Blaze Bayley releases a new album called “Endure and Survive” on 3rd March and kicked off a lengthy European tour in The Diamond Rock Club on 18th February. I spoke to the former Wolfsbane and Iron Maiden singer via Skype on 7th February – this 40 minute interview along with 3 tracks from his new album will be broadcast on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 3rd March. I played a shorter 13 minute version of the interview, plus a couple of tracks from Blaze’s previous release “Infinite Entanglement”, a Wolfsbane track and something from his Iron Maiden days on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 10th February.
The full interview is transcribed below.
You can listen to either Show via the On Demand Player now - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/hosts/ni-rocks-friday-rock-show.html
Playlist 3rd March (Uploaded 2nd Mar)
BLACK STAR RIDERS – Heavy Fire
HOUSE OF LORDS – Harlequin
GASOLINE OUTLAWS – Breathe Again
BLAZE BAYLEY – A Thousand Years
Interview with Blaze Bayley Part 1 (17 minutes)
BLAZE BAYLEY – Escape Velocity
Interview with Blaze Bayley Part 2 (10 minutes)
BLAZE BAYLEY – Eating Lies
Interview with Blaze Bayley Part 3 (13 minutes)
BLAZE BAYLEY – Endure and Survive
CONJURING FATE – Marching Dead
PLACE VENDOME – Closer to the Sun
TOKYO MOTOR FIST – Pickin Up the Pieces
SUPERNOVA PLASMAJETS – Hold You Close
SIXX A.M. – We Will Not Go Quietly
Playlist 10th Feb (Uploaded 9th Feb)
STEPHEN PEARCY – Dead Roses
WOLFSBANE – Blue Sky
BLAZE BAYLEY – A Thousand Years
Short Interview with BLAZE BAYLEY (13 minutes)
BLAZE BAYLEY – A Work of Anger
IRON MAIDEN – The Clansman
BLACK STAR RIDERS – Heavy Fire
THE ANSWER – Solas
BLACKWATER CONSPIRACY – Waiting on Hollywood
HYDROGYN – My Redemption
TRIVIUM – The Ghost That’s Haunting You
PAT MCMANUS BAND – Belfast Boy
Check out Blaze’s website at https://www.blazebayley.net/
NI ROCKS – Blaze, thanks for taking some time to answer a few questions for Rock Radio NI. I wanted to talk first of all about the new album which is due for release next month. It’s the second part of a trilogy that started with “Infinite Entanglement” last year. What is the concept behind the trilogy and where does this album take it to?
BLAZE – The concept behind the trilogy is based on a story that I’m writing – a science fiction story – about a man who does not know if he is human. The first album is called “Infinite Entanglement” and the idea comes from the quantum entanglement which exists between two electrons that know exactly where they are and what position they are in, no matter how far apart that they are. They know what the other one is doing and they move instantaneously in relation to the other electron; whether they be next to each other or on the other side of the universe. And I found this idea absolutely intriguing and I wondered what would happen if that was used to describe relationships between people, because we are all made of electrons and particles and bits of quantum. So the idea is that this man does not know if he is human and he gradually discovers that he has a machine body. His consciousness has been transferred into a machine body and he has to decide if he is human or not. That’s the story of the first album. The journey that he is on, is of a thousand years, to the nearest planet that may support human life which was discovered by the Kepler Space Telescope. That’s the first album.
This album is much, much darker because he has been subjected to brain-washing and they make him do really evil, horrible things in his sleep; that he thinks are nightmares or dreams that he is having, but it is actually something real that he has done. This is the story of part two – it’s the end of a thousand years. It’s much darker than part one and part three is in my head at the moment – in a few notes and in a few songs that we’re working on already, that we didn’t use for this one, that will be part of part three.
