Saturday 20th October 2001, Bedford Esquires.
Blaze once again returned to Esquires last Saturday for another excellent show. Support came from Area 54, a band similar to Blaze in many ways. Area 54 quickly won over the audience with their original mixture of modern thrash, power metal and the tiny tinge of nu-metal that kept it all modern. They could have moved onstage a bit more, but their frontman's interaction with the audience was excellent. It's strange that a band of their quality is unsigned again after being dropped by Dream Catcher records. My only gripe with them is that they should have a harder sound to their music as it occasionally sounds too grungy, which does not work that well with their Maiden inspired melody.
When Blaze arrived onstage it immediately became apparent that they should be playing in bigger venues than this. The stage presence of this band is enough to fill an arena and was sometimes a bit over the top for a club as small as Esquires. Blaze himself was full of energy, climbing onto the PA and constantly goading the audience to sing along and move. However, this audience did not seem as enthusiastic as the one last time Blaze played - there wasn't even a proper moshpit, unlike last time they played. The turnout seemed to be smaller as well, even though there still was quite a sizeable number of people. Blaze deserves to play in bigger venues thatn this by now - his music is far better suited to him than his time in Iron Maiden, and sounds very fresh and likely to appeal to both modern and old-school metallers a like - a geat mixture of Machine Head and Maiden which gives it a freshness and originality, as well as its universal appeal. An excellent gig, especially for a venue such as Esquires, and thanks to everyone who attended.
Pete Burov