The X Factor (1995)1.
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Bruce Dickinson left the band after the supporting tours for
Fear of the Dark, leaving Iron Maiden in need of a new vocalist. At the same time, Steve Harris was going through a difficult time in his life, including a divorce. The result was that the music he was writing was much darker than it had been on previous Maiden records. Many singers were considered to become the new voice of Iron Maiden (including, according to something I remember reading once, James LaBrie). Ultimately, however, Steve and the band decided to go with singer who had a radically different voice: the relatively unknown Blaze Bayley. Blaze, previously the singer of Wolfsbane, had a voice that would be well-suited to the new, dark musical style of Iron Maiden's 10th studio album.
The X Factor came out in 1995, and was almost universally panned. The music was seen as plodding and Bayley's performance was considered by many to be poor. In the years since, however,
The X Factor has seen somewhat of a rehabilitation in its image among certain segments of the Iron Maiden fanbase, including some who now see it as one of their finest efforts (myself included). Regardless of whether you agree with this upswell of appreciation, it is hard to deny that, with
The X Factor, Iron Maiden laid the seeds of their new progressive style that has dominated their last 6 efforts. Though
The X Factor is in many ways a very personal, dark album that is the black sheep in Iron Maiden's discography, songs like Sign of the Cross and Fortunes of War show the band evolving in a more progressive direction once again, after the detour of
No Prayer of the Dying and, to an extent,
Fear of the Dark.
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I really like this one, as I think I've said pretty vocally here. It almost doesn't sound like a Maiden album at all, except that sometimes you can recognize Steve or Dave's playing styles. It's barely even a metal album. What some see as "plodding," I see as intentional slow development of musical ideas. I still think this is one of the best dark, personally rock albums out there, and it shows Iron Maiden progressing even through a time of difficulty and even with a sound that is in some ways very stripped back. It's hard for me to pick a least favorite here, since everything is so strong, so I'm going to do a listen tonight or tomorrow and pick one then. My inclination, however, is to go for 2 AM. Nothing against it; it's just probably the weakest in my opinion. If not that, maybe Man on the Edge, though I doubt I'll be able to get rid of that early on. We'll see.
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Topic: Iron Maiden Survivor 2016 - The X Factor - Round 1 (Read 1566 times)