So, it’s a science fiction concept, but one of the ideas is colonisation; colonialism and the idea that you can go and just land on somebody’s country or continent or planet and say, because I am more powerful than you and I have better weapons, this is now mine. It’s the story of the Aboriginals in Australia, some of the Polynesian Islands where an entire race of people were wiped out by flu that sailors had immunity to, and diseases like that. It’s the story of the native Americans that were trampled on; it’s the story of the conquistadors. That’s the essence, the metaphor of the story; but putting humanity, just like the rich west of Queen Victoria and the trading companies of the time, into that kind of context really. I feel it is something that could happen quite easily, as corporations gain power and there are private space missions, private space holidays and things. There will also be a darker side to that. What about people who want to pay - if we can find the technology to get to this new planet, why not make it our own? Just like, if we the compass and the longitude and the routes to get to the “New World”, why don’t we make it our own!
That’s the concept behind it, but essentially it’s a human story about someone trying to decide, even though he doesn’t have a body as such, is he human because he feels human and thinks like a human. That’s it! And so far, all of my fans, who know me anyway for my science fiction, from my early albums; from “Silicon Messiah” and “Tenth Dimension” which were in a concept style; everybody has loved the first album, and the songs and the way that it has come over. Loads of people are waiting for the second one, so I have an excitement and expectation that I’ve done really good work with the guys and we’ve got some great songs and great music. But I’m also very nervous because so many people liked “Infinite Entanglement” and liked the songs so much; will they like this one as much, because it’s darker and maybe they won’t enjoy it as much? It’s a double edged sword I suppose.
NI ROCKS – It’s due out then on 3rd March?
BLAZE – Yes, if you pre-ordered it though, you’ll get it much sooner than that. General release is 3rd March – that’s when you’ll get it on iTunes, Spotify and all those places. That is when it’ll have limited availability in the shops – the ones that are left!
NI ROCKS – And part 3 of the trilogy, when do think that will be? Some time next year?
BLAZE – It will be 1st March next year, or around that date. I said that if I was going to do the trilogy then what I would do is do one each year and have it come out on the 1st March. It’s a lot of work and there’s not much time. We have to look at our days and think could we use that as a writing day, instead of a day off and things like that. I didn’t want to do it otherwise, as these things can just go on – “it doesn’t feel right” or something like that and I just hate those excuses. If you have the idea, and call yourself a song-writer, then part of it is the creativity and the idea and the rest of it is hard work, skill and passion that should take you the rest of the way. That’s what we’ve done – we’ve managed to do that. I’m a working class man – I come from a working class back-ground, where you turn up for work on time, work for 8 to 10 hours or whatever it is, then go home. You do your job while you’re there, and that’s what we try to do. Our days can stretch from 8 hours to 24 hours sometimes, depending on what you’re doing. We’ll start rehearsing at 10 in the morning and get home from rehearsals at about 8 o’clock at night; then start listening through the songs we did at rehearsal and still be up at 2am in the morning! That’s how it goes sometimes. You just never know. I didn’t want something that people were going to have to wait around for and I felt fairly confident that the story, or my idea of the story, is strong enough to it.
NI ROCKS – Where did you record the album and who worked with you in regard to writing and recording?
BLAZE – I’m the producer of the album and Chris Appleton is the co-producer on this one. I’ve taken on the song writing and the arranging of the songs, what goes where, while Chris is more in the studio, making sure that the exact recording of the drums is done right, and the exact recording of the guitars and bass is done right. We’ve recorded in Birmingham, at a studio called Robannas, and that’s where I recorded the last album and it turned out really well. When people request guest vocals, that’s where I record them. Depending on traffic it is 20minutes or half an hour from home, so I can go home every night. That is a really big advantage as I suffer from depression and have mental health problems. I like to go to work and come back from work, not to be locked away. So I find that really, really helps me. It’s nice to be able to get up for work in the morning, and no matter how late it is, come home at night, even though I’ll still do a bit more work. So it’s Robannas Studio in Birmingham – we do the rehearsals there; it’s a big studio with a lot of different rooms. All sorts of bands rehearse there, from students and young people to people doing blues or stuff like that and established bands like Napalm Death. When all the rehearsals are done and we’re absolutely confident that we could play those songs; if we had to do a gig, we could just about get through those songs. Then we move everything upstairs into the studio and we set up and start recording. It seems to work for us that way.
