Blaze Bayley is taking his time. Speaking to Greece's Altars Of Metal, the singer said he is in the earliest stage of work on the follow-up to "Circle Of Stone", his solo album from February 2024, and that the delay has been deliberate.
"We decided to hold on a bit longer, because we've done a lot with albums and new songs in the last few years. I wanted to hold on a bit longer," he said. "We have a lot of offers for gigs and festivals and everything. I said, 'I'd like to hold on a bit more, take a bit more time, and let the ideas come naturally, and catch the ideas, and then start to get everything together.' So that's what I'm in the process of doing now, is catching those ideas and then talking to the guys."
The most revealing part of the conversation was about sequencing. Bayley writes for vinyl, and his band think about two specific track positions above all others. "A big thing for us is that we make a record vinyl. And since we've been able to have the vinyl out, then we do it right — A side, B side. Now, I love the CD format, but I much prefer the vinyl format. Five songs, turn over, five songs. So what's incredibly important to us is song three. It's the third one. You're used to the sounds. This is the one you're really ready to listen to. And song five — it's the opening of side two, and it's a statement of intent. So we're always careful about that as we're putting it together."
He is realistic about what they have so far. "We haven't got much, but the little bits we have got make us feel quite confident that we'll be able to do at the least a good album. What we want is a life-changing beast, but we're aiming for good."
On musical direction he refused to commit, and explained why in an image worth keeping. "It's too early to say, because I don't wanna look at the mountain and go, 'Right, that's the mountain I'm climbing,' but really behind me is the real mountain. I wanna make sure I'm doing exactly the right thing. That's where I'm going, and I feel in my heart that this is the right thing. It has to feel right."
Bayley fronted IRON MAIDEN for five years, appearing on 1995's "The X Factor" and 1998's "Virtual XI", and will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year alongside the band's current and former members. The ceremony takes place on November 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. He has since released a long run of albums under the BLAZE banner and his own name, and underwent quadruple bypass surgery after a heart attack in March 2023.