THE X FACTOR

In 1993 Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden. Many fans were in shock. I couldn't imagine other singer in Iron Maiden. And I doubt members of the band could. Right, they couldn't. But Bruce didn't want to be part of the band anymore. Blaze Bayley's voice doesn't move me at all. Music saved this release. The guy sings with lower voice and he completely doesn't fit for Maiden. Before joining Iron Maiden Blaze was singer for the band Wolfsbane and he was kind of copy of David Lee Roth. So don't ask me if he was a good choice for Maiden. Fortunatelly it doesn't matter when me meet these surprisingly good tunes. First epic track Sign Of The Cross is excellent. 11 minutes of progressive metal work. It reminds me of Somewhere In Time album a bit and it's always a good feeling. Fortunes Of War, Aftermath and Judgement Of Heaven are also one of my favorites. In that last one Blaze even sings better (at least I believe he does). But those mentioned songs even if are very good can't be my ultimate favorites because last two songs are. 2 AM amazes me with those extremely melodic solos and very good arrangement (reminding me of Queensryche and their Empire album). The Unbeliever is a bitter reckoning song with great progressive section somewhere in the middle. Very emotional tune. The X- Factor is a very good piece of work and it doesn't fail at all. Even prog fans can be pleased with this album. Cos it is proggy.