NI ROCKS – You’ve been working with the guys from Absolva now for a few years. How did that first come about?
BLAZE – I’d been looking for a reliable support band at one point, away back, and they thought they could do a good support slot for me. They thought my audience would appreciate them. Somebody didn’t turn up one night or actually said they couldn’t do part of the tour, and I said could we get those Absolva guys in – they were Fury UK at the time – and we did and we became friends. They were on time, they worked hard, were well rehearsed and played well on the night. They got off on time, they didn’t get in the way of the fans or anything like that. So, when I was looking for a band to back me I asked them if they’d like to have a go at it and they did. We did my ‘best of” tour – the “Soundtracks of My Live” tour – and things worked out really, really well. So I said would you like to collaborate on the next album, and that is what we started doing and it has worked very well. The good thing is that at the end of the tour they go and do their Absolva stuff and I go home and recover or start writing my next thing or work on my book, then get together for the next rehearsals for what is next. It works very well like that.
NI ROCKS – Did that influence the move to Rocksector Management a few years ago?
BLAZE – I’m not actually with Rocksector Management. Mark Appleton is actually my manager, it’s not Rocksector Management. He is Rocksector Management, but Mark is my manager. I’m not signed to Rocksector Management at all; it’s a different deal for me. Mark is Rocksector Management, but for me he is my manager. That’s how it works.
NI ROCKS – And your record label is Blaze Bayley Recording – is that correct?
BLAZE – Yes, Blaze Bayley Recording – all my own label, all my own thing. The way it works is that he manages to keep me busy. He does all my bookings for me, with Chris Appleton. We keep it as a very small, tight team. We tend to do everything ourselves. I’ve been in the music business for so many years, and been with so many big labels, big agents, big management etc. What I’ve learnt is that if you want it the way that you want it, then you’ve got to do it yourself. Because I’m not interested in getting bigger. I need someone to take on board that I’ve an artistic vision of where I want to be, how I want to perform, the venues I want to go to and that doesn’t involve becoming a megastar. I’m not interested. I’ve been in one of the most important heavy metal bands in the world and played in front of 85,000 people or 10,000 people every night, everywhere.
But I’m not interested in doing that now. What I want to do is have shows where I can reach out and touch my audience, where I can meet my fans afterwards and do a free meet and greet and say thank-you to everybody. Where I can do the music that I want to do and people can get close enough to actually see and hear me do it! You don’t have to look at me through a pair of binoculars and say I can’t quite see his face on the big tele-screen. That’s what I want to do and when I spoke to Mark Appleton I said I’m not interested in getting big, I just want to play the venues I play now, but I want to try to get them full, and keep playing this style of venue. He said he thought that was possible and that he could do that. The tour is up to about 70 shows all over, with the venues varying from 100 people capacity to 1,000. So I’m able to get close to people, to sign stuff and meet my fans after every single concert, unless I’m ill or I’ve got to catch a plane or something. That’s something I always like to do.
NI ROCKS – We’ll play a track from the new album now. Do you want to pick one and tell us something about it?
BLAZE - A good one would be “Escape Velocity”. It’s a flashback to the beginning of the story. The central character is called William Black and he is trying to forget the bad things that he has done in his life. “Escape Velocity” is 25,000 miles per hour – that’s how fast you have to go to get into orbit and leave Earth’s gravity. But also it is, if you can go fast enough, can you go faster than your thoughts. Faster than you can think. Can you leave behind your guilt and bad memories, if you could just go fast enough. Could you escape your own thoughts. So that is why it is called “Escape Velocity”. The dream that we all have being that we can fly – it taps into that and says I will fly.
NI ROCKS – You’ve a gig this coming weekend in Malta. Is that a club venue or a festival?
