Blaze Bayley-The night that will not die

Blaze Bayley recordings
2009

I reviewed the CD version of this a few months ago and quite honestly I was blown away by that. The DVD was filmed on December 13, 2008 at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland. I never thought Blaze was a great fit in Iron Maiden, but that was as much the band as his was him. However it's very clear that he has written better material after Maiden than he did with them. He also found his own niche and recruited an absolutely fantastic band. This set consists mainly of Blaze's solo material although there are a few tunes from his brief stint in Maiden tossed as well. The venue looks packed and the fans are completely into what is going on here and no wonder because the band comes on like a storm and never lets up. The between songs banter is kept to a minimum with Bayley normally just saying the song title and then they rip into the next song. The exception being before the final song when he talks about fans needing to know how to use their own camera before taking a picture and stating that he will be in the back signing autographs and then off to the bar for drinks with anyone that wanted to go with him. The band is relentless and extremely tight as they just weave and pound their way through every song. I obviously missed out by not keeping up with all the solo albums from Blaze because the material is very heavy and catchy. Bayley himself sounds great and it is remarkable to think that this was recording no long after his wife's death. However he kept marching on doing what he started which his credit. The sound and visual quality are rich and exactly what they should be. This live DVD and the recently released CD have certainly made a believer out of me and I am looking forward to Blaze's next outing.