This third and final installment in Blaze Bayley’s excellent musical trilogy featuring the character William Black oozes class and simply rules from start to finish. From the moody yet epic album opener "Redeemer" and further on to the heartfelt closing track titled "Eagle Spirit", "The Redemption of William Black (Infinite Entanglement Part III)" never really loses its momentum or intensity throughout. The songs are cleverly written, the running order of the tracks is well-planned and nicely structured, and the musicianship is superb all around.

 

As to the man himself, Blaze sounds as inspired and passionate as ever. There is a near-perfect balance between the somewhat dense and layered tracks exemplified by "The First True Sign" and the slightly more straightforward and gut-ripping ones ala "Are You Here". Standouts include the riveting "Human Eye", the dramatic "Immortal One", and the optimistic "Already Won". "Prayers of Light" is another fantastic composition that ought to go down a storm at any upcoming Blaze Bayley gig. The excitement and vigor encapsulated by that song are so goddamn prevalent that one can almost reach out and touch them. "Life Goes On" is also utterly compelling and boasts a great and infectious chorus.

 

The spoken-word sections that are scattered throughout the album and bind the tunes together add atmosphere and a sense of eerie darkness to the proceedings while the bright and crisp production in turn provides the record with shades of light and an uplifting aura. In that sense, "The Redemption of William Black" covers a lot of ground in terms of different emotions and nuances and so on. There are obviously parallels and similarities to the two highly underrated Iron Maiden albums that Blaze appeared on as well as the first few outputs by the Blaze band to be found here. Having said that, "The Redemption of William Black (Infinite Entanglement Part III)" stands tall and proud as a fine and majestic piece of work that perfectly summarizes what Blaze Bayley is all about. This is one talented and cool dude, folks.

 

Support the great man and check this album out as soon as it becomes available. This is powerful and memorable heavy metal at its best.

 

https://www.blazebayley.net/