Iron Maiden's singer from 1995 till 1998, Blaze Bailey is often blamed for poor success of Maiden albums "X-Factor" and "Virtual XI." Personally, I do not think he is a bad singer at all, but he is such a far cry from Dickinson, that he hasn't had a chance to prove himself as an artist. After being booted, he started his own band, imaginatively titled "Blaze," which released its debut album, "Silicon Messiah," with Steve Wray (guitars), John Slater (guitars), Jeff Singer (drums), and Rob Naylor (bass). In the booklet to "SM," the band looks like it hasn't eaten in weeks. Albums "Tenth Dimension" (2002) and "Blood And Belief" (2005) were not quite as well received, and the act is still to live up to its potential, although Blaze's rumored love for the bottle may have something to do with it.
SILICON MESSIAH
(2000)
RATING: ****1/2
BEST SONGS: "The Brave," "Identity," "The
Launch"
Damn, this is the living proof for
"substance over form" argument. As a vocalist, Blaze Bailey is not
fit to shine Bruce Dickinson's shoes, but "Silicon Messiah" kicks
the daylights out of Brave New World. The music, the lyrics, the
sound, the spirit, and the overall "coolness" of this album are
beyond criticism. It just sounds fresh, heavy and crunchy, sometimes
even thrashy (god, could Maiden ever use some of that now!). It
starts with a blast of a track in "Ghost In The Machine," then moves
on to the more groove-oriented "Evolution" and "Silicon Messiah"
(has an intro that sounds a lot like Maiden's slower number; these
two songs may take some time to get used to), then rocks away with
"Born As A Stranger," "The Brave" ("Fortune favors the brave!" --
ooh, yeah!), and great psycho-track "Identity." The song "The
Launch" is a page straight out of Iron Maiden's book; I can swear he
wrote that galloping rhythm while still in Maiden. Above average
lyrics (mostly futuristic and anti-utopian in nature) and no accent
(Bailey is, after all, British) make this album a true gem.
Excellent production by Andy Sneap who also worked with Nevermore . Another words, this album is great, and now, when the online price has gone down (chances are you won't see it in stores, but you can find it on Century Media for $12), there's no excuse not to own it. And you know what? I'm actually starting to like Blaze's voice!
THE TENTH DIMENSION (2002)
RATING: ***1/2
BEST SONGS: "Nothing Can Stop Me," "Leap Of Faith"
Well, this is a serious step down from "SM." Why? No hits,
that's why! The idea behind the album is good (this has gotta be the
first music work in history based on both nuclear physics and
psychology), the booklet layout is great, the sound isn't bad either
(although it's not as punchy as on the debut), but. But most of the
songs border on boring, and that's not good at all. "Leap Of Faith"
comes the closest to being a hit, but it's such an obvious (and
weaker) derivation from "The Launch," that it's just lame. "Kill And
Destroy" is supposed to be a killer, but it doesn't even reach the
level of the obvious comparison standard of "Seek And Destroy" by You Know
Who. Title track and "Nothing Will Stop Me" are both
decent, but that's about it. What this album seriously lacks is
POWER. And that's a production problem. Goddamn it, Andy Sneap gave
us some of the most brutal power metal albums, this just doesn't
sound like him. "Speed Of Light" is kinda fast, but nowhere near as
fast as it supposed to be based on its title. Now here comes the
really bad part. Blaze's voice is quite weak. He sounds like he did
on the Maiden albums, and that's not good at all. Wailing in the
chorus to "Meant To Be" brings a tear to my eye, but for all the
wrong reasons. Yeah, it's the same man who sang on the debut, but he
is, for the lack of the better word, weak. Feeble. The lyrics...
well, it's commendable that Blaze doughtily tackled on these issues
and concepts, but the actual embodiment of his ideas is less than
stellar, reducing to the same old Maiden-esque cliches: "Is this the
dream world or is this the REAL world?" ("End Dream"), "I live
within walls and follow their rules, I've taken a path that I just
didn't choose" ("Meant To Be"), etc. How original. Btw, does anybody
notice how much does Blaze look like Billy Bob Thornton? Do you
think Angelina Jolie digs him too?
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