X Factor

Iron Maiden: Blaze Bayley (vocals); Dave Murray, Janick Gers (guitar); Steve Harris (bass); Nicko McBrain (drums).
Additional personnel: Xpresion Choir.
Recorded at Barnyard Studios, Essex, England.
When longtime vocalist Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden in 1993, many fans feared that the band was finished. But the rest of the band decided to stick it out, finding a replacement in ex-Wolfsbane frontman "Blaze" Bayley. On Maiden's first recording with Bayley, 1995's THE X FACTOR, the band sticks to the same musical direction of its early-'90s work: straightforward, heavy tunes.
Bayley's voice couldn't have been more different than that of his predecessor. While Dickinson sang in a higher register (often in an operatic style), Bayley was more of a bassy, low-down belter--just listen to such tracks as "Man on the Edge" and "Lord of the Flies" for proof. Unfortunately, the new lineup didn't have the same staying power as the Dickinson-fronted era, lasting for only one more recording.