When
Blaze Bayley joined Iron Maiden I'm not sure people could have
predicted that Blaze would become such a force in the Metal
scene after his departure. There were mixed emotions about the
Blaze days with Maiden, but in reality, he never really had
a chance much like Ripper Owens did in Priest.
But
in all honesty, in the time period since he left Maiden, I have
enjoyed his work more than that Maiden's. If you havn't heard
his releases, find them, they are all solid works of Metal that
are obviously influenced by the NWOBHM, but they also have a
modern sound and completely avoid the "dungeons and dragons"
part of Metal. In other words, Blaze puts out timeless music
that kicks you in the teeth. There's nothing flashy, just solid
material.
This
is his second live release and again you hear why you need to
see the band live. The show is extremely energentic and intense.
Blaze has an extremely solid band behind him, these guys are
very accomplished players. And like his first live album, this
one sounds fantastic, his vocal strength is amazing, he doesn't
take short cuts and even adds to the songs.
He
does some of the Maiden material he helped with like "Futureal"
but the vast majority is off of his releases from the past decade,
which again are some of the most solid Metal you can find out
there.
