Blaze – As Live as it Gets
As I listen to “As Live as it Gets” I can’t help but think that Blaze Bayley really got a bad rap for singing in the coveted Iron Maiden. He really does have a good voice… sure it may not have always fit in with the Maiden aesthetic, or the material he was singing over was very uninspired (hence the agonizingly repeated chorus’), I feel that Blaze sets the record straight on this ambitious 2 CD live set. On his own material, his voice never annoys and the tracks are actually very solid/moving. Mixed in with tracks from his “Silicon Messiah” and “Tenth Dimension” solo efforts, are songs from his other musical pursuits. “Steel” is a kickback from his Wolfsbane days and his new band rocks through the following Maiden songs: “Two Worlds Collide”, “Virus”, “Sign of the Cross”, “Futureal” and they close out disc 1 with a Zeppelin cover for “Dazed and Confused”. “As Live as it Gets” has been an eye opener to a voice that is simple in it’s midrange tone, yet surging with a controlled power. If you had a passing interest in the mans work with Iron Maiden, I think this live effort will be a good place for the uneducated to get a taste of Blaze’s talent and his music the way it was meant to be experienced… in front of an appreciative crowd. – Marty
SPV
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