BLAZE – It’s a big club – I think it has about 1,000 capacity. We have some great Maltese fans coming to support us. I think there are about six bands – it’s an indoor festival that I’m doing in Malta. I’ve played there twice, or maybe even three times before. I was there with Iron Maiden the first time and I’m really excited about going back. It’s the first full metal show of the tour and we’ll have a few of the new songs from the album in the set list as well. So I’m really excited about it.
NI ROCKS – The following weekend you’re playing the Diamond Rock Club in Northern Ireland at the start of a UK tour
BLAZE – Yeah, I’m very excited about coming back to Northern Ireland. I haven’t been for a while. And what I’m also very excited about is coming back with Absolva, because I’ve never been there with them. It’s the full European set list; it’s the full band that I’ve been doing my last couple of tours with, so I’m really, really excited to come over to Northern Ireland again. And to be honest, to play outside Belfast, because the last couple of times I played in Belfast and it’s nice to get somewhere else.
NI ROCKS – The next question, you’ve already partly covered! I was reading an article from Team Rock written during the last UK tour and you were talking about the importance of the fans who come out to see you. Do you always try to find time at the end of the night to circulate for photos, signings and stuff?
BLAZE – What I do, is I say to every promoter is that I’m not doing the show unless they put time aside so that I can meet the fans. It’s a very strict thing that I do and I have to be very strict about it in some places that I play, because they just have no respect for the fans whatsoever. There was one venue in Barcelona; a really big venue and supposedly prestigious; where I’d asked what time where they closing the club, because I need at least an hour after I finish my set list to sign for my fans. Don’t worry they said, you’ll have plenty of time. I signed for five people, then security said only one item! I said that I’d never said that, and then the next thing they started pushing the fans out saying that the signing was finished! So I had to go outside the venue and did my meet and greet, and signing outside the venue. I said to my manager, never play this place again! Never – having fans treated like that, I’d never go back. I stick to that and they made us an offer for this tour and I said no, they treated the fans like shit. I’d rather play somewhere tiny that nobody knows and play to my fans on my own terms, than have people treated like this. So, yeah I always try to do it. The only times that I don’t is when I’m sick or if I have to catch a plane. If I’m catching a plane I’ll usually put a sign up saying that I’m signing before the show. And I always put it on Facebook as well. If you look at https://www.facebook.com/officialblazebayley/ then if there is any problem, or if I’m doing it before rather than after, it’ll be on Facebook.
NI ROCKS – The current tour will take you through to the end of May. Then there is a small break and then a few dates in Croatia and Serbia in July as well. Are you taking the tour further afield than Europe?
BLAZE – We should be going to the USA as well. We’re waiting on confirmation of those dates. We’ve just started working with a new agent over there. I really enjoy touring over there. Most years I go to Brazil. Last year I went to other countries in South America – I went back to Chile and I went to Argentina for the first time in many years. I’m hoping that the USA tour will go off ok. Unfortunately, I had been going to Russia regularly, but with all those problems, the agent that I use there is just not able to do anything for me. But it should end up being a proper world tour.
NI ROCKS – At the end of last year you released a video for the track “Crazy Christmas”. What was the story behind that?
BLAZE – I do a Christmas song every year, with my co-writer Michelle Sciarrotta, who I go to and she collaborates with me on my ideas acoustically, and then we turn them into heavy metal ideas, with Chris Appleton for my album. I really like Christmas songs – I like the fun of it and the fact that it is for a specific reason. I threw an idea at her and we did an acoustic Christmas song. Then the next year we did a different one. Last year we had the song written, but just didn’t have the time to record it. So for the following year she said lets do it in June or July! So that is what we did. We recorded it full metal in the studio with everybody. It’s always got some kind of melancholy edge my Christmas thing. That one – “Crazy Christmas” – what it really means is live now and celebrate now, what you have and the relationships you have, because the first line of the song is “I don’t know how many more there will be”. And that is, I don’t know if I’ll be alive, if you’ll be here, where we’ll be! I don’t if we’re going to be able to have another Christmas together; so let’s make this a crazy Christmas. Let’s just forget about convention, just forget about what other people think and just be here for each other. That’s the idea behind it. And it took off! People really like it. I’d never done a Christmas song with a general release, but all my team liked it a lot and we thought why don’t we put it on iTunes and have it as a proper release. So we did and it got played on the radio in a couple of places – the BBC played it and lots of fans really loved it. No-one that knows me thinks anymore of it than, here it is – it’s a Christmas song, it’s fun and it’s something that he likes to do. People who don’t know me think I’m trying to get to the top of the charts. I don’t know what they think to be honest!! I know there’s a lot of people with no sense of humour what-so-ever, because those are the people who put the horrible comments on You-Tube.
