Blaze
Silicon Messiah

Who would have thought that Blaze Bayley, after two disappointing albums with one of the best heavy metal bands in the world, Iron Maiden, would be able to give us a gem of an album like this?
Indeed, Mr. Blaze delights us with a completely different album from his more rock'n'roll past (Wolfsbane) and from those with the Irons, which were more oriented towards a prog metal that couldn't be appreciated by the whole audience and resulted in being less catchy.
So Mister Bayley, having formed a classic heavy metal band (2 guitars, a bass, and a drum), delivers an immediate album, with excellent lyrics and a devastating sound.

It starts with "Ghost In The Machine", which surprises with its sonic power, and, without being one of the masterpieces of the album, is especially pleasing for Blaze's grit, showing off an excellent vocal performance. The following "Evolution" is a transition track, without too many highs and lows, with a good solo, preceding the epicenter of the album, the title track, which expresses anger and violence and is certainly the masterpiece of the record; it starts slow but menacing and then rises in a crescendo of sonic hardness and ends with a brief but intense acceleration that closes magnificently. "Born As A Stranger" begins with a breathtaking riff, drops a bit in the chorus, but is a beautiful fast and thrilling track. Then comes "The Hunger", slow and difficult to listen to, but appreciable. "The Brave" has an almost simple lyric, but it has an immediate riff and is fast and precise, without too many pretensions, but more than decent. "Identity" is good, rhythmic and hard, while "Reach For The Horizon" is a bit boring, the only track that might be unnecessary, but the album immediately recovers with "The Launch", very fast and short, with a guitar riff to which the twin soon joins, with an excellent effect, somewhat reminiscent of the Irons (the classic ones, not the latest albums). The LP closes with another master stroke: "Stare At The Sun", the longest song on the album, starts sweet and sad, then rises as if it's about to explode, then slightly drops and immediately recovers with a spectacular acceleration, with a divine vocal performance by Blaze that makes you shout a miracle, finishing with an excellent solo.

A really good album, there might be regret about the lack of advertising by the media, but if you find it, grab it, it's truly worth it.