REVELATION OF THE DAY: BLAZE BAYLEY-ERA IRON MAIDEN IS AWFUL

Seriously, who were these guys kidding? I’m currently not even halfway through listening to 1995’s The X Factor for the first time ever, and I don’t need to hear any more. This is an utter crapfest. How did Steve Harris and Dave Murray let this get through their bullshit detector? Blaze Bayley sounds like a constipated seal on “Fortunes of War,” bellowing his way through notes that are too low for his range. The band sounds uninspired, the songs are corny and don’t go anywhere, and the production is shit. Even the guitar solos are piss poor and completely lifeless. This record is an embarrassment. The Iron Maiden legacy would seriously be that much better if all copies of this album, in addition to 1998’s The Virtual XI which I haven’t even heard, were completely eradicated from existence. On the bright side, perhaps if Maiden didn’t suck for 8 years then they would never have released the awesome Brave New World in 2000, Bruce Dickinson’s epic return record.

-VN