Blaze Bailey – Circle of Stone – 2024

Circle of Stone is a 2024 album by British singer Blaze Bailey. Undoubtedly, he’s mostly known because he took over the singing duties in Iron Maiden while Bruce Dickinson was away doing solo stuff. He’s a good singer, not the best in the world but he does what he does good! I had totally missed this album. I saw a comparison on Facebook of what people thought about Circle of Stone compared to Bruce Dickinson’s The Mandrake Project. Of course, it’s two albums in the Hardrock genre and with two singers connected to Iron Maiden. Of course, people are going to compare them.

And, I have no problem comparing them either. I don’t think it should be done because Bruce Dickinson is clearly the better singer of the two. The Mandrake Project is a more complex album no doubt. But, I only listened to that once or twice. I have been listening to Circle of Stone för at least five or six times now. I’m still not tired of it. It might not be the better album production-wise. But sometimes the simple is the better choice after all. Less is more. There’s nothing glorious about Circle of Stone. It has not been going through such massive promotion as the Mandrake Project. It went totally under the radar for me. But at the end of the day, I’d rather listen to Circle of Stone a couple of more times than going back t that other album.

It might not be better or better produced but it’s more enjoyable and the re-play value is higher!