NI ROCKS – Yeah, there is always plenty of them!!
BLAZE – All my fans who know me, know I’m serious and passionate about my music, but also it’s nice to have your favourite artist do a Christmas song! And the great thing is it’s not a cover, it’s an original song. All my Christmas songs are original.
NI ROCKS – Yeah, it’s always great to see a new Christmas song rather than the same ones that get dragged out every year. It was good to hear something new.
BLAZE – Yeah, we’ll be working on one for next year – well, this year really. This years one will probably just be acoustic, because we just don’t have time to get the band together this year to do a full metal one. So we’ll do an acoustic one which will come out around the same time at the start of December. I’m not sure if we’ll even have a video for it, but I just like doing it.
NI ROCKS - As we’ve said, the new album “Endure and Survive” is released on 3rd March. We’ll play another track from it now. Do you want to pick one and tell us something about it?
BLAZE – This song is called “Eating Lies” and I think it is probably the best song on the album to be honest. It’s one that we started acoustically and it just didn’t seem to go anywhere at all; then Chris Appleton said there’s something there. He went away and worked on it on his own. What he sent back to me was more or less exactly what you hear on the album. What he did with it was absolutely fantastic and it contains some of my favourite lyrics that I’ve ever done. It’s the main character in the story discovering that he has been lied to about everything, and he is not an astronaut or space pioneer. He hasn’t been sent to be special and discover new worlds; he has been sent for a much darker reason and he finds out about those lies that he has been fed and he decides to feed those lies right back at the people who gave them to him.
NI ROCKS – I’ve seen you name mentioned as a potential contributor to a recording to help raise funds for Grim Reaper frontman Steve Grimmett who was hospitalised and had to undergo major surgery in Ecuador last month. Can you tell us where things are with that at the moment?
BLAZE – No, I can’t tell you anything about it, apart from that I had a message through to say that Steve Grimmett is in trouble and that there’s an idea to do a song for him. I said, yeah, sign me up! This could be me. It could happen to me, it could happen to any of us! We’re not in major bands, we manage to have enough money to get by. If you have a major disaster in your life, it can just completely wipe you out. So I said sign me up. It is such a great name that has been established for so long, Grim Reaper, but even so, because of the nature of the music business and the record business, then you never get what you’re worth. The income that you’ve actually generated and made, you’ve had the tiniest slither of, while a lot of other people are living in big houses with great medical insurance. I signed up straight away and just wish him all the best. It could just as easily be me in that situation and I’d like to think that people would think fondly of me and help me. I haven’t had an update on him though. I just said let me know what I’ve got to do and when and I’ll try to be there.
NI ROCKS – He has just been released from hospital. I spoke to him on the Show last September just before the band went off to North America. He’s a really nice guy. I think they’re also planning a gig planned in Swindon sometime in April as well.
Do you get a chance to listen to much new music these days or do you find yourself listening to the classic rock bands when you have some time to chill?
BLAZE – I think it’s difficult as a producer. The problem is that I listen to things and I deconstruct them. So I find it difficult to listen to a lot of new music. I manage to Sabaton and Disturbed. There are a lot of other new bands that I find it difficult to listen to because I deconstruct their music and think – should that drum be right there, should this be there, what effect does it have on that vocal, I don’t think it should sound like that – I can’t help myself. There’s a band from Sweden called Stormhold who play some traditional heavy metal with a bit of an edge, which I really enjoy listening to. They’re not signed up. (https://www.facebook.com/stormhold.swe/ ). There’s a band from Bulgaria called John Steel, that I did some work with and did a lot of guest vocals with, and they’ve got some great music of their own. Really, really good. If you like heavy metal, they’ve got some great stuff. (https://www.facebook.com/John-Steel-39843189958/ ). They know how to put together a great metal song.
