23.07.2022 The Station, Cannock: Blaze Bayley & Absolva

 First things first: There is great, there is awesome and there is utterly superb, and Blaze Bayley was 200% the latter.

There was a free meet and greet with Blaze upon entering the Station and his girlfriend took the pictures for the respective fan. He thanked us for our support and asked us all individually to join his mailing list but also had more personal conversations with fans.

He was very down to earth and approachable and meeting him was indeed a privilege.

His support act Absolva were a top-notch band who played songs from their respective albums and mentioned that their first album is already ten years old. Guitar soli wise I could detect influences of Maiden and Kiss but not in a super conscious way. The songs were hard hitting yet melodic with slower pieces worked in perfectly and they were brilliant.

I had no idea that Absolva would also be Bayley's band. Blaze Bayley’s stage presence was mesmerizing, and his voice was not just impeccable but stellar throughout. He said that what we’ll hear is 100% live, no tracking, no recording, and many times his massages were quite deep and meaningful, and they even dealt with mental health issues. 

Musically the band played many tracks from the latest album ‘War within me’, which is an amazing and strong album with the odd Bayley era Iron Maiden track thrown in. Bayleys musical output has been plentiful and while being in the world’s most celebrated metal band of all time between 1994 and 1999 did give him exposure to a much wider global audience, Bayley is nonetheless a very successful and recognisable rock icon in his own right.

Blaze was very charismatic, and the show needed no fancy lights or effects as it was brilliant without all that fancy stuff.

When Bayley's set started, his girlfriend stood in the audience, first row and when he spotted her, you could feel the bond between them. That was very lovely to see.

Awesome night out.