BLAZE BAYLEY have done an impressive comeback with a solid lineup and the excellent album "The Man Who Would Not Die". Two years after that release Blaze and his band are ready to strike again with "Promise And Terror". So, just before the band’s Athenian (GRE) concert METAL TEMPLE met the honest singer and talked about the new release. Read what he had to say.

 You have a new album on the way; what can you tell us about the music in it?
Well, it is called "Promise and Terror" and obviously is similar to the the last album since we have the same lineup and wrote the music in a similar way. One difference with the previous album is that we recorded it with a proper producer and while we are in the mixing stage I can tell you that it sounds really good. Actually, we are going to play tonight \[27th of November] a new song from the album called "Watching The Night Sky" and see how the fans will react to it. Some may think that the new album sounds more heavy and some of them will find some commercial elements but you have to know that this was what we had in our hearts. It is very personal album…

 (interrupting) Actually, this would be my next question; what about the lyrics in "Promise And Terror", is it personal related like in "The Man Who Wouldn’t Die"?
Yeah, like in the previous album or in "Blood And Belief" I have some very personal lyrics. The new album comes in two halves and the second one is like a personal journey. Specifically, the first six songs deal with different matters while the last four songs tell an whole story. The story is about disappointment, love, grief and about the way you come into terms with all these feelings. Anybody who has been through difficult times in their own life I think will be able to identify with the lyrics on the album.

 Have all these difficulties you have to go through changed your writing/composing style?
I think what’s happened was triggered by the fans’ reaction to the "Man That Would Not Die" where I had more confidence writing personal lyrics. And if you think of it, everyone has similar feelings and the fans seemed to identify themselves in the lyrics.

 Indeed, I also found many things to connect with those lyrics. Nevertheless, what about the artwork of the new album; has anything to do with the lyrics?
Yeah it does have a connection. The album is called "Promised and Terror" and really reflects the story of this band. It is about being committed to your dream and the path that leads towards it. It is about listening to your heart and finding out what your are good at and what will give your life a meaning. If there were no limitations what would be the ideal way of life? And that is the promise.



 Are you leaving your dream?
Actually, I am. I am here in Greece to play live and this is my first time as a headliner. So, yeah I have found my path and what gives my life a sense to play and write music. Once you have found your path you have the courage to dare to follow it! Otherwise you can live in certainty; you can find a regular job with a decent salary, live with a woman that you don’t love but you can get along with. You can have this life; or you can pursue your dream but live in a daily uncertainty. And that is "Promise And Terror" all about; ’the promise’ of a life as a complete human being and the sheer terror of leaving behind all the uncertainty without a certain degree of comfort. And this is depicted in the album’s artwork in the cover. There is a man looking at his life and he is in the dream of "Promise And Terror"; should he dare to live and follow the ’promise’ of that life or should he stay with what he has. He is in a dilemma and the waves are ready to crush upon him. So, should he swim trying to rise above the waves and see what lies beyond or he should cling into the rock and wait for the waves to subside him?

 I have seen the artwork and I feel you on this… Well, you have also release a live recorded DVD.
Yes, but it is only available online through www.blazebayley.net. It is very special to us since it commemorates a time for this lineup when we the gig in Z7; so many things had happened to us and we wanted to make a statement and say "This is where we are now".

You did not include bonus material on this… Well, we did but only for the numbered limited edition (only 500 copies) that also had a t-shirt and a certificate. There is also a special song we wrote for this edition so, it is really special…


 Ok, you made me feel miserable since I got the regular version. What about the book "At The End Of The Day"?
The idea for this book was born through a conversation I had with Larry \[Lawrence Paterson]; we were discussing the way this band came together. One guy was living Wisconsin, Utah, another in Bogota of Colombia and Larry comes from New Zealand. Larry managed to get the audition after it has closed; by accident. And Jay \[Walsh] was a guy that I already knew before and had worked with me while I was searching for new band members. So, taking into consideration the background of those people then you will understand why the story of getting together and creating the "The Who Would Not Die" album. And he said "I think I am going to write this book".



So, this is not your autobiography?
The first part tells the story of what happened with me and WOLFSBANE and IRON MAIDEN. Because nobody really knows what happened with me and those bands. And this part actually gets the story from those days up to the BLAZE days. But most of the second part tells the story of this band.

How do you feel about your life by reading the story in the book? Do you feel any regrets?
Yeah, I am filled with regrets about times that I should have stayed home and time that I shouldn’t have got drunk. Times that I should have rode my motorbike… I think it is bad to look at those things apart from the lessons learned. I look at my regrets and think that I am not going to live my life on those. I am not going to let them determine the way I will live. But I will learn from what I have done; I will learn from my mistakes I have made and try not to do them again. I will try to live where I am now and make the most of each moment and each day more than I used to when I was younger. But, trying to make the most of each day is not always easy especially when you have a big crisis in your life like I had when I lost my wife. It’s been very difficult to get through but I have been very lucky to have all these support. I feel that I am really blessed by God and have overcome all these situations that I thought impossible to go through. The bottom line is that I have learned that the natural state of life is difficult and chaotic. And every time that something goes as planned then that should be treasured as a great moment. Every time a gig goes well then it should treasured as a great moment. Because the rest of the life is a real struggle. And if you enjoy more days than you struggle then you have a good life.

You have booked several live dates in Greece; do you anxious about the attendance? Because having gigs outside Athens and Thessaloniki is kind of rare.
The only thing that I am concerned with is to give my best performance for whoever comes to these shows. If we play in front of four persons or in front of four thousand it does not make a difference. I want to perform in my best for all the Greek fans who have the faith in this band and buy the tickets and our CDs. I want to make the Greek fans feel proud for staying with me through thick and thin.



 Are there any places that you’d like to play live?
Yeah there’s lot of places. We wanna go to the Channel Islands \[editor’s note: these islands are located South of Great Britain], to Malta and a lot of places in South America like Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Mexico and we also want to go to Canada and the US. We are trying to make these trips affordable by just taking our guitars. So, we are really trying hard to keep the ticket price as low as possible and go to as many place we can.

Thank you Blaze for you time it was a real pleasure talking to you again. You can put the last words in this interview.
Well, I’d like to thank all the Greek fans for their support with IRON MAIDEN and now with BLAZE BAYLEY and I hope that they will enjoy these concerts.