Blaze : Silicon Messiah - 15 Years Anniversary Edition Double Gatefold Vinyl & CD

Got these marvelous items two days back.

I will talk a bit in my broken English, and then rambled on in my BASTARDIZED Malay Language.

This is the `15 Years Anniversary Edition of BLAZE Silicon Messiah for both the double disc gatefold vinyl LP and cd versions.

It was worth the long wait. Blaze Bayley as usual is a marvel. Realising that he could get a cheaper price for each vinyl after pressing them, those who pre-ordered now gets a voucher. Thanks a lot.
Also as usual the packaging of both vinyls and cd are great, and all these comes with a personal touch from Blaze Bayley. I found my name in the list. LOL!!!

I wish him the best wishes always in his career and his personal life.

Anyway this is not exactly a review of the very first Blaze album, more of some photos to show how beautiful the packaging is. 

As usual the best parts are always his own notes, stories and memories. It makes great reading.

On my part, i try my best, to get his special editions and the Soundtrack Of My Life double cds and also dvd special editions are simply amazing with that special book that comes with the dvd or the double cd. I forgot. I think its like 500 copies of that book in the world or something? 

Silicon Messiah is a wonderful album. There are some good songs but the rest of the majority are excellent songs that I really like and enjoy.

I just wish that more people get to listen to him and his musical efforts.

Blaze Bailey ni sekarang kan dah independent, I mean sejak berapa tahun dah kot.
So dia dah takde terikat kat mana2 syarikat.
So dia dah beli balik semua (aku tak rasa semua la tapi setiap album dan lagu2 dalam album2 Blaze nye band dan Blaze Bayley solo albums) karya2 dia dan jadi hakcipta dia.
Jadi apa dia dapat jual semua keuntungan semua pergi balik kat dia.

Tapi pasal dia ni pun bukan besar mana (WALAUPUN EX-IRON MAIDEN tapi tu tak janjikan kehidupan akan senang), jadi aku rasalah, dia harapkan sokongan peminat dia..
Contoh macam dia nak buat live dvd tu hari... peminat2 semua pre-order, jadi ngan duit2 pre-order tu la dia boleh sewa crew video rakam... dan korang yang tengok latest dvd dia Live In Prague pun tahu la apa aku cakap....
Harapkan peminat2 kasi dia dan musicians kat band dia Stokin, sarung kaki ok. Pasal musim sejuk dorang perlu banyak stokin pasal kejap2 basah dan berbau kot.

JADI LAIN KALI BLAZE BAYLEY NYANYI BAWAH KOLONG FLET RUMAH KORANG ATAU KAT BALAI RAKYAT/CLUB MASYARAKAT DEKAT RUMAH KORANG SILA BAWAH STOKIN/SARUNG KAKI UNTUK DIA DAN BAND DIA.
Siot je kan aku... ok la ok la, Indoor Stadium.

Lagi satu cam dia nak gi tour je kan, dah tak boleh order tshirt la apa la kat webstore dia pasal dia angkut semua nak jual masa on the road.
Dan... personal touch ok, Aku pernah cerita masa Soundtrack Of My Life ke hapa, aku bayaran sangkut ke ada apa issue la kat Paypal aku, aku email, sapa la jawab bini dia ke sapa ntah, cakap takpe takpe, dorang tunggu... haha. Seronok la kalau artis cam gini kan layan peminat PERSONAL TOUCH.

Dan sama jugak ngan album sambut 15 tahun ni pun, pakai pre-orders jugak.... Jadi sapa pre-order tu nama Blaze masukkan la kat dalam album ni ngan tulisan " TANPA KORANG, TAK MUNGKIN TERJADI NI EDISI 15 TAHUN ALBUM NI" ke hapa la... tak sangka lak... walau mungkin dia nak beli jiwa je.

Dia rolling duit advance pre-order tu untuk sambung projek2 dia ni la kira...
So memang tunggu lama...
cam DVD live Prague tu tentulah dia umum dia nak buat dvd kat Prague, so peminat2 semua start pre-order, baru lepas tu dia pergi sana rakam..

kan ada satu part dia marah2 band dia, band2 dia buat lawak bodoh kat tepi jalan, dia cakap "eh peminat2 yang bayar ok rakaman video ni buat dvd, korang buat lawak bodoh pulak " 

fun la kan...

OK la cam aku cakap ada personal touch selain dari dia sign2 semua...


Tapi sapa yang ikut perkembangan Blaze Bayley ni tahu la nasib dia, sebagai seorang penghibur dan jugak manusia.
Sama macam kita semua, hidup macam roda. Tapi memang tersentuh jugak la kan??
Dia ni penyanyi Iron Maiden untuk dua album ok........  the Ultimate la kan!!

