So, Maiden are back together. Hmmm, not sure how I feel about that. I should feel ecstatic, cos they were such a fantastic band. And pleased cos hopefully they’ll whup the arses of half the bands masquerading today and show how it should be done. Especially live. Face it, Maiden live in their heyday absolutely pisses all over most of the current crop. Wonder how many bands will now crawl out the woodwork and admit that the band actually was an influence. I see the big K! has suddenly done a feature and mentioned them a bit!

But well, see, they were the first band I really got into. I respected them and their integrity. So this feels like a hollow gesture. It can be covered up and whatever, but so many words that were spoken have been retraced, picked up and hidden away as though they were never spoken. And I don’t like that.

And sure, I never liked the stuff with Blaze as much as the earlier stuff. But that was as much because my tastes had varied by this point as it was anything to do with his vocals. I don’t know the sides to the story yet, but it feels like the guy has been made the scapegoat. It should be remembered that the last few albums with Bruce were cack, and his final few tours with them were half-hearted affairs on his behalf. It wasn’t down to Blaze that the music didn’t tickle some people’s taste buds. And at least Blaze was trying. I mean, I wonder if I’ll be able to believe anything the band says from now on. At least soldering on with Blaze I could believe what Steve was saying. I could with Bruce up until he started playing Maiden tracks live again having said “I’ll never play Maiden tracks live as it would be an insult to the memory.” Well, at least until it helped in the popularity stakes. And because they were the first band I was into and I wanted to believe in them, it destroys that myth that I’d built, that innocence of youth. Christ, I’ll be talking about flowers in the hair next But that’s another story, and one that I have yet to make up!

This could be two parties rediscovering a mutual love affair. Or it could be a business decision. If it’s the later, I’d rather both had stuck to what they enjoyed and stuck two fingers to business. Of course that’s a naive outlook, but you know what, sometimes naive is good. Remember all the fun you had as a youngster before rules, regulations and the reality of life hit in. Some people wonder why we never retain that. We mourn its loss. Well, maybe if you retain a sense of naivety you can retain it.

Of course, all that being said I’m a hypocrite. So that means I’m there for the gigs! Whinging about the costs and how it’s “just not the same.”