Friday, January 19: Blaze, “Ten Seconds”
No matter its merits, nothing Blaze Bayley would or could release after his incredibly misguided and ill-fated stint in Iron Maiden would receive a fair shot. Of course, the man did himself no favors by naming his first post-Maiden outfit Blaze, essentially guaranteeing that a sizable audience would automatically greet the band with scorn even if the material was up to snuff. And a good chunk of the songs were indeed up to the task, as Blaze was actually a powerhouse group full of talented players writing and performing robust and aggressive heavy metal that benefited from stout production courtesy of Andy Sneap. Once freed from the stylistic constraints enforced by Steve Harris, and working with songs, riffs and arrangements that were actually suited to his voice, Blaze Bayley was able to shine and deliver consistently entertaining material. But Blaze was doomed from the start, and destined to be the sacrificial lamb on the way to its frontman persisting with an under-the-radar but consistent solo career, leaving stormers like “Ten Seconds” to be appreciated by an unbiased few. To be fair, Blood & Belief’s second track felt like last call for the band even when it was first released- the talented rhythm section of drummer Jeff Singer and bassist Rob Naylor (who co-wrote much of the material on Blaze’s first two records) had already left, and the album betrayed a certain exhaustion and disillusionment on the part of the remaining members. Nonetheless, “Ten Seconds” was vigorous and metallic in a way that far outshone anything on either The X Factor or Virtual XI, and demonstrated that Blaze, both the band and man, had a singular identity and sense of purpose. The song ripped and raged, with John Slater and Steve Wray delivering chomping riffs and Blaze Bayley howling with passion and force, displaying a sense of classic metal songcraft while also keeping in tune with the downtuned crunch of the era. In the end, this first iteration of Blaze Bayley’s post-Maiden life was destined to fail- there was simply too much bad blood, and the return of Bruce Dickinson to the Maiden fold was a clear repudiation of the previous four years. It was just a shame that such a talented crew had to be born with such an albatross around its neck.