Blaze Bayley Iron Maiden vocalist , reminisced about the release of Silicon Messiah , his first solo album. Released 25 years ago, the album was the vocalist's first work after his time with Iron Maiden.
In an interview with Classic Rock , Bayley spoke about the album's lasting impact and the emotional process behind its creation. He revealed that some of the ideas contained in the album originated while he was still in Iron Maiden, and were conceived for a third album that never came to fruition.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it? I had some ideas planned for my third album with Maiden, which didn’t come out, of course, but they became the basis for Silicon Messiah . I learned a lot working with Steve Harris, and those lessons came along with the album,” he stated [transcription via Loudersound ].
Blaze Bayley feels his debut album was overshadowed by its release.
Despite considering it a good album, Blaze admitted that his debut album had significant commercial difficulties. Silicon Messiah ended up hitting stores the same week as Brave New World — which marked the return of Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson to Iron Maiden — and was forgotten on the shelves.
“I knew I had created a good album; not at the level of a Grammy or anything, but
Silicon was stillborn. I won't go into details, but it was released the same week as Brave New World , Maiden's first album after Bruce Dickinson's return, and it was completely overshadowed. Some people thought I had given up or retired. The same thing happened with the following album, Tenth Dimension (2002), nobody knew it existed. Twenty-five years later, I am completely independent and working with a great team. Only now is
Silicon Messiah coming to life. Finally, what I always hoped for is happening,” he concluded.
READ ALSO: Iron Maiden: Steve Harris recalls Blaze Bayley's departure and Bruce Dickinson's return
