Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Bayley, Blaze
Label: SPV Records
Release: 2003
Rating: 3/5
I have to admit I was pretty surprised to hear that Blaze Bayley, best known as the former singer of Iron Maiden and Wolfsbane, was planning to put out a double live album after just his first two studio records, “Silicon Messiah” (2000) and “Tenth Dimension” (2002). It came out of the blue, especially after his health problems, which didn’t look good at all. So it’s all the more welcome to hear Blaze back in good vocal shape. Blaze set up his original solo project pretty ambitiously and turned it into a solid band, one with clearly defined musical guidelines that it never strays from. The setlist on the recording looks fairly impressive. Besides tracks from the two albums with his band, there are four songs from the Iron Maiden era (“When Two Worlds Collide”, “Virus”, “Sign Of The Cross” and “Futureal”) and one from his first band, Wolfsbane (“Steel”). On top of that comes an unusual cover of the Led Zeppelin classic “Dazed And Confused”.
The production is praiseworthy, and the feeling of studio polish is negligible. The sound is typical of a British outfit with roots in N.W.O.B.H.M. The band’s style is also in the manner of classic British-school heavy metal, but a lot of the material has elements that aren’t so typical of the genre. Some songs, especially from the latest album, sound pretty doomy (“Stranger To The Light”), while here and there you can catch a bit of thrash metal influence (“Ghost In The Machine”) and power metal (“Born As A Stranger”). The band sounds pretty confident, since these are seasoned musicians who know how to handle this stuff. The only thing that bugs me a bit is the running order, since the melancholic “Stare At The Sun” would fit better somewhere toward the end of the show.
I’d single out “Virus”, originally an Iron Maiden single from 1996, as a particularly nice surprise. The only tracks I miss are “The Launch” (Sillicon Messiah) and “Man On The Edge” (Iron Maiden-The X Factor, 1995). At the end, Blaze personally announces a complete “bastardization” of the Led Zeppelin classic “Dazed And Confused”. As for how it turned out, you’ll have to decide for yourself whether you like it. It definitely didn’t win me over. As for their takes on the Iron Maiden material, they offer a pretty convincing interpretation and a good live look at songs you rarely find on any release in a live version. In their Maiden interpretations Blaze sometimes go even further, especially in the triplet passages (which occasionally come off a bit too grooved-up), and then they really sound like a near-perfect Iron Maiden imitation. The rhythm section naturally doesn’t reach the Harris/McBrain level, even though it’s a technically very polished duo. Bayley’s dark, energetic vocals add even more weight to the apocalyptic tone of the music itself. The highlight of the show is an excellent version of “Sign Of The Cross”, which doesn’t fall far behind the original in performance.
If you already liked Blaze as Iron Maiden’s singer, or if you own any of his “solo” records (as mentioned, Blaze is the name of the band, not Bayley’s solo project), then you really shouldn’t hesitate to pick up this well-played live album. Blaze has successfully cashed in on his past, which is more than obvious on “As Live As It Gets” too. If nothing else, you can tell from the roaring ovations of the crowd. It’s definitely a live album that will delight most fans of Iron Maiden and classic heavy metal.
Lineup
Blaze Bayley – vocals
Steve Wray – guitar
John Slater – guitar
Rob Naylor – bass
Jeff Singer – drums
Production
Andy Sneap
Track List
CD1:
1. Speed Of Light
2. Two Worlds Collide
3. Steel
4. Kill And Destroy
5. End Dream
6. Stare At The Sun
7. Land Of The Blind
8. Silicon Messiah
9. Dazed And Confused
CD2:
1. Virus
2. Brave
3. Stranger To The Light
4. Identity
5. Sign Of The Cross
6. Futureal
7. Ghost In The Machine
8. Born As A Stranger
9. Tenth Dimension
