I was certainly hesitant going into this album, not only for what I was going to hear but how it would be presented. Blaze has shown he loves playing live, and he carries just about everything he does well on stage, and his band has been pieced together for some time. I enjoyed the fact that the song list more or less covered the extent of the three albums that make up the trilogy as it fit with Blaze’s two previous live album releases, the first covering his first two solo albums and the second covering the albums in-between times. But this also concerned me because I wouldn’t get to hear those great songs from the first half of his solo career, the ones that had been so impressive to me at the time. I can always go back to those other live albums for that, but the fear for me was that if this album didn’t stand up it would be a relic if all it contained was songs from those three albums. Fortunately, I needn't have worried as despite the lack of older material this album is a beauty.
As mentioned, there are no less than six songs from Infinite Entanglement, four from Endure and Survive (Infinite Entanglement Part II) and five from The Redemption of William Black: Infinite Entanglement Part III. That’s fifteen of the total twenty tracks on the album from the Infinite Entanglement trilogy, and for the majority they sound better live than on the album. That in itself is not unusual as Blaze tends to be a dynamo on stage and brings out the best in everything he performs. The band sounds great and Blaze’s vocals are supreme. Of the other five songs, four are from his Iron Maiden days. The always brilliant “Futureal” is cracking once again, and comes in brilliantly after the opening of “Redeemer” segues beautifully into “Are You Here”. The always surprisingly good “Virus” closes out the first disc of this double set, while there is an absolutely scintillating version of “Man on the Edge” which almost steals the album by itself. The only downside is the choosing of “The Angel and the Gambler” as his fourth Maiden track. It really is one of the most average songs Maiden has ever done, and Blaze wasn’t even a co-writer of the song! There are so many other better songs he could have chosen to do, and this is a shame. Rounding this out is the title track from his first solo album, “Silicon Messiah” which always sounds great, but oh for just a few more tracks like “Ghost in the Machine”, “Kill and Destroy”, “Ten Seconds” and “The Man Who Would Not Die”. Next time perhaps.
Fans of Blaze Bayley will find this to be an excellent addition to their collection. In giving all of his trilogy songs a live atmosphere to be found in, Blaze has satisfactorily concluded this part of his career. What he moves onto now is anyone’s guess, though no doubt an extended tour with his Iron Maiden material (given his tenure in that band ended precisely 20 years ago this year) is likely. Those that have not heard any of Blaze’s solo material will still find this worthy of listening, but should then move back to his first few solo albums to discover his best stuff. As a live recording of this portion of his musical career, this does a more than adequate job.
Best songs: “Reedemer”, “Futureal”, “Are You Here”, “Man on the Edge”, “Endure and Survive”.
Rating: “Do you think you deserve all the freedom you have?” 4/5
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