Ok, we have all heard the stories. Thousands of tapes from aspiring vocalists, hailing from nearly every corner of the Earth, all painstakingly heard, ranked and evaluated - some names annotated on a spreadsheet, most simply catalogued and shelved for the time being. Some candidates were stronger than others, of course. Michael Kiske. Steve Grimmett. Glynn Morgan. André Matos. James LaBrie. Who would be chosen to fill the vacant slot left by the mighty Bruce Dickinson and become the new singer for Iron Maiden? Now, I don't want to pretend I'm a scholar on Maiden's convoluted history (you can go straight to Stjepan Juras' books, for instance, if you want to learn the band's history in minute detail), but it still amazes me just how much fan-fiction and legend were added to this particular topic. Contrary to what many Maiden forum users may argue, André Matos (RIP) did not get an audition with Maiden (Rod Smallwood, in particular, loved his voice, but the singer himself admited to have called the process quits before the final stages), Michael Kiske was never even considered, and fanciful options such as Joey Belladonna, Tony Martin, Joe Lynn Turner and Tobias Sammet (a mere 16-year-old at the time, for God's sake) were never on the cards, not for a single moment. In fact, the strongest candidates (and who actually got as far as sharing a studio with Maiden) were way less bombastic - and, to be fair, far more credible: Damian Wilson, Doogie White, Russ North (now that would have kicked ass) and of course, eventual winner Blaze Bayley. It seems that good old Steve Harris had Blaze as his heart choice from the very beginning, but the whole process went along nonetheless, and Doogie White (then a relative unknown, not long before him joining Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow) seems to have been a strong second place - but, as we all know, it was Bayley who got the gig, a choice that started a difficult, sometimes quite tense and confusing, but still very important and interesting period in Maiden's career.
Now, there's one thing that Blaze Bayley would hint in later interviews that I really think should be highlighted. As for his understanding, the fact that he turned out to be chosen should be attributed, most of all, to the creative connection between him and the other guys, most of all Steve Harris. They sure ran through a lot of Maiden classics during the auditions (and I would definitely want to hear the tapes, if they do exist), but they also experimented with a few ideas here and there (most of all, a particular leftover from the Fear of the Dark sessions that would eventually become "Judgement Day"), and it seems that Blaze came with the most interesting input, clearly pointing to a different direction from what Iron Maiden was doing in the early '90s. And, though Steve Harris seems to have been somewhat biased towards Blaze from an early stage (to the point that he may have gravely overlooked the singer's inability to emulate Dickinson in some decisive moments from their repertoire), he deserves credit for having a strong (and, IMHO, quite commendable) vision about what Iron Maiden should do next. He didn't wanted a Dickinson clone, and he didn't wanted to churn out the old regular Maiden fare: he wanted something different, capable of giving the band something of a rehaul in terms of singing, attitude and songwriting. And they sure went somewhere else on "The X Factor", whether you're enamoured with it or not.
Oh well, let me make this clear: no, I don't simply think that "The X Factor" is a good album. In fact, I actually think it kicks serious ass. It's one of my favorite metal albums from the 1990s, and seriously one of the very best things Iron Maiden ever did IMO. But perhaps the most significant thing to say is that it is an important record, an effort that damn sure made a difference in the band's fortunes from that point onwards. When it comes to Iron Maiden, it's easily one of the most significant turning points in their career (perhaps second only to "The Number of the Beast"), and it went a long way into redefining the band's outlook and sound. After "The X Factor" was out, things would never be the same for the Beast, for good or bad - and, in a sense, we're still listening to the version of the band that came out of this particular period of soul-searching and creativity, nearly 30 years later.
I mean, of course they would write plenty of short-and-sweet hard-hitters in the years to come - even "The X Factor" has at least one, the intense and engaging "Man on the Edge". But the band's records would no longer be centered around its shorter cuts: quite the opposite, actually, as the group's creative ambitions (and the listener's expectations, and their heated discussions as well) would consistently shift towards the longer, often very cinematic tunes that graced every Maiden album from then on. In "The X Factor" (which, clocking in at around 70 minutes, is quite a long record), no less than three songs move beyond the 7-minute mark, and "The Edge of Darkness" gets pretty close as well - something rivaled only by "Somewhere in Time" previously, a record widely regarded as the more progressive-inclined done by the group until then. After the two final albums with Dickinson (both filled with tracks that mostly kept far away from the 5-minute mark), it was quite a change, and a road the band would never move away from on later releases - in fact, they would only venture deeper and deeper into that territory, as subsequent reviews will surely demonstrate.
