1114. Blaze Bayley / War Within Me. 2021. 3.5/5

Since coming to prominence as the lead singer in the British band Wolfsbane, before going on to greater things with Iron Maiden in the mid-to-late 1990’s, Blaze Bayley has constructed his own career over the past 20+ years, dutifully curating his career to survive in times where the music business has changed so much. His production line of album releases, totalling 9 studio albums, 6 live albums and various other performances with other entities, as well as a hectic line of live shows only slowed by last year’s pandemic, has kept him at the forefront of the metal showcase. Now, Blaze has released his tenth studio album, one where he has obviously spent the year of the pandemic in an inward observation of himself given the album title, War Within Me.

Blaze and his band have got their own groove, one that has developed over the past decade especially through the album trilogy of the Infinite Entanglement series, and it comes across in spades in the opening track. The title track sets the scene for the album, opening with a great set of riffs and vocal work to set the album off on the right foot. This is followed by the excellent “303”, short sharp and sweet. It has a good sounding rhythm and back beat and is written about the story of the 303 squadron that fought in the Battle of Britain and then throughout World War II. Hey, the lyrics are no Dickinson/Smith combination, but the song is a good one.
“Warrior” and “Pull Yourself Up” are both songs from the same recording plane, with what sounds to me at least like Blaze has had some serious soul searching within himself and has dragged up some personal feelings about his own perceived weaknesses. Both musically and lyrically, “Warrior” comes across as the better song though somewhat cheesily, at least the song moves along enjoyably, whereas “Pull Yourself Up” overstates what Blaze is trying to put out there, and the staccato chorus tends to get boring after a while. “Witches Night” has similar pieces to it to some earlier Blaze songs, such as “Tenth Dimension” and “Identity”, and while I enjoy the song those similarities to those songs do haunt me every time I listen to it and has me singing the lyrics of those other songs over the top instead.
“18 Flights” is similar, in that it has those hints of Iron Maiden and Helloween in them especially in the guitar solo break, and as much as it would be preferable not to compare any of Blaze’s music to Iron Maiden, in this instance it is difficult to do. The fact that it is the music without the way the lyrics are being sung that shows similarities, rather than is the case in “Witches Night” perhaps allows it to escape from any further roasting. The second half of “18 Flights” in particular is excellent.

The trilogy of songs that follow this have their moments, and to be fair they are actually quite good and enjoyable to listen to. It’s just that... they feel as though they are missing a certain quality that could perhaps push them from being enjoyable songs into being GREAT songs! Blaze in his own way pays tribute to three trailblazers in “The Dream of Alan Turing”, “The Power of Nikola Tesla” and “The Unstoppable Stephen Hawking”, and those three songs are enjoyable but within the confines of the musical style that Blaze and his band has built for itself. And in many ways it is the rod that they have built for themselves. The basic song chords and rhythm does seem to become repeatable, and this does seem to create a similar feeling when listening to any of his last few albums. The solo sections do break out and create a more interesting part of each song (and Chris Appleton throughout is excellent), but if the basic structure of the songs is this similar then it makes it hard to find that growth and change that is preferable when listening to your favourite artists.
“Every Storm Ends” is the attempt at the epic closing track, the one that will invoke and evoke the kind of emotion that the track’s lyrics are looking to draw out. And sure, why not give it a go if you think it’s going to work. But I guess for me it doesn’t work because it is trying a bit too hard to be that specific kind of track, and sometimes by doing that it falls a bit flat. Yes, for me that’s what happens.

I don’t mind admitting I have a soft spot for Blaze. I thought the majority of his work with Iron Maiden was admirable and is still great listening. I then made sure I supported his career from the point that the two parties moved on, and continue to give albums such as Silicon Messiah, Tenth Dimension, Blood & Belief and The Man Who Would Not Die spins on regular occasions. But there is little doubt that the era since those albums does come at a price. While each album since then has some songs that are inspired, energetic and full of great riffs and vocals, there are just as many songs that seem to lack that inspiration in which to make them great rather than average. His work with Absolva the band and in particular Chris Appleton continues to bear fruit, but the pickings are probably not as great as previous years. And yet this is true of most bands. The trick is to make sur you don’t make the mistake of thinking another Silicon Messiah is just going to come around and get the most that you can from what the band is offering in the moment. On that scale of economy, much like the Infinite Entanglement trilogy, there is some great stuff here to like immensely, and some other stuff to bear through.

Rating: “Eighteen flights and fifteen shows, six countries away we go.” 3.5/5