Over the course of a year, I must get 60 or 70 CDs that bands give me. I’ve done it myself. I was doing the exact same thing when we started off in Wolfsbane. I was thinking they should really give me something on a memory stick (laughs), to be completely up to date, so that I can stick it in my laptop or something! You’ll have more chance of me listening to it then, than on the CD.
There’s a band from Poland that I discovered, they’ve been around for about 30 years; they’re called Corruption and I love their sound as well. (https://www.facebook.com/OfficialCorruption/ ) And Behemoth from Poland as well, I’d sometimes listen to. But I have to be in the right mood. And sometimes there is a mood when Behemoth is the only band to listen to! I also listen to a lot of classical music. I find now, being a producer and more experienced in writing and composing that I find more value in classical music. I’m a lot more interested in how things go together. I understand it a lot more and I also, though it sounds quite arrogant, think if I was doing that piece, I would have that melody in this place. And some things you just go Wow! This is absolutely brilliant, how could it be any better.
I find now that, I am metal; there is no getting away from that. My blood is metal, my heart is metal; I just am metal! But, when I’m composing I don’t think ‘how can we sound metal?’ I think ‘what is the absolute, best solution for this chorus?’ We have this great chorus; now how do we get there. Or how do we take this and make it into something that comes alive in a song. How many times should we repeat this chorus before it is too much, how do we take the journey, how do we introduce the song. What’s the beginning, what is the end and why are we going there in the first place. These are the questions that I ask. I never think this should be heavy here, or melodic here, or this should be lighter here or this mood should change here – here we want to feel uplifted, here we want to feel desperate, here we want to feel courage, here we want to feel powerful; but I don’t think we want to sound heavy metal. That’s a change really. I just am metal now – I accept that about myself. No matter what I do, it sounds like me, being metal! I did an acoustic album called “Russian Holiday” (2013) which I’m very proud of and I love my performances on there; and a Swedish magazine said ‘acoustic metal’ (laughs) – even though I’m playing with a classical guitar and a violin, it’s still metal!
NI ROCKS – The focus for the next year is obviously the release of “Endure and Survive” and the tour to support that album. Further down the line is the recording of the third part of the trilogy. There was some talk of a new Wolfsbane release – anything you can tell us about that?
BLAZE – Yeah, it’s just getting the time together. We love doing it. Every time we have a reunion, we absolutely love it. It’s just finding that month when we can all be available. I saw Jason (Edwards) at Christmas and we talked about it and looked at a calendar to get dates when we could do Wolfsbane – that’s how we do it really. I don’t know when the next thing will be, but we love doing it and for me it’s a real holiday. I’m not responsible for it – I’m part of the band and an equal member of the band. Everybody has their say. Jeff Hateley writes a lot of the lyrics and melodies and we collaborate on things together with Jason Edwards. It’s a great thing and a lot of fun to be part of. I really love doing it – it’s just finding the time really.
NI ROCKS – There’s actually a Group on Facebook called “Get Wolfsbane Back in Belfast”.
BLAZE – Yes, we’re ready! Mentally we’re ready to come back, but physically we’re all doing different things! It’s impossible at the minute to get us all in the same room together, let alone in Belfast, but we’d love to do that. I’ve got great, great memories of our first visits to Belfast. Incredible memories.
NI ROCKS – Over the past 30 years you’ve obviously performed around the world and achieved things that others can only dream of. Is there anything musically that you still aspire to? Somewhere you haven’t played that you’d like to play?
