The X Factor [PA]

Performer: Iron Maiden
Engineer: Nigel Green
Producer: Steve Harris; Nigel Green
Distributor: Ryko Distribution

Notes: This Limited version features vinyl replica packaging. Iron Maiden: Blaze Bayley (vocals); Dave Murray, Janick Gers (guitar); Steve Harris (bass); Nicko McBrain (drums). Additional personnel: Xpresion Choir. Recorded at Barnyard Studios, Essex, England. Iron Maiden: Blaze Bayley (vocals); Dave Murray, Janick Gers (guitar); Steve Harris (bass); Nicko McBrain (drums). Additional personnel: Xpresion Choir. Recorded at Barnyard Studios, Essex, England. When longtime vocalist Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden in 1993, many fans feared that the band was finished. But the rest of the band decided to stick it out, finding a replacement in ex-Wolfsbane frontman "Blaze" Bayley. On Maiden's first recording with Bayley, 1995's THE X FACTOR, the band sticks to the same musical direction of its early-'90s work: straightforward, heavy tunes. Bayley's voice couldn't have been more different than that of his predecessor. While Dickinson sang in a higher register (often in an operatic style), Bayley was more of a bassy, low-down belter--just listen to such tracks as "Man on the Edge" and "Lord of the Flies" for proof. Unfortunately, the new lineup didn't have the same staying power as the Dickinson-fronted era, lasting for only one more recording.

Q (12/95, p.140) - 3 Stars - Good - "...X FACTOR is still what the band do best: highly portentous, often refreshingly catchy....no real deviations from a proven formula..." NME (Magazine) (10/14/95, p.35) - 6 (out of 10) - "...Blaze [Bayley]'s lyrics eschew any nonsense about elves and psychopaths, favouring instead ruminations about the nature of war....probably...their best album..."

Iron Maiden were one of the leaders of the early-1980s New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement energized by the spirit of punk. Maiden built upon their initial cult success, eventually leading to global domination by the mid '80s. The band's singer for the first couple of albums was Paul Di'Anno, but the arrival of vocalist Bruce Dickinson marked the vintage Iron Maiden era. In the '90s, Dickinson was replaced briefly by Blaze Bayley before the classic lineup reunited at that decade's end. Besides the music, Maiden received extra publicity for their undead mascot, "Eddie," who graced numerous album covers, posters, and t-shirts.

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