Pro-shot Blaze-era gig on YouTube

[Southy]

I was thinking the same as you spiffo watching the VXI vids made me realise how I like that album more then TXF these days, both have always pretty good albums IMO, but I seem to get more into the stuff on Virtual XI these days, I would love to hear it remixed/remastered with better bass and so on, would be killer

 

[phlogiston]

I like Blaze on the Blaze era stuff, but he blows on pretty much anything pre-Blaze. That said, you can almost say the same for Dickinson on the Blaze stuff.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I think Bruce does Man on the Edge pretty well. The version as a bside to The Wicker Man is great, he rips the chorus to pieces.

I don't think Blaze blows on the earlier stuff, he just isn't Bruce, and no one is. Even if someone with better ability than Bruce was taken on board, it would be the same situation.

 

[phlogiston]

Nah, with all of the covers and whatnot that have been done, I've heard other people singing Bruce era Maiden songs. Most do a pretty good job of it. Blaze just doesn't have the range needed for them.

 

[Spiff]

Yep, I agree with Phlog. As much as I like the guy, he sounds shocking on some songs.

I've always said that he was the first person I thought of as a replacement for Bruce, but they could have done so much better. I appreciate that Steve maybe wanted to go in a different direction, but we all know how that turned out. Listen to Andre Matos singing Maiden songs on YouTube - such a shame they didn't go with him. They say he was in the top 3 with James Labrie. Hmm.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

As I said earlier I tend to avoid hearing him sing the 'classics', maybe they should have just stuck with picking a setlist that he could thrive on. Anyways, I like the two albums he's on and think his voice does suit their music enough.

 

[TinMan666]

Yep, I agree with Phlog. As much as I like the guy, he sounds shocking on some songs.

I've always said that he was the first person I thought of as a replacement for Bruce, but they could have done so much better. I appreciate that Steve maybe wanted to go in a different direction, but we all know how that turned out. Listen to Andre Matos singing Maiden songs on YouTube - such a shame they didn't go with him. They say he was in the top 3 with James Labrie. Hmm.

i thought it was well known that it came down to Blaze and Doogie White?

Have never heard JLB linked to this story before.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I have, but I think Doogie White was up there in the top 5 auditionees as well.

 

[Spiff]

Yeah, Doogie White was there but the top 3 I heard was Labrie, Matos and Bayley. Here's a bit from the peerless source of information, Wikipedia:

Andre took part in a worldwide contest for replacing Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden and was in the Top 3 finalists alongside James LaBrie and eventual winner, Blaze Bayley.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_matos

A few years earlier everyone was going on about Michael Kiske as a possible replacement should Bruce leave, but I believe he was well off the radar by the time it happened.

 

[TinMan666]

I call bullshit on LaBrie being involved at all. Mainly just cos it's the first I've heard of it, but also because he was struggling hardcore at the time with that vocal chord injury, remember? I'm sure that was at around the same time as auditions would have been happening.

and yeah all the "they should have hired kiske" idiots got on my nerves at the time given that kiske had just quit helloween due to not wanting to play metal anymore... yeah real solid choice of replacement, a guy who just quit a similar band due to not being into that style anymore. They may as well have just had bruce stay and go through the motions half-assed-not-really-interested style.

Bottom line, they hired the right replacement singer for bruce but not the right replacement producer for birch. That's what I think.

 

[TinMan666]

hmm perhaps i'm wrong about JLB though?

http://dreamtheater.com/en/content/view/50/

In 1993, he was the first choice consideration to replace departed Iron Maiden vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, as well as a consideration to replace Rob Halford in Judas Priest.

srsly baffled that this is the first i've ever heard of this.

 

[Spiff]

I've been hearing the Labrie thing since I first got into Dream Theater (around 1996 or so).

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Bottom line, they hired the right replacement singer for bruce but not the right replacement producer for birch. That's what I think.

Interesting theory. I like it.

I never heard JLB being considered for Priest. Crazyness. I think he stayed in the best possible place he could have in DT.