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Laying the beast to rest, albeit only for five years. Big shoes to fill and a global audience to win over, Blaze Bayley rose to the occasion and spent five years actively evolving one of the most important and relevant British rock bands of its age.

Eleven studio albums in, Virtual Eleven arrived in 1998, and I had the opportunity to speak to Bruce Dickenson lead-singer-replacement, Blaze Bayley. We spoke about football, the soccer World Cup, and just how integral the game is in appealing and landing their music.

We spoke firsts \u2013 Israel, South Africa, video games, online, but the music was where the main focus lay. Clocking in with eight tracks, close on 60 minutes, Iron Maiden kept it tight and tidy. Iron Maiden is an album, not a singles band, free to express themselves; and Blaze managed to have his voice heard and where he, arguably, pushed the needle for this seminal force in music.

#ironmaiden, #brucedickenson, #virtualeleven, #blaizebayley, #playstation