BLAZE BAYLEY
“THE REDEMPTION OF WILLIAM BLACK”
Album Review by Stacey Fawcett

7/10

Blaze Bayley (Wolfsbane and formerly Iron Maiden) is back on the scene with his 10^th album and the final chapter of the “William Black – Infinite Entanglement Trilogy”. Now it is time for Blaze and his band to tell us what has happened in this nail biting finale of what has been a fantastic series of albums.

“Redeemer” opens with a story about a murder that has been made to look like a suicide (which is strangely intriguing). This is accompanied by great guitar work from Chris which reminds me of the ‘Man Who Would Not Die Era’ as it fast and is taking no prisoners. “Are You Here” has the most beautiful harmonies with vocals ridiculously strong which are highlighted in the partial acapella sections. Followed by “Immortal One” which has an intense choir backing, this is a solid headbanger. I am really enjoying the frequent story element of the album so far as it feels more theatrical than previous Blaze solo albums

“The First True Sign” as on ‘Are you Here’ has isolated vocal parts which works really well as there is no fighting against guitars or drums and he gets to demonstrate how good his voice really is. “Human Eyes” The album calms down slightly with a delicate acoustic track, it’s emotional and you can hear the passion the band still have for their material. “Prayers of Light” guest starring Chris Jericho (Fozzy), is a bit of a pick me up from the previous acoustic track with a chorus designed for audiences to sing along with, the drumming in particular on this track is superb.

“18 Days” also has a guest star “Liz Owen” who delivers some beautiful vocal lines accompanying Blaze’s powerhouse of a voice. This track is just outstanding, it really works. “Already Won” There’s only some many times in one review you can comment on the guitar work but it really is just fantastic. “Life Goes On” this song reminds me of ‘The Show Must Go On’ the delivery is perfect. How it is constructed piece by piece is magical.

“The Dark Side Of Black” is fast paced, with heavy chugging guitars whilst the narrative details the redemption of William Black. Now we have “Eagle Spirit” to end the album which is an 8 minute epic but also seemingly the end of William Black. It has the sense of fight and repeats this lyrically with ‘they will never break us’ the story of the eagle is that of strength. What a way to finish an album.

This is a masterpiece of an album, I really would love to see this performed theatrically or live with videos on screens in the background similarly to Metallica’s ‘Through The Never’. It certainly has the potential for this.

TRACKLIST

1. Redeemer
2. Are You Here
3. Immortal One
4. The First True Sign
5. Human Eyes
6. Prayers of Light
7. 18 Days
8. Already Won
9. Life Goes On
10. The Dark Side Of Black
11. Eagle Spirit

http://www.blazebayley.net/
https://www.facebook.com/officialblazebayley

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