Search - Blaze :: Blood and Belief

Blaze Delivers

Stig Five | Craig,Nebraska | 02/06/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A good solid CD from Blaze. The music plays a supporting role to Blaze's voice as you would expect. There weren't any guitar solos that really grabbed me but all the music was well played and complimented the songs perfectly. To my ears some of the best tracks are "10 Seconds", "Will To Win", "Regret", "The Path and The Way". Great vocal melodies with that Blaze style that I love. I'll be listening to this CD many times over the years."

Simply breathtaking!

M. D. Fonseca | Thunder | 08/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"IF you enoy heavy metal or any kind of hard rock, this album is a sure hit. The EDITORIAL REVIEWS resumes it very well. It's strong, melodic, energetic. the songs will find your way into ypur own blood stream. It's amazing how a singer who traded water with Iron Maiden and was fired for give room o Bruce Dikinson's return was capable of assembling such fine guitarists and release three great studio albums in a row.



BLOOD AND BELIEF is strong, a punch in the stomach. His ten songs are near to perfection. Highly recommended."

Blood and Belief: Blaze Bayley's most personal album

Murat Batmaz | Istanbul, Turkey | 06/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Blaze's third studio album picks up where Silicon Messiah and Tenth Dimension left off, but it moves on a different musical path this time. The most notable difference is in the lyrical department. As opposed to writing theme albums as in his previous record Tenth Dimension, Blood and Belief is characterized heavily by Blaze's personal life. It must have taken a lot of courage to pen down his problems and share them with his fans. Not every other artist would have the balls to write such heartfelt and honest lyrics, so kudos to Blaze!The album starts with "Alive" and is immediately followed by "Ten Seconds". Both songs are the kind of songs you would expect to hear on straightforward heavy metal albums with their melodic guitar solos and catchy choruses. The title track, like his previous solo efforts, kicks in right after the first two (or three in Tenth Dimension) songs and is one of the most powerful songs on the disc. I really like how the song builds up but I feel the title tracks on both Silicon Messiah and Tenth Dimension are a bit stronger. Nothing wrong with "Blood and Belief", it's just that it is a bit repetitive and loosely structured.

The following songs are all lyrically connected in the way that they depict Blaze's alcohol problem he had to deal with in the last two years. "Tearing Myself to Pieces" is perhaps my favourite song on this album and it mercilessly describes Blaze's self-destructive condition where he had to depend on alcohol to get rid of his problems. I read in an interview where Blaze mentioned there was a time in his life when he was in depression and he was picked up by the police in the middle of the street and they had to call his wife to come and collect him. Likewise "Hollow Head" is a song how he overcame his obstacles and personal problems with the help of his psychiatrist. "Will to Win", despite its heavily Iron Maiden-ish feel, is about his survival and Blaze's warrior nature. Lyrically it's about a person who doesn't want to conform to the rules set by the society but live his life his own way. "Regret" is my second favourite tune and the lyrics speak for themselves. I believe this tune might go overlooked by some fans like "Identity" off Silicon Messiah did, but I really think this is a great tune. Overall the album retains the dark vibe we've all grown to like Blaze albums for but also incorporates more melodic passages and mid-tempo riffs than his previous CDs. With a completely new rhythm section on board, bassist Wayne Banks and drummer Jason Bowld have added their own touch to the flow of the songs. Long-time producer Andy Sneap has once again joined forces with Blaze, and Sneap being a very talented guitar player, he knew very well how to bring out the best in John Slater and Steve Wray. They both do an impressive job as far as the guitar work is concerned. While Wray's style is more riff-oriented, Slater plays the delicate melodic lines during the solos and it gives the album a nice contrast.Blaze sounds as good as ever. His vocals never really worked for me when he was in Maiden but his solo albums and previous band Wolfsbane are proof that he is a very talented singer and has a great voice that he knows how to use to the best of his ability. His vocals are more focal to the album than, say Silicon Messiah, but but the raw feel of the album matches his delivery quite well. I love all three CDs I own from Blaze (never heard his live album) but his first one Silicon Messiah is still my favourite. Tenth Dimension also stood the test of time with me, time will tell how Blood and Belief will do in the long run. I'll be seeing Blaze live in Istanbul this summer and look forward to his set."