BLAZE – I think that’s a very good question. At one point, I wanted to play almost every country where you could play a gig. But I’m not like that now. I really don’t care if I never play in China. If I could come to Northern Ireland every year as part of my tour I would love to do that. Those are the things that I aspire to now. I’d love to come there and do 3 or 4 shows and make that part of the rest of my tour – the European tour or World tour. There are other places too. I had hardly any gigs in Finland a few years ago, then one fan said why aren’t you in Finland? I said because no-one has asked me; somebody needs to put a gig on for me. I can’t just turn up in Finland and start busking! And so he did – he went to his local pub and said Blaze Bayley is going to come here – I need this much money to make it happen. Then he went to another one, then another. I ended up with three gigs in Finland, playing my acoustic. Then people saw I was serious about coming and I’ve been back to that same pub ever since. It’s a tiny town called Mantyharju and a pub (Bar Krouvi) that I go to every year. I don’t go to Helsinki every year, but I go to that little pub in Mantyharju every single year. It’s a point of honour for me. They supported me when nobody else would.
So really, what I aspire to is to go back to the venues that I like. Back to those places where it might be 100 or 1,000 people. Go to the places I like. My fans know where to park, there’s not an expensive beer – we saw him there last year, it’ll be the same next year. That’s it really – to keep doing those 70 shows around Europe. Maybe by the end of the year it’s around 100 with all the other places we play – or 150 even. It’s to that – just to keep going. I think my voice has matured and I really feel that I’m at my peak now. The sound of my voice now is the best that it has been – for the whole range and the sounds that I can make, the expression that I can give. I can bring the lyrics to live and bring the song to live. Even if English isn’t your first language, you can kinda tell what I’m singing about. Really, I want to record as much as I can and keep up with my recording schedule; and write the best songs that I can. Search for a truth that is universal, that affects all of us; so when you hear the lyric and the song there is something about it that makes you think, yeah I understood that or that’s how I felt or yeah that’s true. Some truth in everything – I’m constantly searching for that wisdom and that truth for everybody, so that I can connect. That’s it – now I’m at a stage where I’m doing what I want, making the music that I want, playing in the venues that I want. I get to meet my fans regularly. I would just love to keep going like this for the next three or four years.
NI ROCKS – Thanks again for taking the time to chat with me.
BLAZE – I’m really looking forward to coming over to the Diamond and I’d like to say a huge, huge thank-you to all the fans who have supported me and been so patient, waiting for me to return. I’m really looking forward to it. Thank-you so much for your support.
NI ROCKS - We’ll finish off with another track from the new album. Again, I’ll let you pick which one and tell us something about it.
BLAZE – It would be good to play the title track “Endure and Survive”. It’s not about winning the fight, it’s about keeping going no matter what happens!
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You’ll find an interview with Chris Appleton from Jan 2015 here - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/1776-ni-rocks-interview-with-chris-appleton-absolva.html
More about the new album!
‘Endure and Survive’ is the result of a writing partnership of Blaze Bayley, Chris Appleton of British metal band Absolva and also acoustic singer/songwriter Michelle Sciarrotta.
Produced by Blaze Bayleyand Chris Appleton.
Engineered by Miguel Seco at Robannas Studios, Birmingham, England.
Mastered by Ade Emsley(Iron Maiden, Tank, Phil Campbell).
Artwork by Andreas Sandberg.
As with the previous record, a host of guests and collaborators has been enlisted & the full roll call is….
Blaze Bayley : lead vocals
Chris Appleton (Absolva, Fury UK) : lead guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, choir
Martin McNee (Absolva, Fury UK) : drums
Karl Schramm (Absolva) : bass, backing vocals
Michelle Sciarrotta (Fall Girl) : nylon acoustic guitar, backing vocals, choir, voice actor
Luke Appleton (Iced Earth, Absolva, Fury UK) : backing vocals, choir
Jo Robinson (Aonia) : backing vocals, choir
Mel Adams (Aonia) : backing vocals, choir
Liz Owen : backing vocals, choir
Thomas Zwijsen : nylon acoustic guitar
Anne Bakker : violin, backing vocals
Corvin Bahn (Uli Jon Roth) : accordion
Aine Brewer : voice actor
Rob Toogood : voice actor