Band:

Blaze

BiografieYou know Blaze Bayley, don’t you? He fronted British metal band ‘Wolfsbane’, who released four albums of unrelenting raw energy and attitude between 1989 and 1993. Blaze was then chosen to take over as the frontman of one of the world’s greatest bands, Iron Maiden. He was the lead singer for five years, during which time he recorded two albums, the ‘X-Factor’ (1995) and ‘Virtual XI’ (1998). Since parting company with Iron Maiden in early 1999, Blaze Bayley has put his own band together called B L A Z E. They have written and recorded two studio albums, ‘Silicon Messiah’ (2000) and ‘Tenth Dimension’ (2002), and have toured extensively in Europe and South America.

Bayley is joined by four hungry young British musicians, who share his enterprise and vision, "When people found out that I was putting together a new band, I got loads of tapes and CDs from all over the world. Most of them were of a real high standard and it made choosing quite difficult. But I knew what I wanted were musicians with an edge, and a desire that matched my own, guys who are doing it because they love the music and playing live," says Blaze. The albums, produced by Andy Sneap (one of the hottest names around - Machine Head, Napalm Death, Stuck MoJo, Skin Lab among others) at Backstage Studios (Ripley, Yorkshire), proves Blaze´s point to the full. These are albums that certainly nod respectfully towards Bayley´s past, but it is definitely not stuck in reverse gear. The albums get right to the cutting edge of contemporary metal. Loud and proud they may be, but they also have welcome moments of subtlety, introspection, intelligence and articulacy.

Silicon Messiah features 10 songs. There are actually two themes connecting some of the songs. "I´ve been very interested in the development of computers for some while," says Blaze. "One of the classic sci-fi themes is the sentience, awareness and consciousness of computers. This theme was explored in two movies I´m very fond of: ´2001: A Space Odyssey´ (made in 1968) and ´Colossus: The Forbin Project´ (1969). It is interesting to explore the possibility that a silicon-based life form like a computer could conceivably become more powerful than carbon-based life forms like human beings. I´ve developed this idea on a few of the songs (including ´Ghost In The Machine´, ´Evolution´ and ´Silicon Messiah´).

"Another couple of the songs, for instance ´Stare At The Sun´, is about the human angle of travelling in deep space. NASA predicts that the main problem with such flights isn´t all technological, but it´s to do with whether people can deal with living alone and far away from home for such a long time, with no human contact".

"Musically, I wanted to reflect on this album the futuristic theme, but also to have real energy, power and melody. I also wanted to keep my vocals both melodic and strong, while trying to get across a little of my personality. That´s something I believe I have really learned to do over the last couple of recordings so this is me at my best."

Tenth Dimension follows on from Silicon Messiah in that the theme is scientific and futuristic in nature. This time, B L A Z E have gone for a full concept album with every song telling part of the story.

Tenth Dimension tells of a scientist named "Professor Christopher Blaine" who discovers a new dimension, the Tenth Dimension. Professor Blaine appeals for a Government grant to aid his research. He speaks to Doctor William Black who agrees to help him, however Dr Black turns out to be working for a government agency who wants to use Professor Blaine´s device as a weapon. Blaine discovers this (Land of the Blind) and decides to steal the machine (Stealing Time). He makes the ultimate sacrifice by killing himself and destroying the machine (Speed of Light & Stranger to the Light) to save humanity.

From the song titles, to the music, down to the lyrics in the booklet, all tell part of the story. You can listen to the album and appreciate each song on its own or you can read the lyrics and even research the background to try and understand the concept fully. Who is Dr. Robert Oppenheimer (see lyrics to Kill & Destroy)? What does he have to do with the story?…

Decide for yourself whether Blaze (both man and band) have succeeded. Both Silicon Messiah and Tenth Dimension are available WORLDWIDE and if you haven´t already then I suggest you get them pronto!

This latest album from B L A Z E, ‘As Live As It Gets’, as it’s name suggests, is a live album. It was produced by Andy Sneap (one of the hottest names around in the world of metal– Machine Head, Napalm Death, Stuck MoJo and Fozzy among others) at Backstage Studios (Ripley, England).



“We are at our best when we play live, so we took the opportunity to record our gigs in Switzerland and the U.K. during the Tenth Dimension Tour. We felt that the set we did on that tour was really special, and we should make it into an album. There’s our bastardised metal version of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Dazed and Confused, some Wolfsbane, our own interpretation of a few songs from X-Factor and Virtual XI, and our favourite tracks from Silicon Messiah and Tenth Dimension”, says Blaze Bayley.



The album is released in Europe on March 24th and USA/Canada/Mexico on April 29th.



Silicon Messiah and Tenth Dimension will be released in U.S.A. and Canada on February 25th 2003 by SPV Steamhammer/Navarre. As Live As It Gets will be released on April 28th 2003.
Quelle: http://www.planetblaze.com/?url=blazeband.htmDiscografieSilicon Messiah (2000)

Tenth Dimension (2002)

As Live As It Gets (2003)

Blood & Belief (2004)
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Reviews

As Live As It Gets - Cover
Erst zwei Studioalben draußen und dann schon eine Doppel Live CD "!"!..... so oder so ähnlich denken wohl ziemlich viele Headbanger auf der Welt.
Blood & Belief - Cover
Dass Mr. Bailey bei den Jungfrauen fehl am Platz war, hat wohl mittlerweile jeder eingesehen.
Tenth Dimension - Cover
Wem ist der Name Blaze Bayley nicht ein Begriff? Immerhin war er zwei Alben lang der Sänger von Iron Maiden, bevor er Bruce Dickinson weichen musste.