Without any doubt, the name Blaze Bayley has been connected with the most controversial era of the mighty Iron Maiden. Blaze joined the band in a quite difficult period, no matter how hard he tried however he never managed to win recognition in the fans' conscience as the singer of the great British band.
It seems that the ghost of his predecessor (Bruce Dickinson, for the two or three of you who don't know it!) never ceased to chase him. So soon enough he saw himself out of the band.
His response though was immediate. He gathered four young and talented musicians, formed his own band and presented his opinion of how metal music of the 00's should sound like. One year and a half after the very good debut album Silicon Messiah, Blaze has another decent CD in store. Tenth Dimension is an album with powerful songs, heavy riffing, and the right amount of groove and melody. Although it has its roots back to the 80's metal, it still sounds modern, fresh and very interesting (I do not imply that traditional metal of the decade in question was not interesting, as I am a sworn fan of the 80's!). Blaze (the band) seem to be very tight, surely the fact that the line-up has remained intact has been beneficial. Andy Sneap has also done an amazing job, as the production is excellent - despite its heaviness, the sound is crystal clear.
Although Blaze's music is by no means something innovative, this is a band that is absolutely worth checking out. As for the guy who they are named after, he may not be the best vocalist in this world but he is still an adequate performer, a very good composer, and (equally important in my opinion) a devoted metalhead. Give him a chance!