Metal Reviews

I have to agree for the most part with the trooper of steel. while Blaze is clearly no bruce, he and the band still do a admirable job of taking maiden in a new directon with a fresher sound. futureal, for example, ranks pretty highly in my favourite maiden songs ever. simply awesome.

I thhink the style of Maiden through the Blaze period was partially forged by his lack of range. My biggest problem with the Blaze IM albums don't directly relate to Blaze though. It's the muddy production. There were some decent songs almost ruined by the mix. Many have determined this had to do with Steve's hearing loss.

Maybe Steve's attitude is a little different with Bruce and Adrian around. When those two are in the band, there seems to be more songwriting by people other than Steve. He seems to trust those two and with them around, trust everyone more. Maybe this goes for the mixing too. I wonder if his willingness to have a hands on producer like Kevin Shirley there to prevent those muddy mixes has to do with Bruce and Adrian being in tha band.

just finished listening to X Factor for the first time.. and its a very solid album (in the 80s somewhere) - both in songwriting and singing. I certainly enjoyed it a lot more than its predecesor, the mostly uninteresting Fear of the Dark.

All of maiden albums are at least solid, Blaze its a great singer but definitely better on his solo albums.

yes, you can just tell he's trying to sound like Bruce on the maiden albums.

That it so not true. Blaze is doing his own thing when he was in Maiden, sung his OWN way, thats why the music sounds different to any Dickinson Maiden album. The change of music suited his style. The reason he sings differently on his solo albums is because the music is totally different to Maiden.
One example of how Blaze sounds different and not trying to be Bruce, is Dickinsons effort of Sign Of The Cross on Rock In Rio....subpar compared to Blaze's original version on X-Factor

Blaze did try to do Bruce-like things from time to time though. For example, he tried to hit high notes in Man on the Edge that never quite made it. He's at his best when he keeps his voice in the lower octaves. that's where Blaze's real power is. The higher he goes, the weaker his voice gets.

I agree about Sign of the Cross, but Bruce gets a little off live sometimes because he is so active on stage. You can tell he runs himself out of breath at times, etc. It's hard to compare a studio performance from one person to the live from another. My problem with Blaze on that studio version is also a problem I have with him on a few other tracks with IM as well. He sometimes falls a little flat, like he's 1/2 step out of key. I didn't notice it upon first listen to those songs, but over time, it got to me.

All-in-all though, I like Blaze as a singer. he is talented and has an awesome tone to his voice when he keeps within his range. I think he's better suited to his own music than IM.

The only time Blaze goes high on man on the edge is when he shouts "Falling Down" and its hardly that high. He cant always sing with just one pitch, how boring would that be. He has passion in his voice which caries every song he sings.
I've listened to X-Factor and Virtual XI hundreds of times and i havent heard any probs with Blaze's vocals, but each to his own. I have no probs with the way he sings, i enjoy it very much. Cant sence that he may be 1/2 step out of key, but again, each to his own.
I cant say whether he's suited to just his own music. He did a very good job as IM vocalist and would probably still be the lead singer if Dickinson hadnt of come back. Me personally, i still wish Blaze was still the lead singer of Maiden as Bruce's last two efforts with Maiden havent been that flash. Most would agree that some of Dickinson's greatness has disappeared over time as he gets older, but is still one of the better vocalists out there. I prefered recent Maiden with a darker feel like Blaze presented with X-Factor, but what they are now and where they are going is kinda hard to tell. But hey, 25 years is a long time for a metal band...

I'm one of those that likes Dance of Death, but Bruce has definitely lost some range. To me though, that's improved his vocals in the mid-range as he seems to work harder at that now. I also like that their music now is not as light as it was years ago but not as dark as with Blaze. I don't think IM has the personality to stay that dark for too long, and I believe the songwriting would eventually have suffered. I do wish those albums would be remastered though to fix the muddy production.

I'm not saying Blaze hasn't impressed me at times. I don't expect any singer to sing without variation, but there are some great singers who manage to impress and be emotional while not having having much range. I just believe in people utilizing their gifts and doing the best with it creatively instead of pushing things they can't do. One example of Blaze I love is his performance on Futureal. That song could easily have been an older IM song with Bruce, but Blaze didn't try to do anything Bruce would have done, and it sounded awesome.

You're right though - to each his own.

I think Blaze is a too good of a singer to want to copy anybody and he doesnt need to. And he didnt. There are a lot of awesome songs from the Blaze Maiden era which people write-off just because its Blaze and not Bruce...i find that rather shallow.
Sign Of The Cross is easily in the top 10 best Maiden songs and others like The Edge Of Darkness, Futureal, When Two Worlds Collide, Lightning Strikes Twice and The Clansman are not far behind.
I'm not saying that Dance of Death and Brave New World were bad, its just that i felt there were things missing from those albums which were there during the 80's. The songs are more standard, straight-forward...sometimes bland. Not as creative as they used to be. But there still are some great tracks like The Wickerman, The Fallen Angel, Dance Of Death, New Frontier, Out Of The Silent Planet and Rainmaker....although the best of those would be The Wickerman, the others, good as they are, will always be beaten by their 80's/90's material.

I wouldn't ever write off Blaze. Like you with the last two albums, I have some songs I really like from that era, and although I have problems with the way he sings some songs, I still think he's a good singer.

X Factor would have been a 70/100 with Bruce

I could not disagree with you more TIE!!!!

The dark feeling which made X Factor so unique(i know you find it average,but sometimes you're wrong)is lost without Blaze.

Congratulations,for your opinion about X Factor,Virtual XI and Blaze in general,one of the most underrated singers ,etc...


Shame on you about Killers and Piece of Mind.Go back to the rock'n'roll school,dude!You've spent to much time listening to 7th Son!!!!!

Prodigal Son,Purgatory and Twilight Zone average?

Wake up man!!!Maybe it's not too late!

Opinions dont mean your right and i'm wrong. They are opinions. Personal taste. Yes, Killers didnt do anything for me and IMO those tracks i mentioned sound average to my ears.

Piece of Mind is a good album, so why the hissyfit? It is around the middle of the pack because thats where i feel it belongs compared to Maidens other releases.
POM, IMO, has 2 absolute killer tracks: Flight Of Icarus and The Trooper. I usually find myself sometimes skipping 2 tracks: Revelations and Die With Your Boots On. The rest of the tracks are good, but missing that "killer" edge.
You may think differently about this album, thats your opinion which is fine and i have no problem with. So dont have a problem with my opinions or taste. They arent fact....

Skip die with your boots on?? are you mad? its one of the best songs on there, and gets even better live...

Yes, i dont particularly like Die With Your Boots On, there's just something about it that annoys me. Maybe the structure or the way its sung, whatever. For me, i sometimes skip it. Yes, it does sound better live, i'll admit.

OK ,you're right man,piece and love !!!

After all opinions come and go.But Sun and Steel and To Tame a Land are more than killer tracks(the same goes for Twilight Zone and Purgatory),imo!

Actually i prefer Revelations!!

See thats where we are all different. We all love Maiden, but have different opinions about their songs. Particular songs appeal to this person while it doesnt to another person. Sun and Steel and To Tame A Land are good, dont get me wrong...but as you call them killers, i dont. IMO, good but not killers.