Am I the only man who really likes the Iron Maiden Blaze era?

[wolfking]

All I have to say is: Maiden should have changed the tuning to fit Bayley's voice better.

Absolutely this.  My brother and I were discussing this the other night, I think Blaze wasn't really given a fair chance during his time in Maiden.  There were plenty of changes that could've been made to accommodate him, like changing keys etc, but sadly nothing like that happened.

Simply tuning the guitars to Eb would have made a huge difference for Blaze, he would have been more comfortable and much easier to listen to.  It's actually amusing that they are not playing songs like the Trooper on the new tour, cause during the Blaze period this was the perfect time to give that song and a lot of the others a rest.  Blaze should have never been made to sing the Trooper.

[Mladen]

Simply tuning the guitars to Eb would have made a huge difference for Blaze, he would have been more comfortable and much easier to listen to. 

I was thinking Db, actually. It may seem like a HUGE difference, but I'm sure it would make sense after a while.

[ariich]

You are not alone Dark Lord, while they're not Maiden's best albums, they're still solid additions to the catalogue. Virtual XI is great (though I seem to be in the minority in thinking that) and X Factor has some really good stuff, but just suffers from being very bloated. Way too much filler.

[GuineaPig]

With better performances by Blaze and a proper mix, the X Factor would've kicked some serious ass, and Virtual XI would've been pretty damn good too.  Those albums got robbed.

[MykeHavoc]

Db would make the songs nearly unrecognizable. I'd have been happy with Eb or D. Strangely, that's the one thing it seems Steve will never budge on is the tuning. That's why I love Bruce's solo work. He was never afraid to experiment with new tunings. I admire the determination to keep that straight consistent sound, but at times it can get stale.

[yorost]

Nobody has mentioned Virus, have they?  Great song off Best of the Beast.

Live for Blaze was also a problem with Maiden as he turned out to be allergic to something in the sets, no?

[ariich]

Nobody has mentioned Virus, have they?  Great song off Best of the Beast.

Good point, definitely one of my favourite Blaze era songs.

[yorost]

Did they ever played it live?

[Zydar]

Virus is actually alright, mostly because of some great guitar stuff in it.

[sneakyblueberry]

I'm not sure if Maiden ever played Virus live, Blaze does though.  Or did, I don't follow his career enough to know if he still does.

[Fuzzboy]

I have a Blaze-era bootleg where they DID tune to Eb.

Edit: Actually, let me make sure I'm remembering correctly.

Edit 2: Yeah I was wrong. Must have been thinking of another band.

[wolfking]

I have a Blaze-era bootleg where they DID tune to Eb.

Edit: Actually, let me make sure I'm remembering correctly.

Edit 2: Yeah I was wrong. Must have been thinking of another band.

At first I was like  , but then I 

[wolfking]

Simply tuning the guitars to Eb would have made a huge difference for Blaze, he would have been more comfortable and much easier to listen to. 

I was thinking Db, actually. It may seem like a HUGE difference, but I'm sure it would make sense after a while.

I think that would be too low.  If you listen to Priest doing the classics with Owens, they were in D, i agree they songs did sound like the songs, but at teh same time were drastically different IMO.  Maiden in Db, would be too low I think. But if Blaze sounded comfortable and in tune then it may be a different story.

[cramx3]

Virus is performed on Blaze's As Live As it Gets album and is very awesome.  The few B-sides from the Blaze era of IM are really good.  I have them from the Best of the B-Sides album that came with Eddies Archive.

I really enjoy the x-factor, but as most people say, the production is just terrible and turns most listeners away.  The music is very good and is really the turning point that lead to Maiden's current sound.  I see the X-Factor as sounding a lot like AMOLAD.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Just dropping by to say Futureal is amazing.

[UnutterableSquid]

It has its good songs, but it is clearly the worst 2 album run in the history of Maiden.

I'd more or less agree.

Comparatively, they just aren't really all that good.

That said, I still really like both Virtual XI and The X-Factor.

And the Blaze era produced one of my favorite Maiden songs: The Clansman.

[Scard]

I like a handful of songs from the era, like around 8 or so. I definitely prefer Dickinson and Di'Anno over Blaze, but he's alright.

[ariich]

The Clansman is great, as is Como Estas Amigos. The best Blaze-era song is probably Sign of the Cross though.

[TAC]

The Clansman is great, as is Como Estas Amigos. The best Blaze-era song is probably Sign of the Cross though.

I completely agree about Sign Of The Cross.

Como Estas Amigos has never really done anything for me though.

