heavier, seeing it was the Jugulator/Demolition era. Ripper could sing the falsettos with the best of them, I didn't think he needed help playing those classic JP songs.

great pic.
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Ripper has said he could've done it in the original key. Jugulator was written even before Ripper was hired, so Priest were already going down that route.
I myself would've preferred Priest with Ripper in D#, at least on the Halford songs. But they sounded great in D still.
 
Taken today, as they are embarking on their joint tour (along with Mike Vescera. So maybe Ripper and Mike will trade some Yngwie horror stories).
 
Yax said:
Or Judas Priest. With Ripper they usually tuned to D, and they have tuned to D# with Rob since his return (although Rob played the original key with the Halford band during the 2010 tour. They did three or so Priest songs).

Priest sounds great in D#. Maiden could've easily tuned down to D# without it affecting their sound too much.
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Why have Priest tuned down? And - to play the ignorant here. How does one semi-tone matter that much for the singer? Have they written so many songs where the highest note in the vocal line coincides with the highest note in Rob's earlier range?
 
Dr. Eddies Wingman said:
Why have Priest tuned down? And - to play the ignorant here. How does one semi-tone matter that much for the singer? Have they written so many songs where the highest note in the vocal line coincides with the highest note in Rob's earlier range?
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Well. Rob's natural voice is about a semi tone lower nowadays than in the 80's - Happens with age. And his head voice isn't as effortless as it used to be and his upper voice, belting ish, none screaming technique sounds different than in the 80's (Staaaand by for the exciter). That semi tone makes it easier to pull it off night after night. Plus they sound heavier that way and I'm sure that's part of the reason on its own merit.

Sebastian Bach, one of my favorite singers, would definitely benefit from tuning down half a step nowadays. He has lost his belting technique and just presses his chest and normal head voice up instead. His falsetto screams are still great though and he maintains his powerful distortion technique, but he doesn't have the natural range he did.

Tuned down, (Live w Steel Panther, guest vocals)

Compared to this


Bach still makes awesome records, and still pulls it off live (except for when he's out of tune though...), but he was way better 10 years ago in my opinion, when he sang in a slightly different way. His vibrato is still golden. I have always loved his vibrato, blows most other famous rock singers vibratos out of the water.
 
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His vibrato is goooolden though. Ignore the auto tune (all contestants of the stupid TV sow he appeared on here were auto tuned. Bach didn't really need it though, and it's not very prominent here. The Queen cover, only really had a couple of actually dull notes, but the tuning on there sounds ridiculous.)

I would kill for a proper cover of this, like a bonus track for his next release.
 
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