Blaze Bayley – Endure And Survive (Infinite Entanglement, Pt. II)

If it were ever to happen, Blaze Bayley O.B.E has a great ring to it I think. Since singing with Wolfsbane from 1988-94, Iron Maiden from 1994-99 and a solo career from then until the present day, he has doggedly flew the flag for British heavy metal. The title of his latest solo album Endure And Survive (Infinite Entanglement, Pt II) perfectly sums up his work ethic as he is on yet another World tour which includes sixty five European dates. Currently available and released via Blaze Bayley Recording, it consists of ten tracks that define the genre heavy metal. It is the second of three sci fi conceptual albums, the third has a planned release in March 2018.

Written by Blaze, Chris Appleton and Michelle Sciarrotta and produced by Blaze and Chris it bursts into life with the title track as it immediately goes for the throat with a full on intro followed by jabbing riffs as Blaze’s unmistakable roar joins the fray. He belts out the chorus with aplomb as the song ends with guitar overload backed by synths. ‘Escape Velocity’ is a gritty heavy metal riot with another fist clenching lead vocal. There is no pause for breath as a barrage of riffing opens ‘Blood’ but the snapping snare delivery from Martin McNee dominates as spoken word passages build up the atmosphere.

‘Eating Lies’ strays into heavy power balladry with  an almost operatic lead vocal delivery as acoustic guitars give way to crushing riffs and melodic guitar solos. ‘Destroyer’ lives up to its title with pulverising grooves that ease back for the choruses. Once again, snapping snares hit the listener hard. The sumptuous melodic power metal of ‘Dawn Of The Dead Son’ features heavy time changes in the bridges. The quirky ‘Remember’ has a baroque like musical feel. A soaring vocal with intense vocal backing is joined by a  dominant violin and added acoustic guitars. ‘Fight Back’ is also aptly titled as Blaze rages over a foot to the floor metal assault with a huge chorus.

The album ends with two massive songs which I personally think are two of the best he has ever written. ‘The World Is Turning The Wrong Way’ has  slow, pounding musical muscle that paves the way for Blaze’s most powerful vocal but is surpassed by the eight minute long opus ‘Together We Can Move The Sun’. Musically it rises and falls from acoustic passages to chest beating heavy rock. Blaze utterly convinces throughout with his final contribution being a poignant ending as a spoken outro sets the scene for the third album of the trilogy.

Album track listing :-

Endure And Survive.

Escape Velocity.

Blood.

Eating Lies.

Destroyer.

Dawn Of The Dead Son.

Remember.

Fight Back.

The World Is Turning The Wrong Way.

Together We Can Move The Sun.

Album personnel :-

Blaze Bayley – Lead vocals.

Chris Appleton – Lead guitar/acoustic guitar/backing vocals/choir.

Martin McNee – Drums.

Karl Schramm – Bass guitar/backing vocals.

Michelle Sciarrotta – Nylon acoustic guitar/backing vocals/choir/voice actor.

Luke Appleton – Backing vocals/choir.

Jo Robinson – Backing vocals/choir.

Mel Adams – Backing vocals/choir.

Liz Owen – Backing vocals/choir.

Thomas Zwijsen – Nylon acoustic guitar.

Anne Bakker – Violin/backing vocals.

Corvin Bahn – Accordion.

Aine Brewer – Voice actor.

Rob Toogood – Voice actor.