In a new interview with Eonmusic, former IRON MAIDEN singer Blaze Bayley spoke about the difficulties he faced in replacing Bruce Dickinson more than 20 years ago.
Regarding how he views his performance on The X Factor and Virtual XI, the two albums he recorded with MAIDEN, Blaze said: “The horrible thing about recording is that the songs are so fresh, you do your best to get them right and then record them the best you can, but during the tour, it’s like the edges get rounded off.
“They start to feel like worn-in shoes, like a comfortable pair of jeans, and you start to feel really comfortable with it, and so you haven’t got that feeling when you record it. 25 years later, there is this deep familiarity with the songs, and I’ve more confidence than I had back then.”
When asked what it feels like for him now when he sees IRON MAIDEN performing songs from his era now, Blaze responded: “It’s fantastic. I absolutely love Bruce Dickinson‘s voice. He’s been a great supporter of me before, during and after IRON MAIDEN.
“His voice is one of the hallmark voices of metal; that’s the epitome of what heavy metal singing is,” he continued. “Bruce always said that he had no problems whatsoever in singing anything from my era, and for me, what is very cool is that those two albums are obviously considered as important as other albums in the IRON MAIDEN catalog.
“And the fact that these two huge, beautiful songs [Sign Of The Cross and The Clansman] feature in the IRON MAIDEN setlist now is just fantastic, and I’m so lucky to be a part of that.”
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