B L A Z E's 'Blood & Belief' Reviews
In this thread are the first bunch of reviews that appeared on the Net following the release of the latest B L A Z E album today."When Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden to work on his solo carer and pilots licence, the rest of the band recruited Wolfsbane weirdo Blaze Bailey to take over. Unfortunately Bruce came back (CAA licence obtained) and Blaze , P45 in hand has used his redundancy payout to forge a new very heavy metal career with his band via Kraut headbangers imprint SPV records.. Actually in an Ozzy Osborne way, “Blood And Belief” (Album - SPV) is not that bad. There isn’t a tune, but there’s loads of really really loud guitars and my mum keeps telling me to turn it off. If anyone knows how to make traditional British metal muck it’s Blaze. MMM [out of three M] (www.spv.de)"
Source:Music Dash
16 Comments
Artist : Blaze
Album : Blood and Belief
Release Date : 27 March 2004
Genre : Metal
Artist Website : http://www.planetblaze.com
RockReview Rating : 9 / 10
Buy This Album
Reviewed By : Geordie Russell | Contact : Geordierussell@aol.com
It has been over two years since the last studio release from Blaze, the exceedingly good (as Mr Kipling would say…) Tenth Dimension.
Blaze, you may be mistaken are a band and not just the ego of the former Maiden signer, who despite his very good solo track record, unfortunately seems to be under an almost constant battle with Maiden fans against his time in the band. This seems wholly unjustified given the circumstances within the band at the time and the dark material that was produced on The X Factor and Virtual XI. Not withstanding this, The Clansman and Lord Of The Flies were still deemed good enough to be performed on the last two Maiden world tours.
However it is on his current work that Mr Bayley should be judged on not on previous work. The new CD "Blood and Belief ",due for release on German label SPV in early April 2004 would be hailed as a masterpiece if it had been recorded by Metallica and in itself a far better record than St. Anger could ever hope to be.
The CD opener Alive has the potential to be a single and is a good solid rocker in the tradition of San Francisco Bay area metal. Surprisingly though, it was recorded in the idyllic Derbyshire countryside, as was the rest of the album. (9/10)
Ten Seconds is a good track, but is overshadowed by other tracks on the CD and is a little repetitive. There is some good guitar work on the track but nothing else really stands out. (5.5/10)
The title track Blood and Belief is the classic rock track. Lulling the listener into a false sense of security before launching into a full on six and a half minute cranium assault. This track has echoes of Enter Sandman and shows the talent that is hidden away in the band. (9/10)
Life and Death is clearly a very personal song and show considerable depth. Again the musicianship within the band shines through on this track. Overall this is the standout track of the CD. (10/10)
Next up is Tearing Yourself To Pieces. This is a dark sinister track in the truest of traditions of early Sabbath. Another good solid honest slab of metal. (8/10)
Hollow Head is track six and is a down and dirty track with an extremely heavy riff. At times guitarist Steve Wray sounds uncannily like the amazing Zakk Wilde . Sadly however this track does leave a little lyrically be desired. (6/10)
Will To Win harks back to Blazes’ earlier incarnation in Wolfsbane. Personally I hope the line “they try and make you an outcast, freak and a fool, fuck them” is the two fingers that all of the Blaze bashers deserve. This is a driving track with an excellent riff and solid drumming from (7/10)
Regret is another personal track is all the better for it. Again the driving riffs on this track are exceptional and the track has an overall feel of a long term set closer. This is a track that will transfer to the live circuit very well and is almost anthemic. (9.5/10)
The Path And The Way starts off in cranium crushing mode but then mellows towards the Sabbath end of the spectrum before crushing your skull again. The changes in tempo have obviously been influenced by Maiden, but make no mistake, this is no Maiden track. Not one of the standout tracks, but not one of the worst. (6/10)
The final track, Soundtrack To My Life, again is a personal track. The haunting opening, is well crafted and leads into a much heavier section that flows well. The chrous is crafted well and the track fits together nicely and finishes the CD off on a good note. (7.5/10)
Overall, Blood And Belief is contemporary heavy metal full of energy, life-blood and honesty, produced by an artist who has put together his experiences from the last fifteen years into an impressively high-powered achievement. Blaze 2004 is stronger than ever before.
