Steve Harris still vouches for Blaze Bayley era
Explains why IRON MAIDEN didn't downtune for him
22-08-2024
In an appearance on the Scars and Guitars podcast, Steve Harris was asked about Blaze Bayley‘s tenure in IRON MAIDEN, and how things were handled. The IRON MAIDEN founder was asked if the band ever considered downtuning to accommodate Bayley’s voice.
Harris stated that the members never really thought about it and that they didn’t notice any issues with his singing until they were on stage:
“Not really, no. Maybe on some things in retrospect, we could have done, but no we didn’t really think about it. It wasn’t really till we got out and played live that we realized it was a couple of things.”
“The weird thing is that he was really confident when we were rehearsing, and then a couple of times on a couple of songs, we got out live, and there was maybe an issue or two here and there. But in general, he just handled it really well.”
Harris continued:
“It is what it is, I suppose. In retrospect, you can do all kinds of things, but Blaze helped keep the band alive through that period, so we owe him a lot.”
Bayley joined IRON MAIDEN in 1994 after the departure of Dickinson. He appeared on two MAIDEN albums, 1995’s “The X Factor” and 1998’s “Virtual XI”, both of which sold considerably less than the band’s prior releases and were their lowest-charting titles in their home country of United Kingdom since 1981’s “Killers”.
In a 2018 interview with FOZZY frontman Chris Jericho‘s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, Harris said about “The X Factor”: “I really like that album. It’s very personal to me. I remember saying at the time that those albums that we did with Blaze, that people would in the future come to appreciate them a lot more later on. And they are — they are starting to do that now. They definitely are appreciating them a lot more now. They were bloody good albums, in my opinion. It was just a point in time where, whatever we were going through at the time, I think it brought out some really good stuff.
“I really like that album, and that era as well,” he continued. “We were fighting — everyone was kind of fighting at the time, because everyone thought metal was going down and all this. And it was, to a certain degree — but it makes you fight, makes you change and fight harder. I like that. There’s an element to it, a fire in it, that’s very important. It’s an important part of our career. Every career has highs and lows and ups and downs, whether Bruce is in the band or not, and it is what it is. You just ride the waves, really. At the moment, we’re on the crest of a wave, which is fantastic. You take it all day long, but you never know what’s around the corner, really.”
Current IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson told the “Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon” podcast that he “had the utmost respect for Blaze, because he stepped into a situation that was extremely difficult for him. Because, manifestly, his voice was so different to mine and yet he had to try and sing some of those older IRON MAIDEN songs. He was in a difficult place. And he was a very, very nice guy, and still is a very nice guy, and I have a huge amount of respect for him.”
Founded in 1975 by Harris, IRON MAIDEN has released 17 studio albums, 13 live albums and 47 singles which have sold in excess of 100 million copies worldwide. They have played over 2000 live shows in 59 countries and have been the recipients of a Grammy Award and a Brit Award, among others. The band’s very own Trooper beer, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, has sold in excess of 35 million pints and is distributed in 68 countries.
IRON MAIDEN’s last album “Senjutsu” came out in September 2021. It marked MAIDEN‘s second consecutive double album behind 2015’s “The Book Of Souls” which is the longest MAIDEN album, with a running time of 92 minutes.
IRON MAIDEN‘s first album in six years, “Senjutsu” was recorded in 2019 in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by bassist Steve Harris. It features three tracks whose running time exceeds 10 minutes each.
For “Senjutsu” — loosely translated as “tactics and strategy” — the band once again enlisted the services of Mark Wilkinson to create the spectacular Samurai-themed cover artwork, based on an idea by Harris.
“Senjutsu” bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, charting higher than even the band’s early classics like “Powerslave” and “The Number Of The Beast”. Nearly 90 percent of the LP’s 64,000 equivalent album units earned came from pure album sales. The critically acclaimed double album debuted one place higher than 2015’s “The Book Of Souls” and 2010’s “The Final Frontier”, which both peaked at No. 4.
“Senjutsu” came out in September 2021 on Warner records. It marked MAIDEN‘s second consecutive double album behind 2015’s “The Book Of Souls” which is the longest MAIDEN album, with a running time of 92 minutes.
The full track listing is:
01. Senjutsu (8:20) (Smith/Harris)
02. Stratego (4:59) (Gers/Harris)
03. The Writing On The Wall (6:13) (Smith/Dickinson)
04. Lost In A Lost World (9:31) (Harris)
05. Days Of Future Past (4:03) (Smith/Dickinson)
06. The Time Machine (7:09) (Gers/Harris)
07. Darkest Hour (7:20) (Smith/Dickinson)
08. Death Of The Celts (10:20) (Harris)
09. The Parchment (12:39) (Harris)
10. Hell On Earth (11:19) (Harris)
“Senjutsu” was released on the following formats and available to order/save at www.ironmaiden.com:
* Standard 2CD Digipak
* Deluxe 2CD Book Format
* Deluxe heavyweight 180G Triple Black Vinyl
* Special Edition Triple Silver And Black Marble Vinyl (Details to follow)
* Special Edition Triple Red and Black Marble Vinyl (Details to follow)
* Super Deluxe Boxset featuring CD, Blu Ray and Exclusive Memorabilia
* Digital album (streaming and download)
IRON MAIDEN hadn’t released any fresh music since 2015’s “The Book Of Souls” LP, which was recorded in late 2014 in Paris, France with Shirley.
“The Book Of Souls” was the longest MAIDEN album, clocking in at 92 minutes, with lyrics heavily based in the themes of death, reincarnation, the soul and mortality.
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