[Nick]

Como is an good song, but nothing great. And that is where the Blaze years lose a lot of points for me. Sure, they have 2-3 awesome songs each, which almost all Maiden albums do, but if you go deeper than that my next favorite tracks aren't nearly as good as my 4th or 5th favorite tracks on other Maiden records. Compare Lightning Strikes Twice or Como so songs like Brave New World or Flash of the Blade or Die With Your Boots On and it's no competition.

[GuineaPig]

Como Estais Amigos is by far the most underrated Maiden song, imo.

[TAC]

Como Estais Amigos is by far the most underrated Maiden song, imo.

After kind of having this discussion a couple of months ago, I actually gave CEA a dedicated listen. It still did not jump out at me.

One Blaze era song that I never see anyone giving any love is The Educated Fool. And vocally, I think it'd be perfect for Bruce, especially the chorus.

My handful of underrated songs:
Another Life
The Duellists
The Prophecy
No Prayer For The Dying
Fear Is The Key

[Zydar]

Speaking of underrated songs: Judas Be My Guide

[TAC]

Speaking of underrated songs: Judas Be My Guide

To me it's still a 3rd tier Maiden song, but it is still very enjoyable. There's certainly nothing wrong with it..so yes! I do agree.

[Mladen]

Back in the village, Can I play with madness and Wildest dreams.

All underrated, but somehow manage to make my top 10. All amazingly catcy. 

[El Barto]

I listened to XFactor on the drive back from Houston the other day and enjoyed it.  Edge of Darkness is cool.  The music really fits the story.  It's a shame they didn't add one more section to it to expand on Kurtz before the genius must die part. 

[GuineaPig]

It's a shame that Edge of Darkness has some incredibly cringe-worthy lines, because besides them the lyrics are very good.  Though I wish the lyrics weren't so copy-pasted from the movie.

[TAC]

I listened to XFactor on the drive back from Houston the other day and enjoyed it.  Edge of Darkness is cool.  The music really fits the story.  It's a shame they didn't add one more section to it to expand on Kurtz before the genius must die part. 

Bart..thank you thank you thank you....THAT is my whole problem with this album..always a section too long or too short or too choppy. While many say that the album needs better production, I agree in that the production was lacking in terms of the arranging and balancing within each song.

Some great, and I mean GREAT ideas throughout, and apparently for some, these ideas carried the album for them. But to me, The X Factor had MASTERPIECE written all over it, but it never delivered due to the band dynamic.

[El Barto]

My cringe-worthy issue is with trying to squeeze in "terminate with extreme prejudice."  I'm fine with direct quotes from the film, and in most cases they're excellent within the song.  Seems like Ari was insisting on including a catchphrase and they tried to cram it in.

Still, the rapid tempo part in the middle fits well with the theme of finding Kurtz. I just wish (along with TAC, apparently) they'd added one more section to better incorporate him.  It seems like the song just kind of abruptly jumps to killing Kurtz and then ends. 

[Perpetual Change]

I love the Educated Fool

[RobD]

Blaze singing Afraid To Shoot Strangers is miles better than Bruce singing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c9iYZdsZMM

And whilst, I'm watching Visions of the Beast, I had almost forgotten about this little gem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0lk65vZVNo&feature=channel

[Cool Chris]

I just wish (along with TAC, apparently) they'd added one more section to better incorporate him.  It seems like the song just kind of abruptly jumps to killing Kurtz and then ends. 

I was listening to this song today myself (as this thread has inspired me to listen to these two albums. That briefing is one of my all-time favorite film scenes. It does seem like the song couldn’t decide if it wanted to focus on that scene, or the story as a whole, and as a result comes out choppy. The core of the film exists in that scene though and the song could have survived perfectly fine if it were based solely on that conversation.

[sneakyblueberry]

This thread has also inspired me to re-listen to the Blaze era albums.  Nicko's drum sound on the X Factor is ballsy as, his toms sound so sweet and the overall sound is very roomy.  So good. 

Its weird that even though Blaze is generally thought to have a lower register than Bruce, he can't sing the 'come to wash my sins away' line (Sign of the Cross) in key, he just whispers it.  Compare this to Bruce's version on RiR where he sings 'away' in key with his chest voice. 

Bruce's range: |________________________|

Blaze's:             |_________________|


I think Blaze's darker tone is much more suited to the songs on the two albums, X Factor especially.   

[MykeHavoc]

I too love The Educated Fool. Might be my favorite track off of XI.

I will say that I've seen some rough live videos. His take on the Clairvoyant (my favorite Maiden track EVER) was god awful and completely out of key. I mean not ONE note proper. But I would like a proper live release with him. I hope that the next DVD in the history line has a few Blaze shows on it.

[wolfking]

Educated Fool is the best song on VX1.  Amazing song!