Infinite Entanglement

Four years after the good The King of Metal, Blaze Bayley is back with a very, very interesting album. Going back to his sci-fi roots adopted in his early works (Silicon Messiah and Tenth Dimension), Infinite Entanglement tells the story of William Black, a man who was chosen to travel through the universe in the longest space mission in mankind's history. William will live 1000 years because of the slow aging process of outer space, and so faces internal questions about loss of humanity, paranoia and inner fears.

The album has strong lyrics and all tracks succeed in displaying the character's emotions throughout his journey. From the decent beginning of the title track we can see that Blaze is in top form (despite at times needing some nasal spray, holy shit) and the band supporting him is technically capable. "A Thousand Years" and "Burning", for instance, show exactly the kind of bombastic and pompous music we can expect from a sci-fi conceptual album; deep and insightful, the two tracks rely heavily on catchy and melodic elements that enrich the experience and put us in William Black's skin. There are, of course, some passages that remind us of Maiden's characteristic sound, such as galloping bass lines and melodic twin guitars, but the band manages to keep things fresh and as original as possible.

Another great display by the most marginalized of vocalists. Blaze continues to crush the haters, releasing decent album after decent album, with a few highlights along the way. After watching lots of interviews of Blaze's struggles and positioning regarding dumb and blind Maiden fans about his career and personal life, listening to the guy discharge his sadness in the form of highly competent and deep music is a privilege. Highly recommended.