950. Blaze / Silicon Messiah. 2000. 4.5/5

There was probably no one in the world of music, not even the man himself in a deep and unrequited part of his mind, that believed that Iron Maiden would be a long term proposition with lead singer Blaze Bayley at the helm of the band. They had had too much history, all of it majorly successful both in album quality and concert ticket sales, to believe that they could continue down the same path with a new lead singer who was not Bruce Dickinson. Yes, Blaze had come in with enthusiasm, he had contributed to the writing process, and he had sung the new songs well. The problem that arose very quickly was that the songs were vastly different from the band’s most successful era, something the fan base had great trouble getting behind. The other problem that came about was that the band were unwilling to make any rearrangements of the songs that they chose to play in the live environment, no doubt feeling as though it would be a hit to their credibility to do so. What it ended up achieving was making it very difficult for their lead singer to sing the older songs in the style that the band and fans had come to expect them. Anyone who saw the band live during this period, or has heard bootleg live albums of the period (as no official live album exists from this era of Iron Maiden) would have heard Blaze Bayley performing excellently on the songs from the two albums that he performed on, and also on some selected songs from the previous era (“Afraid to Shoot Strangers” for instance is one song that he did very well in the live environment), but with some of the Dickinson classics, such as “2 Minutes to Midnight” and “The Trooper” and “The Evil That Men Do”, he clearly struggled. This caused more problems for the band when on the world tour to promote the “Virtual XI” album, they were forced to reschedule and even cancel some shows due to issues that Blaze had with his voice and throat as a result of this constant pressure. Janick Gers was one who came out after this and suggested that these problems were caused by forcing him sings songs that were pitched well outside his natural range.
Blaze and Iron maiden had already begun planning for the follow up to “Virtual XI”, with songs such as “The Nomad”, “Dream of Mirrors” and “The Mercenary”, with Blaze having composed some lyrics for “Dream of Mirrors” and also working on some of his own contributions. All of this came to a head in January 1999, when Blaze was asked to forgo his position in Iron Maiden, who in his place brought in the only man who was capable of saving their reputation, Bruce Dickinson. It was an inauspicious and frankly disappointing way for Blaze’s tenure in the band to come to its conclusion.
On the back of this, after a short spell to come to terms with what had occurred, Bayley put into place the steps to start a solo career. However, it was still to be a band project of a similar build that he had just come from, rather than just he going out on his own, and that band and project would eventually be called BLAZE. He recruited two guitarists in Steve Wray and John Slater, bass guitarist Rob Naylor and drummer Jeff Singer. The question that must have been in his mind would have been 'will anyone be following what I'm doing' given the huge smothering of publicity Iron Maiden's returning superstars were garnering for their new release “Brave New World”. The answer to that question at the time was 'I am, Blaze'.

As mentioned in the first part of this episode, from all reports Blaze had been working on material that he was hoping to have become a part of the follow up to “Virtual XI” when he was informed of the decision to move on without him. This material formed the basis of the beginnings of this album. It was always going to be an interesting direction as to what the material would sound like. Much of his two albums with Iron Maiden had been ponderous and somewhat sluggish, even while faster songs like "Futureal" seemed to suit Blaze's style better. As it turns out, the styles here are mixed in a similar way, and the similarly themed songs build together in a conceptual way to add to the progression of the album.
The album kicks off with the excellent "Ghost in the Machine", a heavy crunching track that combines a great heavy riff opening drum beat that drags you into the opening vocal. This is immediately a heavier opening than expected, and also it should be mentioned immediately the music suits Blaze’s vocals from the outset. The grumbling bassline gives the twin guitars the chance to riff over the top and the thumping drum beat emphasises Blaze’s superb vocal through the song. This is the first track that Blaze Bayley offers you post-Maiden, and you can't help but be impressed by it. I know that I was when I first heard it, and I still love it now. A great chorus and built-in crowd participation piece late in the song makes it a beauty. The way he changes from low to high vocal range through the song showcases the change up he is capable of producing. "Evolution" follows up with a more progressive output and a slower heavier undertone throughout, nicely transferring with tempo changes throughout. Blaze’s vocals are energetic and forthright during the song, driving the powered clash with the guitar solos in the middle of the track which retain the structured style of the track. This segues straight into title track
"Silicon Messiah", which combines the quiet, the heavy and the anthemic chorus all within the mainframe of the song. “Silicon Messiah” slightly channels the structure of those Maiden sings he had played on with the quiet guitar opening, but in a far shorter and stronger format. Once again the tempo changes within the song act as the boardwalks between verse and chorus as Blaze provides his anthemic finish to each chorus in his inimitable way. These opening three songs all carry a familiar style within, both thematically and structurally, and they offer a great atmospheric opening to the album.
"Born As a Stranger" is a slightly faster tempo and bounding with more energy, combined with great solos and soaring vocals from Blaze. It acts as a real kickstart to the middle of the album. The song is based on the Robert A. Heinlein novel Stranger in a Strange Land and was originally intended for Iron Maiden. Blaze began writing the track for the follow up to "Virtual XI”, but when he was given his release papers he instead repurposed the song for “Silicon Messiah”. This song especially showcases his vocals and HIS range, and remains one of his best songs in his career. This is followed by "The Hunger", which falls back into a mid tempo heavier riffing, though mixed with clear guitar along the way, allowing Blaze to change the mood of the song where necessary. His vocals dominate this song, once again in a way that showcases its strengths rather than having to contort them to how others want him to sing. The soloing of Wray and Slater in the middle of the track is emphatic and mood setting, blasting through the base tempo of the track to increase the energy, which the return of Blaze’s vocal also highlights.
In this light, "The Brave" is the fastest track on the album, moving along with triplet riffing and matching drumming, and is a pleasure because of it. It gets the album moving again in a faster and upbeat tempo, which Blaze matches by reaching the higher part of his register voice-wise, drawing on the anthemic qualities of his vocals to lead the song, and fortified by the great guitar solos through the middle of the song.
"Identity" could have done with a faster tempo, but still comes across as a winner because of Blaze's vocals. The song is inspired by the short story by Philip K. Dick called “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” which in turn inspired the movie “Blade Runner”. The heavy guitar riff is backed up beautifully along the way by the bassline underneath throughout which is a highlight of the song, it really gives the song its mood and injects it with its vitality. The band mixes up the structure once again here which provides the uniqueness that this album is harbouring as its own. Following on from this, "Reach for the Horizon" builds throughout from the moody to the meaningful, looking for the place in the song to drive to the next level. It is another solid song here, which perhaps is slightly let down by the struggle to find a real methodology in the song structure, missing several points along the way where it could have taken off but missed a trick instead. "The Launch" is the short sharp kick in the pants that is needed after "Reach for the Horizon", a speedy number laden with the flailing guitar riffs and a ripping bassline and drum beat, along with punchy vocals that make it a mood lifter. In the main, Blaze’s best songs are highlighted by a fast tempo with a uplifting vibe that allow him to riff along at pace, in his higher fun vocal range and taking the lead of the song. “The Launch” is that kind of track. Both songs have lyrics based on the movie “Gattaca”, continuing Blaze’s science fiction theme on this album.
The album concludes with "Stare at the Sun", which more or less defies everything I just mentioned about where Blaze sounds at their best. Because this track falls back into the quiet almost acoustic to start the song, before building to the rolling drum beat and guitar riff that takes the song back into the next level, and explodes into a ripping guitar riff backed superbly by the bassline again, and Blaze’s vocals take over to soar with power into the chorus. And my word, his vocals on this song are just superb – spine tingling in places. This is not just a truly amazing closing epic, it is an epic song period. When you want a song that is going to not only finish off the album on a high, but then encourage the listener to listen to the album all over again, that is a very difficult thing to do. Blaze and his band have hit a home run here on “Silicon Messiah”. Not only does the opening track drag you in, but the closing track also makes you want to start all over again. This is a ripping song full of emotive vocals from Blaze, amazing guitars and bass and drums from the band, and ends the album on a positive note.

