It is one of life’s horrible ironies that when RTM walks into Route 44 Blaze Bayley is at the Merchandise stand saying hello to people, and while he is doing this Iron Maiden’s “Wicker Man” is blasting out through the speakers.
There isn’t time for the back story here, but Blaze has been to the top as the singer of the worlds greatest band, now he’s well….at the other end of the scale, playing to 50 people in Acocks Green. “Your time has come” sings Bruce Dickinson – the man who Blaze replaced and then subsequently replaced him again in 2000 – and Blaze surely wouldn’t be human if he didn’t have a pang of jealousy.
2011 has been a challenging year for the singer, one which has seen him disband the previous incarnation of the group due to financial pressures (a real shame as they were fantastic), have to battle the bailiffs and go back to a full time job.
Thankfully at least it is ending on a high, though, with the reunited Wolfsbane playing sold out shows and releasing a brilliant and ambitious new album and the resumption of his other career as a solo artist – this is the more metal of the two, and the incarnation, you suspect, that Blaze himself prefers.
He has certainly got a fine support band for this pre-Christmas trek. Stourbridge’s Disarm Goliath . The five piece have long been – in the RTM’s opinion anyway – the best unsigned band in the Midlands , and now they are ready to spread the word further afield.
You know the drill, you know the reference points, Priest, Maiden, Dio, a little bit of Merciful Fate here and there, but it is delivered with such conviction and skill that a little familiarity does no harm at all. “Who Rules The Night” and “Enter The Abyss” are standout moments and augur well for the upcoming debut album and they find time to air “Breaking the Law” too. Magnificent. Now lets make them stars shall we?!
If there was any justice in the world Blaze Bayley would be a star too, but he seems genuinely appreciative of the support he gets from his loyal followers, thanking us “for giving me the opportunity to share my songs with people who love this music.”
He deserves more, of course, in 2008 he released the “Man Who Would Not Die” album, which is right up there with any metal album of the last 10 years, and as always he plays a smattering from this record together with some from the more recent “Promise and Terror” with “Watching The Night Sky” particularly impressive.
“Ghost in the Machine” is delivered with its usual passion and “Kill and Destroy” is turned into a singalong, it is a magnificent and uplifting collection of songs.
The problem – if that be the right word – is the spectre of Maiden itself and those years he spent behind the mic stand in the 1990s. Stellar solo song “Voices from the Past” always seems apt when it’s sung, because Blaze peppers these shows with songs from his Irons days, and they are excellent of course, but “Virus” aside, which is a welcome addition, you want him to leave the history behind and focus on his own superb repertoire. A fact he acknowledges himself when he admits he will be moving away from so many Maiden songs next time around.
The Blaze Bayley band returns next year with a World Tour and an album entitled King of Metal. And, whilst that name might not be quite true, he definitely remains the Crown Prince and beating heart of its underground.
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