Iron Maiden
Virtual XI

THE REVIEW

On this site about "Virtual XI," the second and (luckily) last work of Iron Maiden with Blaze Bayley, everything has been said except for the true essence of this album, which is neither a masterpiece nor an excellent album, but not a scandal either. It is a not very convincing album that, however, is worth listening to because, contrary to its predecessor "The X Factor," it is made up of much more expressive songs that adhere more to the Maiden style. Of course, the voice is what it is, making you obviously miss the good work Dickinson would have done on these songs, but after all, the poor Blaze is much more convincing, and the same goes for the other Maiden members, awakened from the numbing spell of "The X Factor."

You start with "Futureal", and as soon as you hear it, you say: these are the Maiden! A classic, very simple but effective riff and a driving rhythm, a fairly decent voice, it starts well! Reconsideration comes with "The Angel & The Gambler", a song too long for what it is with an introduction that is downright terrible. In contrast, the melody that introduces us to the following "Lightning Strikes Twice" is excellent, like the whole song, where Blaze tends to sing very low, cleverly, not to highlight the off-key notes he hits when trying to imitate Dickinson's high lines. A good musical structure, typically Maiden with the necessary tempo changes, McBrain a bit banal behind the drums, but all things considered, a good song. Track number 4, "The Clansman" practically makes the whole album fortunate, because in every Maiden work (except perhaps "No Prayer For The Dying") there's a masterpiece: great bass, sweet and fresh introductory arpeggios, Blaze's whispered and acceptable voice leads us to a beautiful song marked by a catchy chorus, not to mention the melodies established by the guitars in the central part of the song and the splendid solos; it is pleasantly listened to until its 8 minutes and 59 seconds end.

Unfortunately, from "The Clansman" onward, the album returns to lower levels. "When Two Worlds Collide" is a rather predictable Maiden epic with a weak chorus, yet Harris and his bass stand out. "The Educated Fool" is instead a good track, but it is Blaze who ruins everything in the chorus. An epic and excessively trivial song is "Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger", not that it's played poorly or that it can't be listened to, but at this point in the album, it seems too long and unnecessary. It closes with "Como Estas Amigos", a song written by Bayley and Gers, you can tell Harris didn't have a hand in it because it is flat as a pancake.

In essence, it is certainly not what a band of the caliber of Iron Maiden can offer, but it is not the big failure that many preach either, it is simply a sufficient and listenable album, but not a masterpiece. Recommended naturally to fans who want to have everything by Maiden, but especially to those who want to take a look at the Bayley period because this album is by far superior to "The X Factor."