RockReview Rating: 9 / 10
Source:RockReview
Here's one:
- Zwaremetalen
...in Dutch. I'm not posting it until someone translates it for us 
Cheers
Blaze - Blood Or Belief
Steamhammer/SPV
Ferdi: Blaze Bayley looks back on an intense two years. The last 24 months were a tough time for the charismatic singer, who suffered from severe depressions. To forget his troubles he stopped reaching for the joypad (Blaze is a avid gamer) and started reaching for the bottle. Months of severe alcohol abuse started taking its toll on Blaze’s live and marriage. Therapy helped him to get rid of his mental problems, a process that he describes in the lyrics of the cd ‘Blood And Belief’.
It is not hard to understand the dark nature of this cd once you know this history behind the cd, The lyrics are much darker and the music openly leans towards Black Sabbath and Zakk Wylde, with a dash of old Savatage. The anger that is now a large part of the music makes this cd sound closer to the Wolfsbane-material than to the more recent Maidenesque Blaze-cd’s.
As a result, the new Blaze sounds remarkably fresh. Even the more melodic songs (‘Ten Seconds’, ‘Blood And Belief’, ‘Will To win’ sound incredibly fierce in comparison to the older material, something that is also due to Andy Sneap’s excellent production and the amazing drumming of the new kid Jason Bowld (Pitchshifter). Blaze uses dark, groovy songs as the vehicle to voice his frustrations in songs that have a personal undertone. Songs like ‘Tearing Myself To Pieces’ and ‘Hollow Head’ describe his depressions and urge of self-destruction (“If that phonecall is for me / tell them I don’t exist / I don’t think I will be missed”) in a sincere and recognisable way.
This concept is of course nothing new. In fact, there are numerous classic rock albums out there on which the songwriter(s) was at his lowest possible low. ‘River Runs Red’ (Life Of Agony), ‘Destiny’ (Stratovarius), ‘In Untero’ (Nirvana), ‘Stranger In This Town’ (Richie Sambora), ‘Gutter Ballet’ (Savatage): you name them.
Blaze’s new cd, alas, is not a classic cd like the ones mentioned above. Even though guitarist Steve Wray has some really good moments on this cd, the introvert songs do not lend themselves for catchy songwriting or extensive solo’s. ‘Blood And Belief’ is not an easy cd to get into and is not a patch on the previous album ‘Tenth Dimension’. It is, however, a really personal effort that sounds heavy as fuck and groovy to boot. Not a classic album, but definetely a good one.
Rating: 88/100
Source:Lords of Metal
Nice to see you're on fire today 
A Italian Google-translated one:
We are joints to the third study album of Blaze, and the thing makes appeals to us, the first two episodes has finds them you of greatest level. But to feel the same Blaze (interviewed of recent from Babylon), "Tenth Dimension", the previous disc, at all have not gone well in terms of sales, to the point to send it in enough deep crisis also, that, we say endured it, in some way is perceived in the disc, like a aura of pessimism that pervade furrows. But perhaps if not piacciono songs like "Ten Seconds", then do not appeal to the Metal, various are not explained! Therefore in this third episode of its solista career one carried out towards one intimista style is perceived, for a final result that ago to think to a more mature disc and even more staff. And it does not have to be easy for as he, animated from a sincere love for music, to have a career that has given to it platee beyond the imaginable one, a band whose happened it is beyond every ambition (I refer to the Maiden period), and the necessity to recommence all daccapo carrying behind the past with its advantages and its critics... Roba to make to lose the head. Titles like "Hollow Mind", "Will To Win", "Soundtrack Of My Life" or "The Path And The Way" say it long on torment inner that must have lived, and this cd, more than every other, of is the testimony. A rock dark, intimista but energetic, great songs that deal of great topics, and the arrogant interpretation of Blaze, than alternate passages whisper you to others shoot you to all force, as to symbolize it continues and unstoppable jolts of humor. An example on all? The huge "Tearing Myself To Pieces", with intro melanconica and a voice that after little moments takes vigor, emphasized from one ritmica slow and granitica. Equally remarkable it is "Regret", a majestic song from the being involved atmosphere that once again it speaks to our spirit. We are far from first discs, but the value of this cd is not debatable, has great fascination. The class is and it is looked at, indeed it is felt, and this enough in order to advise it lively to me.
Score: 8,5 (Stradivarius)
Source:Babylon Magazine
I think it was easier to put them all on one thread instead of having Blaze-only news headlines on a Maiden fans website
Cheers
Nice work 
Thanks Shaman, great work! Blood And Belief is simply awesome, I advice everyone (except RW, I know he has a copy already 
) to buy it!
oh...
