Dickinson's replacement in the 90's

First, I had to post this poll here, since polls cannot be posted in the prog related lounge (and Iron Maiden is prog related).

none of the above

I would have set the world afire by getting the beast back in - Paul D'ianno. During a time when metal didn't rule & the punk inspired grunge movement did, Paul's growl might have roughened their edges again. 

mistertorture wrote: Melomaniac wrote: Anyways, I never understood why IM settled on Blaze Bailey when there were many others who could have been much better, and some who were interested. Besides all this, I think Bayley (and the Bayley era in general)  was unfairly bashed . For example  The X Factor is a gem in Maiden's catalogue, a very different one for sure but it works because of the atmosphere it creates, its innovative and fresh sound (for the Maiden standards at the time), its solid compositions (especially compared with the two last albums recorded with Dickinson before he left) and mainly because the music matched Blaze's voice and as a result it didn't sound forced. Virtual XI fails in that point but still have some great songs.

Nice to know that you appreciate those albums. In fact I pressume that the Bayley era is better appreciated now that it's in the past.
I think he just didn't fit with the music especially the back (huge) catalogue of the band.
Still he did a good job live with some of the old songs like Afraid To Shoot Strangers, Heaven Can Wait, The Evil That Men Do and was fairly good in Hallowed Be Thy Name. But of course those songs weren't written for his voice and there are other songs that I think he can not even sing.

At the end of the day I think this whole thing was positive:

1) Bruce did a pretty good and prolific solo career in a short amount of time.
2) Maiden had developed another sound since The X Factor, a sound  that is still present a lot  in their music (especially in Dance Of Death and A  Matter... , even if  most of the fans don't want to admit it).
3) I think Blaze was used and then thrown away. (I saw them live in the last show with Bayley here in Buenos Aires on the final date of the Virtual XI world tour). However, Blaze was benefited from all this thing, because, how many singers can say "oh yeah, I was the singer/frontman of IRON MAIDEN". And what is more important here, during his time with Maiden he improved his writing skills a lot learning from uncle Steve, and that is evident if you hear his latest albums, great heavy metal, melodic and powerful music in wich his voice is just what the music demands. (he also sings better than on the Maiden years).
4) And then again we have not only Dickinson back, but also Adrian Smith who was in Bruce's band. So the new line-up is the classic plus Janick Gers, plenty of capable song-writers. Bruce (and the band) sounded tired back in the Fear Of The Dark days, but they all sound refreshed now and with this "new" line-up they penned two masterpieces imo: Brave New World and A Matter Of Life And Death.

I would vote for Edu Falaschi of Angra. Just listen to the song "Ego Painted Grey" off the album Aurora Consurgens, he sounds exactly like Dickinson in his prime.

IMHO, Blaze Bayley WAS the wrong choice for the band. Paul Di'Anno had a similarly gruff voice (although one that had a lot more personality and individuality than Bayley's, imho) but he was the perfect singer for Maiden then. As he has admitted, Di'Anno wouldn't have fit on the material they were doing from 'Number Of The Beast' onwards. Bayley's vocals lack, ahem, 'The X Factor' that his two predecessors had, imho of course.

I never heard 'Virtual XI' but I had 'The X Factor'. To me, it was no improvement over 'No Prayer For The Dying' (the weakest Maiden album ever imho) and 'Fear Of The Dark'- it had a certain tiredness and the songs were lacklustre, imho. In other words, I'm not too sure if any other vocalist would have made the material any better, even though I wasn't fussed on Bayley. For me, there are still a lot of poor songs on the last few Dickinson albums too...

StyLaZyn wrote: Russell Allen!    Woot Woot Woot!

StyLaZyn wrote: Melomaniac wrote: StyLaZyn wrote: Russell Allen!    Woot Woot Woot!   I forgot him in the choices, what was I thinking ???   OK, just for that we are taking away your birthday.

Yesterday I heard the X Factor after a few years without having touched it... My feeling were proven true: I LOVE that album, and the music is highly progressive and excellent. I would give it 5 stars with no doubt except for one little factor: the AWFUL voice of Bayley. He's not a good singer, and yes, he was a bad choice. I'd just love to see XFACTOR being recorded again with Dickinson... It would so totally rule the world.....