BLAZE BAYLEY Announces 'Circle Of Stone' Album, Shares Title Track

Former IRON MAIDEN singer Blaze Bayley will release his new solo album, "Circle Of Stone", on February 23. The official music video for the LP's title track, featuring a guest appearance by Niklas Stålvind of the Swedish metal band WOLF, can be seen below.

Says Bayley: "I wish to thank especially Niklas Stålvind of Swedish band WOLF for his wonderful performance adding vocals to this song, the guys at Lion Island Media for their brilliant work shooting & editing the video, & my backing band ABSOLVA for their dedication & talent, including my co-producer Christopher Appleton. Thanks also to Paul Hume (owner) & Dean Cowan (sound engineer) from Eleven (Stoke-on-Trent, England) who were kind enough to let us shoot the video at their fine venue."

"Circle Of Stone" track listing:

01. Mind Reader
02. Tears In Rain
03. Rage
04. The Year Beyond This Year
05. Ghost In The Bottle
06. The Broken Man
07. The Call Of The Ancestors
08. Circle Of Stone (feat. Niklas Stålvind)
09. Absence
10. A Day Of Reckoning
11. The Path Of The Righteous Man
12. Until We Meet Again

The 60-year-old Bayley fronted IRON MAIDEN from 1994 until 1999. The two MAIDEN albums he appeared on, "The X Factor" and "Virtual XI", sold considerably less than the band's prior releases and were their lowest-charting titles in the group's home country since 1981's "Killers".

Since leaving IRON MAIDEN in 1999, Bayley has released a number of albums, including several under the moniker BLAZE and more than a handful under his own name. He also appeared on 2012's "Wolfsbane Saves The World", the first album of new material by WOLFSBANE since the group's self-titled 1994 effort, and a follow-up LP, 2022's "Genius".

Blaze's latest studio album, "War Within Me", came out in April 2021. The LP was recorded during 2020 with work split between Blaze's studio at home in the West Midlands and Christopher Appleton's studio in Greater Manchester.

Last March, Blaze underwent a quadruple bypass surgery following a heart attack. He later shared details of the massive outpouring of well-wishes he received after his heart attack, including messages from his former MAIDEN bandmates.

"The thing I feel most lucky about is the incredible support I've had from my fans," he told BLABBERMOUTH.NET. "All over the world. My WOLFSBANE, Blaze Bayley, the MAIDEN fans. Everybody bought a t-shirt for a tour that was postponed. They still bought it to support me. I'm just incredibly lucky. And the letters people wrote to me. Hundreds of cards from all over the place. It's very humbling."

Blaze continued: "I've always put my whole life into music. It is my life. When people get in touch with you and say, 'I wish you well because your music has gotten me through tough times,' 'Your music meant this to me,' 'I first saw you way back when and it's been the soundtrack to my life,' it's incredible. I got a massive card from the MAIDEN fan club. The [MAIDEN] guys all sent me a message. I'm always in touch with Steve Harris [MAIDEN bassist] anyway, but everyone sent messages of support."

A heart bypass surgery, or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, is used to improve blood flow to the heart. A surgeon uses blood vessels taken from another area of the body to bypass the damaged arteries.

The term quadruple bypass refers to the number of coronary arteries bypassed in the procedure. In other words, a quadruple bypass means four coronary arteries are bypassed.