Band:	Blaze
Album:	Silicon Messiah
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	May 2000

01. Ghost In The Machine
02. Evolution
03. Silicon Messiah
04. Born As A Stranger
05. The Hunger
06. The Brave
07. Identity
08. Reach For The Horizon
09. The Launch
10. Stare At The Sun
11. The Day I Fell To Earth [South American & Japanese bonus]
12. Motherfuckers R Us [South American bonus]
13. Steel [South American bonus]
14. Interactive Track [South American bonus]

Pandora's Box agape it stares, the Silicon Messiah roams the world.

The infamous Blaze Bayley, also known as the 'Bruce Dickinson-substitute' and 'the dude responsible for two crappy albums' proved to be a very talented and determined person who on top of everything slapped Maiden right in the face with his album 'Silicon Messiah.' Blaze felt disappointed with himself after leaving Maiden and had decided to end his career as a musician were it not for a couple of letters from fans around the world which encouraged him to continue in a solo career.

In reality, the album came out just about when 'Brave New World' was released. And be it reality, everyone was stunned at how Blaze hatched out of his shell and wrote the best Heavy Metal album of the year.

Overall, the sound differs from what we used to know in Iron Maiden, although one can note a similar galloping in 'The Launch' and 'Stare at the sun.' The heavy opening of 'Ghost in the Machine' gives this extra conceptual vibe of the album and poses the question of how a world works in the presence of proliferating computers.

This being the first Blaze album, it is evident that some songs have a more experimental character. 'Evolution' continues the saga from 'Ghost of the Machine' and accumulates the gravity of the sound- yet this song is abundant on catchy riffs and frankly; its alien-like ending gives me a shiver. Another song of an experimental character is 'Reach for the Horizon.' This song is just a mediocre creation that has nothing to do with the entire album and should not have been granted a place.

The epicentre of the album, 'Silicon Messiah,' shakes its surroundings. The song imposes philosophical issues such about freedom and a warped lyric 'Computing your future, so therefore I am' scutters in the song. Similarly, 'Identity' creates an atmosphere of questioning about the self and its identification in a world of uniformity.

It is not until 'Born as a Stranger' before one really starts liking this album - the fastest, most captivating and melodic song in the album. There's not much to say about this song, for it talks for itself. One fact worth mentioning: I have successfully converted nu metalheads to heavy metalheads only through this song. One song that is somewhat the competitor of 'Born as a Stranger,' is 'The Brave' - a very fast song where one can almost feel the lashing of the drums. 'The Brave' is definitely a very lyrical song with a degree of seriousness. The third adrenaline-siphoning headbanging-type of song is 'The Launch.' As its name implies, the song is about determination - always pushing the limits one level higher.

'The Hunger' is one of the lengthiest songs in 'Silicon Messiah.' It is slow and one can note the anger in Blazes words of 'I am on the outside, always looking in.'. The song is about an emptiness which one is hungry to fulfil: the emptiness of isolation.

The finale, the very sapphire of the album is 'Stare at the Sun.' Being one of the most memorable songs, 'Stare at the Sun' is the song in which Blaze employs his voice with most power, most demand and it is a sheer loss of mind not to taste what this masterpiece feels like. It is rare for violins to be used in heavy metal, but Stare at the Sun's violin composition only adds a touch of brilliance that polishes the intro only to make it more exceptional.

It is always a pleasure listening to the whole album and indeed there is something special about it. This more philosophical aspect is for you to determine.