Okay, then, let’s focus on “December Wind,” which is solely an acoustic album. Maybe that’s why Blaze’s voice fits so well. It’s him and an acoustic guitar, sometimes a slight percussion on the guitar as in “The Crimson Tide” that supports the galloping acoustic guitar. It’s only Blaze with classical acoustic guitarist Thomas Zwijsen and a violin played by Anne Bakker. And that’s all. It doesn’t need much more. His voice can fill in all the blanks with mastery. You should listen to “December Wind” just in case you have doubts of his skills. Just in case, because this album is worth every penny. Of course, if you like acoustic albums. I do. As I told before, that’s what makes Metal so great. Yesterday I reviewed Bloodbath, today I review an acoustic Blaze Bayley. Not for the weak.
First thing that comes to mind is that Blaze feels totally comfortable as we can see by a song like “The Love of Your Life,” which has the taste of 1950s rock’n’roll. I guess he did it just for fun. We noticed that not only by the passion he passes on songs, but also on autobiographic songs like “Soundtrack of My Life.” The man nailed it when he chose to record his best song in Iron Maiden which is “Sign of the Cross” in a ten-minute version. The man knows how. Great to hear that.
“December Wind” is a great album if you like simple things. Just the man and an acoustic guitar. Nothing else.
Blaze Bayley “December Wind” will be released on November 09th via Blaze Bayley Recordings.
Track Listing:
- Eye of the Storm
- Love Will Conquer All
- 2am
- Miracle on the Hudson
- December Wind
- We Fell from the Sky
- The Crimson Tide
- The Love of Your Life
- Stealing Time (Bonustrack)
- Russian Holiday (Bonustrack)
- Soundtrack of My Life (Bonustrack)
- One More Step (Bonustrack)
- Sign of the Cross (Bonustrack)
Watch “2am” alive video here:
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!