Blaze
The Tenth Dimension
9.8
For those of you poseurs who have no idea who Blaze Bayley is, he sung on the two highly trashed Iron Maiden albums, The X Factor and Virtual XI. I have been a Blaze Bayley fan from day one, he was probably the first metal singer I had ever heard, seeing as my first album I EVER bought was Iron Maiden's The X Factor. However, his stint with Iron Maiden never really captured his real vocal power. Although both of his 'Maiden albums were excellent in my opinion, they don't hold a candle to what he has done with his solo stuff. The Tenth Dimension is his second effort, and while not quite as good as his first solo album under the band name "Blaze", it is still quite the impressive sophomore effort. The thing I was amazed by when I first heard Blaze's solo material was the heaviness. His first album, Silicon Messiah, was so surprisingly heavy, and The Tenth Dimension continues that trend. However, it doesn't exactly continue upwards and onwards, more of a lateral move. They seem to be one long album when you put them together. Since the two albums are so similar, it naturally makes you think that The Tenth Dimension is not as good as Silicon Messiah simply because it didn't change anything and you have more material to criticize. I, however, refuse to do this. I find both albums highly entertaining and excellently heavy. I simply cannot get enough of Blaze's newfound power in his vocal delivery, very rarely does a singer come along who had an opportunity to learn firsthand from the metal gods. BUT, Silicon Messiah still edges this album by a hair. Blaze has definitely learned a thing or two from the great Iron Maiden. This album packs a lot of variety into twelve songs. There are songs with kick-ass beats/basslines like "Land of the Blind", "Stranger to the Light" and "Nothing Will Stop Me", then there are songs with the 'Maidenesque ultra-intertwining guitar effect, like "Speed of Light", "Kill and Destroy", and "Leap of Faith". You simply cannot go wrong with an Iron Maiden protégé. And for all the poseurs out there who say that The Tenth Dimension isn't as good as Silicon Messiah. well don't listen to them. Just buy both albums and double your pleasure!
