Iron Maiden’s bassist Steve Harris has spoken out in defense of the band’s Blaze Bayley era, asking fans not to dismiss those albums. In a conversation shared with Louder Sound, Harris reflected on that period, often criticized due to the change in vocalists, and stressed the value of the music created during that time.

“I said it at the time and I still believe it – those two are really strong, powerful albums and people will appreciate them later,” Harris said. “And people are going back and discovering them and realizing they’re good.”

One release he singled out was The X Factor, which, according to Harris, was shaped by deeply personal circumstances.

“The X Factor in particular is really good, but it’s a dark album,” he explained. “Probably ‘cos I was in a bit of a dark place with Bruce leaving and me going through a divorce at the time, all this stuff going on.”

Harris noted that those struggles translated directly into the creative output.

“But what came out of that was a powerful album,” he continued. “You take negative stuff and you turn it into a positive and those emotions come out, and that’s what you can do with music. Music’s such a powerful thing.”

His comments arrive as fans revisit this divisive chapter in the band’s history. Although overshadowed by Iron Maiden’s more commercially successful periods, the Bayley era is now gaining recognition for its distinct qualities.

Blaze Bayley officially joined Iron Maiden in 1994 after his previous band Wolfsbane disbanded, following extensive auditions to replace Bruce Dickinson. His arrival marked a significant stylistic shift, introducing a different vocal approach.

Commercially, the transition was difficult. Chart Masters recorded that both The X Factor and Virtual XI charted lower than any Maiden releases since 1981. Over time, however, the records have developed a loyal following, appreciated for their intensity and emotional resonance. Despite the initial setbacks, Iron Maiden has sold more than 130 million albums worldwide, and songs from the Bayley era, including “Man on the Edge” and “Futureal,” still find their way into the band’s live performances. The latter track, co-written by Bayley, has secured its place in Maiden’s legacy.

The recording of The X Factor was especially challenging, with Bayley still recovering from a serious motorcycle accident while laying down vocals. These obstacles only added to the rawness of the record—a quality Harris now highlights as one of its greatest strengths.

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Steve Harris recently chatted with the Sweden Rock Festival’s YouTube channel and revealed why Bruce Dickinson was behind Iron Maiden’s touring scale-down.

Harris is currently touring with both his solo band, British Lion, and Iron Maiden, so when the host asked how he found the time and energy to do so, the bassist revealed:

“I started [British Lion] 11 years ago; I’ve been playing with them [for] 11 years. But before that, I wouldn’t have been able to do it, ’cause Maiden was too busy. In the last 10 years, Maiden’s not been so busy; we’ve not been touring as long. So, basically, it enabled me to have a bit of time to do something else.”

Then, Steve discussed why Maiden had scaled down their touring dates when the host asked whether he wanted to play live more:

“Yeah, I still enjoy playing, so, yeah, I play as much as I can. I’ll be happy to play four or five nights a week, but you can’t do it — for singers, you can’t do it. It was tough for Bruce [Dickinson] back in the day, let alone now back in the day, let alone now. I think he’s singing better than ever, but it’s quality, not quantity, with Maiden now.”

Harris’ band, British Lion, just finished up a 15-date-tour all across Europe, and the bassist continues to hit the road with Iron Maiden as their ‘scaled down’ tour dates carry on with several dates in Canada starting on September 28.

You can watch the interview below.

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Iron Maiden’s vocalist Bruce Dickinson recently spoke with Manchester Evening News about his wish to collaborate with a brewery and the process of finding one.

Being born in the East Midlands and raised in Sheffield, Bruce said that he went through auditions with breweries:

“I was brought up on the wrong side of the Pennines for you guys, but I’m not a stranger to the north. I had to audition and drink beer because they wanted to know if we were serious.”

Dickinson talked further about the miscommunication he had with the brewery owners:

“We approached several other breweries and probably 50 per cent of the time their response was ‘oh, p***s off’. Because they thought we were trying to take mickey – that we would just go and exploit their reputation, then just walk away. But we were serious about it.”

The vocalist also explained the process that led him to team up with family-run brewery Robinsons:

“Some breweries, funnily enough, were interested – but then when they realised we wanted a long-term partnership, they weren’t interested. Robinsons were the only ones who said ‘Okay if you’re serious about this, let’s go and drink some beer’.”

He continued:

“Basically, I just did sort of a taste test with them where I wrote my opinion on the beers. And obviously, I did alright because they said ‘Alright, let’s have a go at making a beer’.”

The first product of this partnership was ‘Trooper’, about which Bruce said:

“The first brew, the signature brew, ‘Trooper’, we just got it right straight out of the box. Everything we aimed to brew, we actually did. The reactions to it were exactly what we hoped for.”

Business owner John Robinson explained why did they interview the vocalist:

“We properly interviewed him, because we knew this would only work if he knew his stuff.”

You can read the whole article here

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Paul Di’Anno is not satisfied with Tobias Forge‘s vocals on Ghost’s cover of Phantom Of The Opera. On the same day that Ghost’s Phantom became available, the former Iron Maiden lead vocalist commented in a since-deleted Facebook post:

“Everyone asking my opinion on the Ghost cover of Phantom well not that it matters, but it f*ckin sucks.”

The vocalist explained his opinion of Ghost’s cover in a subsequent interview with Loaded Radio. He stated:

“The music’s great. I just don’t think Tobias fucking tried hard enough vocally. He sounds a bit plain… And he changed the lyrics slightly… That was a bit weird.”

Although his initial comments were scathing, it seems that Di’Anno’s main criticisms were Tobias’ vocal performance and the altered lyrics. He continued:

“When I first heard it, I was probably in a bad mood that day. I said, ‘This is fucking bullshit.’ But I’ve listened to it about three or four times. [The music is] pretty damn good, actually, to be honest with you. But as I said, I just feel like Tobias didn’t give it some welly [using British slang for ‘energy’], as we say… Give me some fucking well.”

It appears that Paul revised his opinion of the song after several listens and was in a better mood. Even though he appreciates the music, he remains critical of Tobias’ performance:

“As I said, I just wish he’d put a bit more effort into the vocals. That’s all.”

Despite his views on Tobias’ vocal performance on the cover, Di’Anno clarified that his harsh criticism wasn’t due to personal animosity against Ghost or Tobias. He explained:

“Regardless of what you think of Ghost, I’m very happy for them. Maybe I was just pissed off with life [that day], as usual. The older I get, the grumpier I am. Fucking great. Once you get over 50, you’ve got every fucking right to say what you want.

You can reach the transcribed interview by clicking here.

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