Blaze Bayley - Takes you on a trip down memory lane!

***1/2

Delights fans with some Maiden classics!

Hard Rock Hell 

Blaze Bayley ***1/2 is the first on of the Iron Maiden Ex singers this weekend and I always thought that Blaze did a good job in the position that every Metal fan in theory wanted, but who actually wants to spend their life being compared to previous singer Bruce Dickinson. Blaze Bayley is a great singer and he had already earned his stripes when he joined Maiden with his band Wolfsbane, hence why Steve Harris and the boys had asked him to try out for the position in the first place.

He stayed in Iron Maiden for fiver years and produced two album with them 'The X Factor' in 1995 and 'Virtual XI' in 1998, the same as original singer Paul Di'Anno who also produced two albums with the giants of British Metal. These albums also spurned some pretty killer singles from 'Man on the Edge' to 'Futureal' and also an extra compilations single 'Virus' which was a great song and Blaze put some amazing vocals to it. 

I really respect Blaze for doing a double Maiden vocalist performance tour but he could have picked a better backing band, these bunch of goons that him and Paul Di'Anno have picked are way below par and would even struggle to fill the position in an Iron Maiden tribute band. The good thing though is Blaze is actually on form today and really shows them up with a strong vocal performance. 

He launches strait onto the stage and into the crowd for 'The X Factor' favourite 'Lord of the Flies' a song I have always loved "Saints and sinners, something within us! We are lord of the Flies" references to the demons in us like in the book 'Lord of the Flies' written by William Golding. Like nearly all Iron Maiden songs they refer to parts of history, books and the humanity of mankind so this song really ticks all the boxes and Blaze sings in really well today.  

The only problem I have with some of his performance is that it get's a bit samey and he is a bit chaotic at times and needs to sit back and let his voice do the talking, I think Blaze sometimes has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder about singing some of the Iron Maiden material because it get's a bigger cheer than some of his own in his solo set, this is just because people know the songs it's no reflection on Blaze's material because it is equally as good if not better. It's just people sing for the songs they know and when Blaze realises this I think he will be a better performer and singer. 'Futureal' sounds killer, and Blaze seems to put even more of himself in it and 'Judgement of Heaven' a weird choice of song passes the time a little. 

This is made up well by amazing versions of 'Lightning strikes Twice' and 'Sign of the Cross' the later a song that Bruce did some amazing versions of a few tours ago with Iron Maiden and Blaze tries to win it back as his own. This is hard but he seems to conquer with his distinctive vocal style but is let down again by the terrible playing of the backing band that sometimes seems out of time and totally wrong for these songs. For a start one of the guitarists is playing a Les Paul guitar a instrument that Iron Maiden hardly use at all in all the years they have been around, maybe it is a little more right for the Paul Di'Anno set because I think Dennis Stratton used one of them but not in the Blaze years.

'Blood on the World's Hands' also might not have been my choice of songs to sing and is a little long winded but it's made up by one of the most popular Blaze era songs 'The Clansman' which sounds as great as it ever has done before, by Bruce or Blaze. He ends with 'Man on the Edge' probably the song that made me instantly accept Blaze into my heart, it's fast, it's heavy, it's just brilliant and it makes me know why I have been looking forward to his set all week.

Ok this is not the best time I have seen Blaze, but it's really nice to see him doing the Iron Maiden material... I just wish the backing band had been better so the songs were done justice to. If you don't know the Blaze Iron Maiden albums then I strongly recommend you check them out because they are brilliant and his doubters should be shot. People moan about things from the past and don't look what they have in the present, so Blaze has always got an undeserved hard time and the stupid fools that didn't listen to his material with Iron Maiden really missed out.

Blaze Bayley - Setlist
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Lord of the Flies
Futureal
Judgement of Heaven
Lightning strikes Twice
Sign of the Cross
Blood on the World's Hands
The Clansman
Man on the Edge

Review and Photo's by Dan Devour 

Check Out! the Iron Maiden Video for 'Man on the Edge' Below...