Album Review - Blaze - Silicon Messiah

A dark and embracing atmosphere seems to surround this first album from Blaze, making it very interesting indeed. After being in Iron Maiden with mixed success for two albums, Blaze Bayley decided to start a new band.

The result is a very interesting album with many fantastic songs. Among them is the marvellous Born As A Stranger. This is one of the best-composed fast melodic songs I have heard. The high amount of energy and power that comes to life is fantastic, a song that get me up the chair for sure.
The guitar leads are duelling in great style, and the bass has a hard groove, all in all everything just seems to fit perfect.

The Brave has some cool fast guitar riffs and the double-bass drums are sounds very powerful. The positive lyric and melodic chorus works well together. The Launch is also a very catchy song. The melodic lead guitars sound great and the flow the song has, is functioning really well. A short, but very intense contribution to the record.

The album also has some great mid-tempo songs like the grooving and very hard Silicon Messiah, which huge chorus is coming out really powerful, as with the extremely heavy rhythm guitar.

In Stare At The Sun we find the album's slowest and longest track. The very dark atmosphere and epic mood the guitars create sounds phenomenal. The song varies between different parts and they all seems to fit into an organised whole. The vocals are very emotional and this song has many great passages.

The sound is very tightly produced, the rhythm section has a lot of depth and the instruments are well adjusted. A powerful and still very clean sound.

The reason that I don't give this a higher rating is that some songs lack the intensity and overall quality of the majority. For ex. The Hunger seems a bit standard with a tame chorus and a monotone melody. Reach For The Horizon has a bit of the same problem, the main rhythm is exactly exiting, the chorus is not working that well, and I miss something to bind the song tighter together.
These are not bad songs; average is the more fitting word, thanks to the better elements like the solid musical performance and the fair amount of power they posses.

The band sounds very incorporated and delivers some great musical performances. Blaze sings with a raw edge that fits the songs well. He hasn't the got the worlds most melodic voice but its weighed out by its power. The drums do their job in being a solid fundament, spiced with some fitting details. The bass offers some good varied passages here and there; I like the fact that it's highly involved in the rhythm section.

One of the best elements on Silicon Messiah is the clean and diversely played guitars. The riffs are ground solid and the solos fast, intense and melodic. The minor guitar lead part that is used at times gives the songs a more complex edge, which is a nice detail.

Turning to the lyrics, they fit the music in a good way. Critical remarks about a very computerised and technological society, but also more personal lyrics about seizing the day and staying focus in a difficult world are central themes. My overall impression is good lyrics, but not especially groundbreaking.

This is a highly original and capturing record, I guess Blaze is right in singing fortune favours the brave, it sure nice with a record that is so different and yet still classic Metal.

Written by Tommy
Sunday, May 4, 2003
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Ratings

Tommy: 7.5/10

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