"The X Factor" is a dark album. It sure reflects Harris' state of mind, having to deal with a divorce while handling the difficult task to find a new singer for his platinum-selling band - but it also hints to something else, something that seems to work in an intelectual level, so to speak. I mean, just give a close listen to his basslines: apart from a few songs like "Blood On the World's Hands" and "The Unbeliever", gone are the flamboyant, fast and technically challenging parts, substituted by a markedly more simple, let's-work-for-the-music approach. It's almost as the musician gives way to the songwriter, if you know what I mean: rather than being one of the most influential bass players to ever grace a stage, regardless of genres, Steve Harris seems to decide he wants to be acknowledged as a guy who can write great songs, and all his focus and vision will be devoted to such a cause from now on.
In "The X Factor", this stance take shape as a handful of really thoughtful, quite somber tunes, showing a new-found interest for atmosphere (the intro to "Fortunes of War" and some main sections of "Sign of the Cross" being good examples) as well as a penchant for serious, world-conscious lyrics. Even when good old Steve allows himself to write some more fantasy-driven verses (like in "The Unbeliever" and, in a sense, "Judgement of Heaven") he's more inquisitive than ever before, basically questioning the deep meaning of everything around him. I always enjoyed his lyricism, and it got more and more interesting to me as time went on - culminating in deep pieces of honestly moving poetry like "Hell on Earth" and "Lost in a Lost World", to mention his most recent input (all right, more on that later, I'll try to control myself from now on). And then the presence of someone like Blaze Bayley really starts to click: his deep register works truly well throughout the record, and his songwriting input is way more down-to-earth than Dickinson ever was up to this point - or can you imagine Iron Maiden writing a song like "2 A.M." in the '80s? Me neither. You have every right to dislike the results, but you can't deny that Blaze brings something new to Maiden's picture - something that was undeniably in tune with the creative avenues Steve Harris wanted to explore.
Some (well, many actually) complaint about the record's production - even myself, for a while, felt it was below par for Maiden standard. But my opinion has changed a lot through the years: today, I really like the dry sound of the drums and the thinly distorted guitars, as they help to paint a cold, eerie sonic picture that suits perfectly well with the album's contents. "The X Factor" is like staring to the dark corners of Iron Maiden's castle, an unique experience that is quite rewarding if you allow it to take its time. My personal favorites here would be the aforementioned "Sign of the Cross", "Lord of the Flies" (some very nice riffing and a powerful vocal performance from Blaze), "The Aftermath", "Judgement of Heaven" and "The Unbeliever" - a song that is often overlooked, but that I consider to be the first of many worthy collaborations between Harris and Janick Gers through the years. Maybe "Look for the Truth" is a bit too simplistic for its own good, and "2 A.M." (perhaps for appearing quite late in the running order) sound a bit tired and redundant when compared to the strongest cuts here featured; apart from that, though, "The X Factor" is quite a cohesive, coherent record, devoted to its vision and that never slides away from its path. I really like it, you know, and I suggest you to give it a careful listen next time around, as there's definitely a lot of interesting stuff going on within its grooves.
Unfortunately, the record didn't exactly signaled a period of newfound success and recognition for the group. The world tour supporting it ("The X Factour", how clever of them) was something of a difficult affair, with canceled dates and many gigs (most of all in the USA) rescheduled to smaller venues, as they simply couldn't sell as much tickets as before. Besides, it didn't take long (the very first bootlegs from the tour, that is) for people to realise that Blaze, while doing a mostly good job with his own songs, simply couldn't do justice to many Maiden classics, as his range and register had very little to do with Bruce Dickinson's trademark high belting. Album sales were the lowest since "Killers", and you didn't needed to be a genius to understand that Iron Maiden were facing the risk of a serious decline in popularity. Some may argue that the right option was to double the bet and move the band more radically towards Blaze Bayley's characteristics - that is to say, drop some classics from the setlist and further invest in Maiden's darker tone in a new album. Iron Maiden decided to do a bit of the opposite, trying to recapture some of their usual magic while not completely turning their backs to the new features Bayley had to offer. It could have worked, but it turned out to be something of a disaster, a cautionary tale on how you simply can't please all the people all of the time. A subject to be further discussed in the next instalments of the series, that's for sure.
Blaze Bayley (V), Dave Murray (G), Janick Gers (G), Steve Harris (B), Nicko McBrain (D).
01. Sign of the Cross (Harris) 11:16
02. Lord of the Flies (Harris/Gers) 5:02
03. Man on the Edge (Bayley/Gers) 4:03
04. Fortunes of War (Harris) 7:25
05. Look for the Truth (Bayley/Gers/Harris) 5:10
06. The Aftermath (Harris/Bayley/Gers) 6:20
07. Judgement of Heaven (Harris) 5:10
08. Blood on the Worlds Hands (Harris) 6:00
09. The Edge of Darkness (Harris/Bayley/Gers) 6:39
10. 2 A.M. (Bayley/Gers/Harris) 5:37
11. The Unbeliever (Harris/Gers) 8:05
Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me (drequon@gmail.com) and let me know!
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