WTF!? This guy never heard a Wolfsbane record I guess.
I'm on it.
Written by: Raymond Westland Thurday 04-08-2004 - 21:57
Blaze – Blood & Belief
SPV – 2004
Blazy Bayley is of course well knows as the replacement of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson. He turned out to be an average replacement, especially because limited voice. He left Maiden spring 1999 to start a solo career. His first album was released the same year after his departure of Iron Maiden; Silicon Messiah. A few years and albums later he releases a new album, named Blood and belief.
I can tell you one thing after a few times listening: Blaze is back, and how! You can feel the passion and love to play music on this album. Blaze gives everything he got on this album and knows how to by pass his limited voice. His accompany-bands plays really fantastic, notice how good the drums sound and the adorable guitar parts. The old influences of his old employer are not unnoticed, on Soundtrack of my life and Ten records for example. But it absolutely doesn't matter because they are in a good harmony with the heavy guitar parts. Almost like Nevermore did. Another good point is the variation on Blood and belief. Dr. Sneap signed for the great production. The killer songs are: Alive, Ten Seconds, Hollow head en The path and the way.
This is undoubted Blazes best album. Forget his failed Iron Maiden adventure and convince yourself of the high quality of this album. You can find this album in stores at 26 April
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I gave myself some freedom in transelating the review.
http://www.metalfan.nl/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=1085
Another dutch one, I might transelate it later.
Shaman?
Thank you very much Djaser !!!
Cheers
) to buy it! I'm going to get it as fast as I can!
Here's a Swedish one
Svenska Dagbladet (Swedish newspaper)
Category: Hardrock
Band: B L A Z E
Album: Blood and Belief
Rate: 2/6
Tredje studioplattan med Blaze, Blood and Belief, innebär ingen överraskning. Plastigt producerad hårdrock som fungerar gott som utfyllnad, men i obruten ström blir trist. Det är märkligt hur någon kan låta så oengagerad, för att inte säga ansträngd, när man sjunger in en platta som förre Iron Maidenreserven Blaze Bayley gör. Han har de senaste åren haft problem med sig själv, vilket lett till bland annat alkoholmissbruk. Hans försök att spegla detta i sin musik borde ju rimligen ha innehållit mer känsla. Men kanske är det så att han helt enkelt inte kan låta inlevelsefull?
Lyssna hellre på: Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon
I might translate it later
Reviewed by Metal Reference.
Artist: B L A Z E
Album: Blood and Belief
Genre: Heavy Metal
Label: SPV
Released: April 26th 2004
Rate: 4/6
It has been over two years since the last studio release from Blaze Bailey. This artist is best known as a singer of Iron Maiden which unfortunately seems to be under an almost constant battle with Maiden fans against his time in the band. I must admit that I wasn’t very impressed with his work with Iron Maiden on The X Factor and Virtual XI either. However it is on his current work that Blaze should be judged on and not on previous work.
The new CD Blood & Belief, due for release on the German SPV label in late April 2004 would be hailed as a masterpiece if it had been recorded by someone like Iron Maiden and Metallica. Blood & Belief is one hundred per cent honest and unaffected. The album is full of energy, life-blood and honesty, produced by an artist who has put together his experiences from the last 15 years into an impressively (compared to any of his releases for Iron Maiden or Wolfsbane) high–powered achievement. He is still not one of my favorites, but Blaze anno 2004 is stronger than ever before.
In the past 24 months he suffered from severe alcohol problems and, as part of this, a serious depression. All these experiences have gone into lyrics on Blood And Belief. “Tearing Myself to Pieces” is only one example which mercilessly talks about his problems. “Hollow Head” deals with similar subject matter, it’s kind of musical self therapy. Meanwhile a track “Will to Win” reveals his warrior nature, a song about his comeback, which seems to hit the pulse of time. So you understand, his lyrics are autobiographical through and through, after all Blaze is one of the non-conformists of this world, and I give him all credit for that.
The sound is perfect, so is the guitar-play which is also by the way the best thing about this release. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’m not (and I’ve never been) a huge Blaze Bailey fan nor do I like his voice, but I feel that he gives everything he has on this release. Blaze himself is motivated more strongly than ever before. He’s proud of Blood And Belief and can hardly wait to play his new tracks live on stage. We are also looking forward to host Blaze once again in Denmark. I think that he truly deserves a second chance despite the Maiden years.