Blaze Bayley
The Night That Will Not Die

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

A phrase that too many, too many people forget to make their own after a bad time. When something unexpected happens to us, an event that brings us down, most of us are not used to getting back up and fighting, but to stand still and think. And continue to think, while normal daily events flow by and life goes on. What follows is an inner stagnation that leads us to close in on ourselves, abandoning the courage to react, and simply move on while that wound is still open within us. On my part, it may seem strange and even a bit ridiculous to say, I've learned to have the strength to get back up from a man whose life, it can't be said, hasn't been generous with him. Blaze Bayley, born Bayley Alexander Cooke, is known to most for his brief stint with Iron Maiden, and who has been accused, both during and after his time as their vocalist, of sinking the career of the Iron Maiden. If we want, Blaze gave Maiden that dark and powerful push that they seemed to have forgotten, which led them to act superficially and promote the return of Bruce Dickinson, who was the real favorite, and to leave Blaze alone, without a thank you or anything of the kind. That's where we come to the significance of the phrase I put at the beginning. Even though demotivated, Blaze did not give up and formed his band with the same name, with which he released three studio albums and a live album. All of these albums were proof that Blaze did not want to give up; he wanted to fight, fight with what he did best. Music, a true passion that is evident in his persona. The poor promotion of the albums led the English singer to detach from his record label and to no longer have anyone above him, thus becoming completely independent, which eventually led to a slight change of the band's name to "Blaze Bayley." Under this moniker, Blaze released "The Man Who Would Not Die," an album that already from the title hinted at the new attitude that the singer had adopted.

In 2009, the second live album "The Night That Will Not Die" was released, which fully expresses the energy and desire to amaze that has always characterized Blaze. Classic yet energetic tracks like "Ghost In The Machine," "Born As A Stranger," and "Smile Back At Death" can simply be considered a taste of what the English singer still has in store. There’s room also for the more nostalgic tracks from Iron Maiden, such as "The Edge Of Darkness," "Futureal," and the beautiful "Man On The Edge." The interaction between Blaze and the audience is always strong, an interaction that Blaze has made his strength over the years. Fast tracks like "Samurai" and "Robot," both from his last album at the time, and a particularly moving slow track like "While You Were Gone," are entrusted as closure to the album, in which at the end of the listening, we can confirm a simple, yet fundamental thing: Blaze's spirit has never gone out, and his desire to make music the way he wants, without pressure from anyone, is still alive.

Rarely have I ever seen a personality as determined as Blaze's, and even live, I had confirmation. A person who stops with more than 150 people after the concert to drink beer, take photos, have a chat in company after a concert until three in the morning, with a look so interested in what is being said to him, and with a desire to talk about music, the tastes that we all like, I can't consider him a greedy person. Perhaps I am too kind in such cases, but when seeing people like this, I can't help but think that in the music world, the one that showcases girls and boys giving them the famous "15 minutes of fame" and then replaces them with others who will share the same fate, people like Blaze are rare. As the saying goes, few but good.