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Ever since 2000’s Silicon Messiah, Blaze Bayley has released enjoyable albums under various guises. War Within Me not only continues the process but is his best to date. The 10 songs are thunderous yet melodic, with Blaze in prime vocal form. There are hints of Iron Maiden and the precision of classic Megadeth draped across a power metal framework. The best moments come on the feisty title track, the speeding Witches Night, the punching The Dream Of Alan Turing and the elegant closer, Every Storm Ends – a hymn of hope in these uncertain times. These all benefit from Christopher Appleton’s colourful, sharp guitar contributions. Blaze Bayley is still a metal force to be reckoned with.

Malcolm Dome had an illustrious and celebrated career which stretched back to working for Record Mirror magazine in the late 70s and Metal Fury in the early 80s before joining Kerrang! at its launch in 1981. His first book, Encyclopedia Metallica, published in 1981, may have been the inspiration for the name of a certain band formed that same year. Dome is also credited with inventing the term "thrash metal" while writing about the Anthrax song Metal Thrashing Mad in 1984. With the launch of Classic Rock magazine in 1998 he became involved with that title, sister magazine Metal Hammer, and was a contributor to Prog magazine since its inception in 2009. He died in 2021.

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Blaze Bayley’s War Within Me: British metal’s great survivor brings the thunder

Ex-Iron Maiden frontman Blaze Bayley hits new heights of power on new album War Within Me