Blaze Bayley - 2010 - Promise and Terror

(55:36; Blaze Bayley)

Track list:
1. Watching the Night Sky 3:36
2. Madness and Sorrow 3:09
3. 1633 6:03
4. God of Speed 5:48
5. City of Bones 6:25
6. Faceless 3:46
7. Time to Dare 5:41
8. Surrounded By Sadness 3:59
9. The Trace of Things That Have No Words 5:47
10. Letting Go of the World 6:23
11. Comfortable in Darkness 4:59

Line-up:
Blaze Bayley - vocals
Nicolas Bermudez - guitars
Jay Walsh - guitars
David Bermudez - bass
Larry Paterson - drums
with:
Jase Edwards - guitars


UK artist Blaze Bayley has been a part of the metal scene since the 1980's, initially being a member of the band Wolfsbane but probably best known for his tenure in Iron Maiden in the 1990's. From the year 2000 and onward he has pursued a solo career, in addition to joining up with Wolfsbane again from 2007. "Promise and Terror" is the fifth solo album by Bayley, and was self released back in 2010.

While I receive more music in a calendar year than most people buy in a lifetime, this is one of those more rare circumstances when I decided to buy an album, alongside a little bit of additional merch. This was due to Bayley facing a serious health situation back in the spring of 2023, and he had to cancel substantial parts of a tour due to that. As one of the consequences of this is a loss of income, I was among the people that opted to support this artists by buying stuff at this particular moment in time. With the reason behind this being that Bayley comes across as a very nice man in general, and an artist that really and truly comes across as someone that really cares for his fans and his fanbase. And you do want to show your support to someone like that.

As far as the album itself goes, it is a well made album with plenty of solid tracks and only a couple that fails to engage me on a deeper level. Without any of the songs coming across as weak or superfluous, but rather a case of a few cuts that doesn't provide anything more than power and energy. Traditional heavy metal with some majestic surges, a little bit of classic era power metal with strong ties to NWoBHM and a few cases of more contemporary power metal is the style spectrum explored here. With a little bit of a flirt with darker, groove-oriented details appearing along the way.

A striking and defining elements throughout this album are elements Bayley makes use of that he most likely picked up in his tenure with Iron Maiden. Rather than replicating elements from that band he uses select elements here and there to enhance his compositions. A little bit of a galloping bassline there, some vocal melodies there, harmony guitar solo runs and harmony details that come and go. Often adding a little twist of his own to those elements too, by making the bass guitar sound a bit grittier, adding a few more exotic sounding touches to the vocal lines, making the guitar sound in the majestic surges a little bit less dominant and opting for slightly different tone and scale movements. The approach can be very similar, but there is a difference in the execution. In addition these elements are always used as a part of a greater whole, where the totality isn't all that close to the history and legacy of Iron Maiden.

Making use of such elements does accomplish one thing though, and that is that the songs comes with a familiar feel. You listen to the songs and will automatically become intrigued when you encounter a familiar sounding element in a setting that is a bit more unfamiliar. One of those details that makes you listen with a stronger focus and more concentration to the songs by default, which is always a good thing for any artist that isn't a household name. This allows you to register the strengths of Bayley's compositions in his own right much easier, and while he isn't a songsmith in the same class as Steve Harris he knows how to write effective and engaging material, and he is a much stronger vocalist than many Iron Maiden fans gives him credit for. A matter that is easy to hear on this production.

If you have a general fancy for well made traditional heavy metal and power metal, this 2010 album by Blaze Bayley will provide you with what you are looking for. While I wouldn't say that this is a creation that comes with any evergreen anthems included, the songs are well-developed and well executed, with the album overall coming across as solid more often than not. A good quality album by a quality artist for those who know and love their classic era heavy metal and power metal.

Olav M. Björnsen, September 2023

Links:
http://blazebayley.net/