Iron Maiden has had three vocalists, that appear on studio albums. The first was Paul Di Anno, and he was a gruff rugged harsh vocalled front man, full of piss and vinegar. He was a major part of the reason I think some people might consider the first two Maiden albums a bit Punkish.After that came Bruce Dickinson and we all know him, so there's no need to go into any great detail about his insanely talented voice and stage presence. However, after him was the very lost and sadly forgotten about Blaze Bayley. He is a good vocalist, he just wasn't Bruce. However, this album was something of a diamond in the rough.
The album opens with Futereal, which is not one of the songs I liked off this album. I don't understand why anyone thought this was single material. It's a basic run of the mill song with nothing that stands out about it. The nice part is it's the shortest song at only three minutes.
The second track on the album is The Angel And The Gambler, this was the big video single, and I thought it was a great choice. Except for the fact that this is the longest song on the album at 9:52. It is fantastic, if not a little repetative. However, what really strikes me about this song is the use of Keyboards. The liner notes credit a Michael Kenney for Keyboards on all tracks except for The Clansman, Angel And The Gambler, and Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger. On those songs Steve Harris played them instead.
Lightning Strikes Twice sounds a bit like a left over from the Fear Of the Dark album. I can so picture Bruce doing the chorus instead, because it sounds like it was more for him.
Oddly enough my next choice for a single on this album would be the second longest song on the album. The Clansman is 9:06 and feels very much like Fear Of The Dark or Dance Of Death in that epic story kind of way. In fact Bruce Dickinson does perform this one live on the later Rock In Rio DVD and it's fantastic. However, Blaze knocks this one out of the park. This is one of the best vocal performances that he gives on the album. Basically if you have ever seen Braveheart, or you know anything about it, you'll get what this song is about.
Now at the halfway marker for this album, I want to point out that the average song is around six and a half minutes. Also if you just did the math you'll have figured out there are only 8 songs on this album. That's a good thing, because it cuts down on filler, and filler on this album would have been really bad. As it is some of the songs on here feel a lot longer than they really are.
When Two Worlds Collide falls under that catagory. It's just a bit over six minutes, but feels like eight or nine minutes of stock Maiden footage that has Blaze's vocals slapped on top. It's catchy in the choruses and other typically catchy parts. But let's be clear, this is a very cliche Iron Maiden song in music. Lyrically it's nothing special to right home about either. Also towards the end of the song I actually wish Bayley would shut up.
The Educated Fool is poetically good, but a bit bland lyrically. I won't bitch about that. However, I will bitch about this being another standard Maiden song. In someways it's below par. In no way is it above par. I really don't even know how to describe this song except for a soft exercise in musical poetry. Although I think I may be giving it too much credit.
Don't Look To the Eyes Of Strangers is another slower track on this album, and it follows the regular Iron Maiden pattern for Fear or the Dark or Dance Of Death. It starts off nice and slow, then get's quick, then slows down, and repeats over and over for 8:11. However, I do like this one because the instrumentation is a bit different than normal. There's a part of me that says this song was inspired by the Police's Don't Stand So Close To Me, at least in part.
The album finishes with Como Estais Amigos. "Como esta amigo / For the death of those we don't know / Shall we kneel and say a prayer / They will never know we care / Shall we keep the fires burning / Shall we keep the flames alight / Should we try to remember / What is wrong and what is right / No more tears, no more tears / If we live for a hundred years / Amigos no more tears / And if we do forget them / and the sacrifice they made / Will the wickedness and sadness / come to visit us again / Shall we dance the dance in sunlight / Shall we drink the wine of peace / Shall our tears be of joy / Shall we keep at bay the beast / No more tears, no more tears / If we live for a hundred years / Amigos no more tears, Oooohooooo, ohooooooo, ohoooooooo... / Inside the scream is silent / Inside it must remain / No victory and no vanquished / Only horror, only pain / No more tears, no more tears / If we live for a hundred years / Amigos no more tears / No more tears, no more tears / If we live for a hundred years / Amigos no more tears, Oooohooooo, ohooooooo, ohooooooooo..." It's almost like Bayley and Gers (the two song writers) knew this would be the last one for the vocalist. It's sort of like his big good-bye, and musically it plays out like that too. This is a very sweet and yet somberly mellow song. A fitting end to the album.
Part of me thinks it's a shame that Blaze Bayley's run was cut so short, because this album showed he and the band were really starting to get their new sound together. At the same time, I am so happy that Bruce and Adrian Smith went back to the band and much better albums were released.
6/10 - content
8/10 - production
7/10 - personal bias
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