Blaze Bayley’s new record arrives in the wake of the difficult heart surgery the former Iron Maiden singer underwent just days after the album’s recording was completed. As we have come to expect, Blaze emerged victorious from this battle, returning healthy and optimistic for the future. Indeed, “Circle of Stone” is a special album for a number of reasons which we will discuss below. Let’s begin…
First of all, this is a concept album…at least half of it. That is, the first six songs have no central cohesive theme and are completely independent of each other. The remaining six tracks (or if you prefer, the second side of the vinyl record) make up a central picture, a concept whereby Blaze calls us all to forget the ephemeral, material world and turn to our real calling which is the search for truth, the real spiritual world as defined by our ancestors.
From a compositional standpoint, “Circle of Stone” “catches” again the quality levels of Blaze’s releases after 2016 when he started collaborating with Absolva. However, I would say that musically it is not like the trilogy of “Infinite Entanglement” nor “War Within Me”. All the familiar compositional elements may be present but Blaze and Chris Appleton followed a different path without losing their musical identity at any point. The melodies are present again, the uplifting lyrics are distinct, Blaze’s performance – especially on “The Broken Man” and “A Day of Reckoning” – is outstanding and the studio performance from the whole band is flawless. In other words, “Circle of Stone” contains everything Blaze fans have come to expect, and that’s the most important thing.
Just as “War Within Me” was different from the “Infinite Entanglement” trilogy, “Circle of Stone” contains several differentiating elements from Blaze’s recent recording past. However, it’s clearly a classic Blaze Bayley album that needs a few listens to be appreciated as much as it should be. Blaze, welcome back!
Highlight: Chris Appleton’s contribution is highly significant to Blaze’s remarkable steady progression over the last few years.
