If you’ve been a fan of heavy metal for any period of time, chances are good you’ve come across music that has Blaze Bayley behind the mic. Whether it’s his early work with Wolfsbane, those two Iron Maiden albums people love to trash talk, or his vast amount of solo work over the past two decades, there’s plenty to dive into. I’ve personally always liked Bayley’s gruffer voice and different range compared to his peers, as his solo efforts have made great use of what he has to offer. This remains true on Circle of Stone, his eleventh full length (or eighth if you’re tracking when he switched from Blaze to Blaze Bayley). For this effort the core crew of musicians from 2021’s War Within Me remains intact, but there are some different guest contributions and the overall approach is a bit different as the second half forms a series of connected tracks. It treads a fine line between heavy metal and hard rock with an increased emphasis on ballads and softer, reflective tracks, but Blaze pulls it off and showcases his music can still be just as exciting as it was in the 2000’s.
Don’t let that last sentence scare you off, as there are still plenty of high energy riffs throughout Circle of Stone. “Mind Reader” is a strong opener that sounds a bit more hard rock or rock ‘n roll rhythmically, but has some of that sharper heavy metal tonality present in the guitar work. It’s the type of song that quickly establishes a hook and doesn’t overstay its welcome, transitioning over to a punchier solo towards the end before wrapping everything up in under three minutes. That’s one of the things that works well throughout Circle of Stone, as while the slower ballads do stretch out the track length the faster paced ones keep things brief and ensure that the riffs keep things interesting without overstaying their welcome. There’s a good flow to the material too, as slow burning tracks like “The Broken Man” are broken up by much more aggressive instrumentation. On the heavier side of the spectrum, tracks like “Ghost in the Bottle” and “The Path of the Righteous Man” stand out, with the latter having a distinctive NWOBHM sound to it. But what surprised me the most was how much the ballads stood out, as “The Broken Man” and “Until We Meet Again” still stick out even with their subtleness. “Rage” is also a great track that balances the two sides of the spectrum, starting off with softer guitar and violin work before reaching a huge peak. There are a couple of lulls, especially “A Day of Reckoning” which overstays its welcome a bit, but as a whole Blaze Bayley and company give listeners plenty of standout melodies and more aggressive riffs. The only other complaint I have is the production which sometimes seems a bit too muted, with the drums in particular sounding like they could have a bit more power behind them.
I mentioned this in the introduction, but Blaze’s gruffer voice and different approach has been an appealing part of his music in the past. He still sounds fantastic throughout Circle of Stone, utilizing his natural range to its fullest. Blaze has never had the falsettos or soaring vocal capabilities of some of the other NWOBHM singers, but there’s still so much emotion and power behind his singing that it manages to grab you from beginning to end. Faster numbers like “Mind Reader” move between verses that have some aggressive edges and booming choruses, while the ballads allow the singing to get a bit more vulnerable and reflective. This suits the lyrics, which focus on human nature and resilience on the first half and pivots towards ancestral history and past centuries on the second. Considering Blaze had a heart attack only two days after Circle of Stone was completed this feels even more impactful, and makes the performance all the more impressive. Circle of Stone also features a few guests, as Niklas Stålvind from Wolf contributes his much higher pitched singing on three tracks while Tammy-Rae Bois duets with Blaze on the soft closing piece “Until We Meet Again”. Both guests add some different variation to the performance and help to make the material stand out further, with the latter duet really standing out to me.
Where other solo heavy metal singers have had a lot of ups and downs from one album to the next, Blaze Bayley’s been remarkably consistent over the past decade or so and Circle of Stone is no exception. Whether you like this one more than War Within Me will probably depend on if you gravitate to the ballads and softer moments or not, but both efforts stand out in their own right. The production does still leave a bit to be desired, as the drums are a bit too muted for my desire and some of the other instrumentals feel like they could have just a bit more weight behind them. But the strength of the writing makes up for it, and showcases that Blaze Bayley is still worth paying attention to. Circle of Stone is available from Blaze Bayley Recordings.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg