Clown Prince
Blaze Bayley - Hellfire Fest 2
Our first foray onto the main stage this weekend brings us Blaze Bayley, one time Wolfsbane and Iron Maiden front man who has stepped in to fill the slot vacated by Evile following the tragic death of Mike Alexander. I’ve seen Blaze Bayley before albeit some years ago and I remember not being too impressed but times change and I approach with an open mind and forty minutes later there are some distinct positives.
The crowd at the main stage is healthy but far from capacity but it’s enough for Bayley to launch straight into his heavy metal caricature. He doesn’t really look the part, a little overweight and thinning on top but as he points out in response to a chant of ‘you fat bastard!’, he is not a fashion model. There is however a healthy dose of pantomime about his performance as he careers around the stage encouraging the crowd to trade shouts of ‘hey, hey’ whilst pulling all manner of what I expect are meant to be menacing faces. It’s all entertaining but it’s hard to take him seriously.
The music on the other hand is something of a surprise, the band are extremely tight and they sound great thanks to an excellent mix. Some of the musical breaks are fantastic and they create a sound that is totally cutting edge and contemporary. Bayley’s voice is decent but never outstanding as they work through a selection of tracks from the back catalogue such as ‘Voices from the Past’ and set closer ‘The Man Who Would Not Die’. The highlight comes in the form of two songs from his tenure as Maiden front man with ‘Future Real’ and ‘Man on the Edge’ during which the band really take over with some fine musicianship.
It’s a shame to say it but with a younger, better front man they would be a much better band with real potential, which given that the band is named after the singer is something of a quandary. Overall much to like and at the very least people are smiling if not always for the right reasons.