- advertisement -

For Immediate Release:

Former Iron Maiden & Wolfsbane vocalist Blaze Bayley, as his new band, simply monikered BLAZE, make their presence known in North America with a spotlight performance at the March Metal Meltdown festival in Irvington, NJ. Armed with 2 studio albums ('Silicon Messiah' & 'Tenth Dimension' - both made available domestically for the first time on February 25th via SPV), BLAZE will bring an uncompromising raw energy & traditional-valued heavy metal to the festival. Fans will be able to commemorate the live performance, when, on April 29th, SPV Records releases 'As Live As It Gets', a 2-CD testament to the unbridled power BLAZE presents in the live setting.

Recorded and produced by metal guru Andy Sneap (Machine Head, Nevermore, Skinlab, as well as the 2 previous BLAZE releases) at performances in the UK & Switzerland in late 2002, 'As Live As It Gets' captures the essence of BLAZE; a multi-textured explosion of classic, anthemic metal with thought-provoking passion and vigor. Bayley expresses the need for this release in the US, "Some people know of my work singing with Iron Maiden, but most are not aware of my work in my current band, so the live album is a way of introducing people to what we've been up to. We're very adept in the live setting, and the material gives a good selection of what we're about."

'As Live As It Gets' delivers a substantial selection, spanning Blaze Bayley's entire career while displaying his evolution as a musician. The tracklisting includes:

DISC 1: DISC 2:
Speed Of Light Virus (Iron Maiden)
Two Worlds Collide (Iron Maiden) The Brave
Steel (Wolfsbane) Stranger To The Light
Kill & Destroy Identity
End Dream Sign Of The Cross (Iron Maiden)
Stare At The Sun Futureal (Iron Maiden)
Land Of The Blind Ghost In The Machine
Silicon Messiah Born As A Stranger
Dazed & Confused (Led Zeppelin cover) Tenth Dimension

The 2 BLAZE studio albums, recently released in America, exemplify Bayley's desire to give fans the most quality-driven metal music possible. "BLAZE exists because I wanted to put a band together who loved to play metal music as much as I did," Bayley admits. "It's not about the business; it's about the fans and making music that you love. It's great to have our stuff out in the States, and it's going to be a great opportunity to support it on the road."

Bayley had previously performed in North America with cult heroes Wolfsbane (once with Overkill, and once opening for Guns N' Roses on GNR's warm-up gig in LA for the Rolling Stones tour!) and of course in support of the 2 albums he recorded with the legendary Iron Maiden. As for what fans can expect from the set, Bayley states that he will touch upon every facet of his bold career. "We've done quite a bit of work internationally, but we haven't really made our presence known in the States, so this is going to be a great opportunity. The last 2 times I was here was for the 'X-Factor' & 'Virtual XI' tours with Iron Maiden. I feel that [Maiden] is a part of me as a musician, and I still love that music, so I'm very proud to play those songs. The set will include a selection of material from the 2 albums from my band, as well as material from the 2 Maiden albums. I certainly don't want to say goodbye to my past; I want to embrace it."

BLAZE is now headed back to Europe to continue work on a new studio effort, anticipated for a full worldwide release over the summer, and hopefully, come back to America to embark on a proper tour. While the studio albums are linked by an underlying theme of man vs. technology, in the live setting, there is no conflict, only a union of heavy metal music fans. As the album title appropriately describes, BLAZE is 'As Live As It Gets'!