Blaze (metal band)

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Blaze

Background information
Origin	England
Genre(s)	Heavy metal
Years active	1999 – Present
Label(s)	SPV
Website	www.planetblaze.com
Members
Blaze Bayley Rico Banderra David Bermudez Nick Bermudez Rich Newport
Former members
Jeff Singer Rob Naylor John Slater Steve Wray Oliver Palotai Luca Princiotta Christian Ammann Daniel Schild

Blaze is a British heavy metal band formed in 1999 by former Wolfsbane and Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley. Blaze have so far released 3 studio albums and one live album.

1 History
2 Members
- 2.1 Former members
- 2.2 Live and session members
3 Discography
- 3.1 Studio albums
- 3.2 Live albums
4 External links

[edit] History

Blaze were formed in 2000 following the departure of vocalist Blaze Bayley from Iron Maiden. Bayley was joined by four hungry young British musicians, Rob Naylor, Jeff Singer, Steve Wray and John Slater. Blaze released 3 albums with this lineup and toured extensively as headliners in small pubs and clubs and at larger venues in support of power metal bands, Helloween and Savatage. The albums released nod respectfully towards Bayley's past, but at the same time have a modern heavy edge. After recording As Live as it Gets, the bands first live album, Jeff Singer announced he was leaving the band. Three months later Rob Naylor followed. Session musicians Phil Greenhouse [drums] and Wayne Banks [bass] were drafted into the band for the rest of the tour until permanent replacements could be found. At the end of 2003 the band began writing for their third studio album, Blood & Belief. Phil Greenhouse was replaced on drums by Jason Bowld. The album proved popular with many fans proving that despite the loss of a stable rhythm section, the band could still put on a good show and record a good album. The band began to tour with the Blood & Belief album but were set back again by the news John Slater could not perform a large section of the tour. Despite rejoining the band later in the year John eventually left Blaze in September with Steve Wray going with him to form Rise to Addiction. Now lacking any original members except Blaze Bayley himself, and still yet to find a stable lineup of musicians, the band were forced to start again.

The band performed a number of shows in 2004 and 2005 with the lineup of Blaze, Oliver Palotai, Luca Princiotta, Nick Douglas and Dani Loeble. The two guitarists were eventually kept on as permanent members and songwriters. Things were starting to look positive again for the band despite the loss of Dani Loeble to Helloween early in 2005. Nick Douglas also returned to Doro at this point and the two were replaced by the unknown German duo Daniel Schild and Christian Ammann. This line-up began to work on a new studio album (which will feature the recording of their 2004 Christmas gig at JB's in Dudley, England on a bonus DVD) for release in 2007, but in January that year it was announced the entire line-up other than Blaze had departed, leaving him to start over once again.