Steve Harris Defends Iron Maiden’s ‘Bloody Good’ Blaze Bayley Albums
It's tough deciding on which Iron Maiden album is the best or even just a personal favorite, but when it comes to the worst of their catalog, fans are generally quick to agree that the two records fronted by Blaze Bayley represent the worst. Chris Jericho, however, counts the band's 1995 effort, The X Factor, among his two personal favorites and Steve Harris threw his support behind that album and era on the Talk Is Jericho podcast.
"I really like that album. It's very personal to me," Harris said of The X Factor, which was the first following the departure of Bruce Dickinson in 1993. It was bolstered by two singles, "Man on the Edge" and "Lord of the Flies," both of which were more in line with material Maiden had released in the past, while the rest of the record honed in on plodding mid-tempos, daunting runtimes and a doomy atmosphere.
"I remember saying at the time that those albums that we did with Blaze, that people would in the future come to appreciate them a lot more later on. And they are — they are starting to do that now. They definitely are appreciating them a lot more now," Harris added. "They were bloody good albums, in my opinion. It was just a point in time where, whatever we were going through at the time, I think it brought out some really good stuff," he went on.
It's worth noting that Maiden have resurrected two Bayley-era songs on their "Legacy of the Beast" tour. "I really like that album, and that era as well. We were fighting — everyone was kind of fighting at the time, because everyone thought metal was going down and all this. And it was, to a certain degree — but it makes you fight, makes you change and fight harder. I like that," said the bassist.
Harris understands there are ebbs and flows to a band's career and further asserted, "There's an element to it, a fire in it, that's very important. It's an important part of our career. Every career has highs and lows and ups and downs, whether Bruce [Dickinson] is in the band or not, and it is what it is. You just ride the waves, really. At the moment, we're on the crest of a wave, which is fantastic. You take it all day long, but you never know what's around the corner, really."
Iron Maiden will embark on the next part of their "Legacy of the Beast" tour in 2019. See those dates below.
July 18 - Sunrise, Fla. @ BB&T Center
July 20 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
July 22 - Charlotte, N.C. @ PNC Music Pavilion
July 24 - Washington D.C. @ Jiffy Lube Live
July 26 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Barclays Center
July 30 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wells Fargo Center
Aug. 01 - Boston, Mass. @ Xfinity Center
Aug. 03 - Hartford, Ct. @ Xfinity Theatre
Aug. 05 - Montreal, Quebec @ Bell Centre
Aug. 07 - Quebec, Quebec @ Videotron Centre
Aug. 09 - Toronto, Ontario @ Budweiser Stage
Aug. 10 - Toronto, Ontario @ Budweiser Stage
Aug. 13 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ KeyBank Center
Aug. 15 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 17 - Pittsburgh, Pa. @ PPG Paints Arena
Aug. 19 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Bridgestone Arena
Aug. 22 - Chicago, Ill. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 24 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
Aug. 26 - St Paul, Minn. @ Xcel Energy Center
Aug. 28 - Winnipeg, Manitoba @ Bell MTS Place
Aug. 30 - Edmonton, Alberta @ Rogers Place
Aug. 31 - Calgary, Alberta @ Scotiabank Saddledome
Sept. 03 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
Sept. 05 - Tacoma, Wash. @ Tacoma Dome
Sept. 06 - Portland, Ore. @- Moda Center
Sept. 09 - Sacramento, Calif. @ Golden 1 Center
Sept. 10 - Oakland, Calif. @ Oracle Arena
Sept. 13 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
Sept. 14 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Bank of California Stadium
Sept. 17 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Talking Stick Resort Arena
Sept. 19 - Albuquerque, N.M. @ Isleta Amphitheater
Sept. 21 - Dallas, Texas @ Dos Equis Pavilion
Sept. 22 - Houston, Texas @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Sept. 25 - San Antonio, Texas @ AT&T Center
Sept. 29 - Mexico City, Mexico @ Sports Palace
Oct. 04 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil @ Rock In Rio
Oct. 12 - Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Velez Sarsfield Stadium
Oct. 15 - Santiago, Chile @ Estadio Nacional
Steve Harris on Talk Is Jericho
Every Iron Maiden Song Ranked