Few of my friend group thought much of “The X Factor” and “Virtual XI” when they were released. Indeed, many didn’t even listen to them. Some still haven’t. I still bought those albums on their release dates, and while neither album is perfect, and both albums have their glaring deficiencies, many blamed Blaze for those rather than the main songwriter. Still, Blaze’s vocals didn’t work for a lot of people who only wanted the previous singer, and the band eventually came around to that thinking as well.
Now, as excited as I was for the release of “Brave New World”, as exposed in the episode I did for that album just a month or so ago on this podcast, I was also looking forward to seeing what Blaze Bayley would do next. The fact that he didn’t return to Wolfsbane – at least, not at that time – I took as good news. I was interested to know what direction Blaze was going to take his own music, now that he had had the experience of five years in a major band and being exposed to their songwriting processes, and with the chance to show his own version of heavy metal rather than being constrained within the Maiden methodology.
I did not hear this album until some months after its release, well after I had indulged and overindulged in “Brave New World”. I hadn’t even been aware that it had been released until the time I finally found it, which was probably a good thing as I had listened to little in that time except “Brave New World”. And so I got the album, and I put it on... and I had to check twice to make sure this was the album I thought it was. Because from that opening riff of “Ghost in the Machine”, this was already more than I could have hoped for. There have been half a dozen times in my life that I have heard the first 30 seconds of the opening track on an album, and thought I must have put on the wrong album. This was one of those times. Beyond that opening track, it took a few more listens to the album as a whole to take in everything that has been offered up here. What is impressive is that the album is a collaborative effort (at least on paper when it comes to song credits), and the result is an album that fits together well in every respect. The music really is quite excellent. The drumming of Jeff Singer, alongside the wonderful moody basslines of Rob Naylor, is just superb, the base of each track held together by the rhythm section on this album. Both John Slater and Steve Wray on guitars combine beautifully together, adapting to the changes of mood and character throughout. And most importantly all four help to create exactly what Blaze Bayley required with this album, a partnership that not only benefits the band itself, but gives Blaze the opportunity to shine in his own right, and not having to conform to the legacy that might be expected from another bands fans. Which is why this is such a terrific album.
I have had my CD out and playing in the Metal Cavern again this week, and I have loved every second of it. It has been great having this on at work, but at home is where I can truly enjoy the album as it is meant to be.
While it may be inevitable that people will discuss this album with Iron Maiden's “Brave New World”, given that both albums were released so close together, and that there would be a lot of talk about the relative good and bad of the decisions of the previous 18 months - no one is going to be crazy enough to compare this album in regards to quality and brilliance as Iron Maiden’s “Brave New World” ... or are they? I mean, comparatively, what are we looking at here? As much as I enjoy major portions of Blaze’s two efforts with Iron Maiden, this album buries both when it comes to quality and enjoyability. And whilst Maiden's album has some great songs on it, it also has two or three that are only average. Here we have a similar situation. Songs such as "Ghost in the Machine", "Silicon Messiah", “Born as a Stranger”, "The Brave", "Identity" and "Stare at the Sun" are excellent tracks and are comparable to the Maiden album. And even though I will always rate an Iron Maiden release more harshly than other albums because the expectation of greatness is always there, I really think Blaze and his band has done a wonderful job here, and produced an album that is not only excellent in its own right, but also sets up the band for greater success down the track as its own entity.