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Why did Maiden not tune down during the Blaze era ?

Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2024 7:03 pm
by joey78
I’m a huge fan of the 2 records he did with Maiden, especially X Factor .

But looking at some of the live shows like the Santiago 96 gig (link below) he struggles to stay in key while singing the Bruce-era material . In fact he is sometimes off-key even on the X Factor material.

How could a perfectionist like Harris not think of tuning down to accommodate Blaze’s voice ? Did the band not realise Blaze’s limitations when rehearsing for the tour ?

https://youtu.be/jXMxwkecHJ0?si=EhV0uGvh9MmdpWZ5

Re: Why did Maiden not tune down during the Blaze era ?

Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2024 9:43 pm
by Tommy2Tone84
It wouldn’t have done any good.

Re: Why did Maiden not tune down during the Blaze era ?

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 3:04 am
by Zander
There's only so far you can get with a tone deaf singer and his limited range.

Re: Why did Maiden not tune down during the Blaze era ?

Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 4:50 am
by HottKarl777
Because tuning down ruins a bass tone real quick. And it ruins the song quite frankly. Even just a half a step completely changes a tune. (to attuned ears at least). The best case in point for this is Metallica. Master of Puppets sounds sludgy and dead to me in E flat. It fucking sucks.

Re: Why did Maiden not tune down during the Blaze era ?

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 5:25 pm
by Tommy2Tone84
Why did they hire him in the first place?

Re: Why did Maiden not tune down during the Blaze era ?

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 6:42 pm
by FreddyFender
I think the answer is that they were set in their ways and it probably never occurred to them to change what they do to accommodate their new singer - it was Blazes problem to sort out.

Re: Why did Maiden not tune down during the Blaze era ?

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2024 10:03 pm
by GoodJudge
Tommy2Tone84 wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2024 5:25 pm Why did they hire him in the first place?
Because Steve wanted to. And he didn’t want to tune down either.

Longer answer - Wolfsbane supported Maiden on the No Prayer... tour, Steve / the band got on well with Blaze, he had a powerful voice, Steve knew he didn't have the same vocal range but wanted a complete change of style after Bruce left.

Much longer version here: https://maidenrevelations.com/2019/01/2 ... 1994-1996/

As to the original question:
https://hellorayo.co.uk/planet-rock/new ... ze-vocals/
"In an interview with the ‘Scars and Guitars’ podcast, Maiden bassist and leader Harris was asked if the band had considered "tuning down half a step or even a step" during the Blaze Bayley era.

This would have been to account for the difference in range between Bruce Dickinson, who left the band in 1993, and his replacement Blaze Bayley.

Harris replied: “Not really, no. Maybe on some things, in retrospect, we could have done. But no, we didn't really think about it. It wasn't, really, till we got out and played live that we realized there was a couple of things."”

Re: Why did Maiden not tune down during the Blaze era ?

Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2024 3:35 am
by Tommy2Tone84
GoodJudge wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2024 10:03 pm
Tommy2Tone84 wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2024 5:25 pm Why did they hire him in the first place?
Because Steve wanted to. And he didn’t want to tune down either.

Longer answer - Wolfsbane supported Maiden on the No Prayer... tour, Steve / the band got on well with Blaze, he had a powerful voice, Steve knew he didn't have the same vocal range but wanted a complete change of style after Bruce left.

Much longer version here: https://maidenrevelations.com/2019/01/2 ... 1994-1996/

As to the original question:
https://hellorayo.co.uk/planet-rock/new ... ze-vocals/
"In an interview with the ‘Scars and Guitars’ podcast, Maiden bassist and leader Harris was asked if the band had considered "tuning down half a step or even a step" during the Blaze Bayley era.

This would have been to account for the difference in range between Bruce Dickinson, who left the band in 1993, and his replacement Blaze Bayley.

Harris replied: “Not really, no. Maybe on some things, in retrospect, we could have done. But no, we didn't really think about it. It wasn't, really, till we got out and played live that we realized there was a couple of things."”

I know all of that. It was still was poor decision making on Steve’s part. Blaze didn’t fit the band vocally or visually. After Bruce, they needed someone who could impressively pull off and handle those songs.