BLAZE BAYLEY Says Making Albums Is A 'Very Long' And 'Intense' Process

British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley, who fronted IRON MAIDEN more than 20 years ago, was recently interviewed by mental health advocate and musician Todd D. Goldfinger about his career and the struggles along the way. Speaking about how he has been staying busy during the coronavirus downtime, Blaze said: "We have a long schedule and we have a long lead-up, so we plan things well in advance. That's how I was able to do 'Infinite Entanglement' as three albums in three years with three tours, and a fourth tour to go with it. And we already planned right now to be working on a new studio album.

"The next release that I'm doing is a vinyl of 'Tenth Dimension' and the anniversary tour to go with that, but at this time, in all the spaces that we have between the summer festivals, we were always going to be working on new songs and on my 'Infinite Entanglement' book. So I was supposed to be at home anyway, working at home. I'd been on tour forever. And then the governments say, 'You should work at home now.' And I'm, like, I'm already working at home. Now somebody's telling me to do something I'm already doing — the most annoying thing, probably, that you can possibly experience. I'm, like, you're telling me to do what I'm already doing. Now I don't wanna do that. I wanna go out. So that's been a challenge.

"But yeah, that's what I'm doing," he continued. "I needed a big break between writing part three of the trilogy, because we used so much energy, creatively and physically, to get those albums on time, to get them done, that I really needed a fresh place to start from. And I'm very lucky that my manager found a way to get me to this place.

"I did not wanna bring out an album that was rushed and that I had to just get an album out. I wanted to bring out an album with time to go, 'Okay, I can leave that song alone for a couple of weeks, three weeks, and then come back to it. And how do I feel.' And polish a lot of things. And this is what's worked for me in the past when I've had time to do that.

"So that's what I'm doing right now," Blaze added. "It's a very long process. It's intense at times, but it's writing those lyrics, working on the music, and trying to get this magical triangle where the music and the lyric and the melody express the same feeling. And when that works, when you find that place, that is a song, for me, that really lives and is something to be so proud of. But that is not an easy thing — for me, anyway. It's a constant search and sometimes a battle to find a way to get these three elements to come together."

In April, Blaze released "Live In Czech", a live album and DVD recorded last fall at the Melodka venue in Brno, Czech Republic. The theme of the tour followed on from Blaze's "Infinite Entanglement" trilogy of albums and the setlist particularly featured some of the more epic songs from the trilogy which hadn't previously been included in concert setlists. The set also contained a selection of songs from his albums with IRON MAIDEN during the 1990s.

In September, Blaze plans to reissue his 2002 album "Tenth Dimension" with new packaging and upgraded artwork. There will also be a vinyl version for the first time.