Jadi bila tahu betapa dia mengharungi hidup dia, makin aku rasa dia ni "Underdog", dan makin aku sokong dia dan nak tengok dia berjaya...

dan paling penting, banyak lagu2 dia pun aku suka dengar dan terhibur (sangat). 


Anyway, sapa belum tengok cammana bungkusan dia untuk album ni, ni ialah bungkusan untuk sambut 15 tahun.
Seriously memang cantik, dan ngan benda2 tulis kecik2 Albert Einstein/SOCRATES dan jugak lain2 nye bijak nye KATA2 PUJANGGA la semua....

Ada satu tu Pythagoras yang Pythagoras Theorem tu kot belajar matematiks tu.

lepas tu tambah pulak ni kali ngan cerita2 segala2 dia ingat pasal zaman tu...

Lagu2 yang aku betul2 suka kat album ni ialah contoh - Born As A Stranger, Ghost In The Machine, Brave, The Launch, Stare At The Sun, dan tiga2 lagu bonus tu...

lagu2 lain ok la, tapi yang atas ni aku suka sangattttssss...

Kalau fikirkan kalau Blaze masih sama Iron Maiden, tentu ada berapa lagu dalam album ni akan berada dalam album Iron Maiden yang seterusnya...

Sama jugak dengan album Iron Maiden yang Brave New World tu, walaupun Adrian Smith dan Bruce Dickinson dah datang balik, tapi ada berapa lagu yang ditulis waktu zaman Blaze Bailey bersama Iron Maiden.


Sound wise album ni?

Well ni album ANDY SNEAP yang terbitkan.
dan Blaze Bayley sendiri mengaku ni album ialah vokal terbaik dia hasilkan dalam dunia seni dia.

Packaging ni, dia jugak cerita pasal cammana dia buat rakaman, pakai studio mana, cammana dorang nak bunyi gitar untuk album ni semua, menarik sangat.

Dan dia jugak cerita2 pasal setiap lagu... hah ni paling best...

Sampai kat lagu "The Day I Fell To Earth".
Cerita pasal kena buang kerja ngan Iron Maiden pasal si Bruce nak masuk balik...

"My Hopes Come To Nothing. I Was Fired. Bruce Came Back".

ok la tu, dia penyelamat Iron Maiden untuk dua album...
Waktu dunia pun tak mau dengar muzik macam Iron Maiden.. 

Terus terang cakap, zaman Blaze jadi penyanyi Maiden berapa kerat je dengar lagu2 Maiden zaman tu. Tapi dia hero...
walaupun aku ada sakit hati sikit, ada satu bootleg aku dengar zaman tu...
Kat Scotland nye show,
lagu Fortunes OF War..
Siot betul, ni lagu dia ok!! ni bukan lagu Bruce atau Paul!!
Ni lagu dia sendiri untuk X Factor.

Tak ingat lirik kau!! dan of course peminat2 semua tentu ingat lirik dan nyanyi sama2 kan...

Kena ejek....hahahahahhahaha....  Nyanyi untuk Iron Maiden, tapi lirik tunggang langgang. 
Aku pun ketawa besar siot dengar bootleg tu..

Tapi tu la, Blaze ni pun manusia biasa..

OK dah tu je....


SOME OF THE PREVIOUS SPECIAL EDITION BLAZE BAYLEY RELEASES I THINK I HAVE SHARED on ths blog ARE HERE...
http://deaf-angel.blogspot.com/search/label/blazebayley




 As I live... So I die....


I wonder how it would be if Iron Maiden had recorded Stare At The Sun especially...

exploring sognametal, the ladies iron maidenS , robbie williams

Dari BOTOK-BOTOK kembali ke benda tak boleh makan.

I Just want to speak my mind about 3 things -
(1) I have been exploring and reading what available info I have on Sognametal when I got time. Seeing and discovering how good Vried is and with the Windir-heavy setlist entertains me.
(2)Also the female tribute band Iron Maidens is finally coming to Singapore 
(3) and Robbie Williams too...

Tiga perkara
(1) Ada waktu sekarang, aku cuba selam lagi mendalam tentang apa tu Sognametal. Aku suka menengok apa yang Vried bawak dalam persembahan Sognametal mereka. Banyak lagu zaman Windir. Vried nye ahli2 tu pernah main ngan Valfar dalam Windir. Valfar ni macam cengkih Windir semua pakaliao dia, dan dia mati dalam usia muda terperangkap tetiba ribut salji dan suhu tetiba sejuk giler gitu... kat Norway la ni semua kan...
"teruja aku baca satu peminat tulis kat mana ntah, kematian macam gini terperangkap ribut salji tiba2 dan suhu turun tiba2 ialah kematian paling black metal".. siot je kan tulis2 gini haha.
Mungkin aku boleh cakap Sognametal ni BM yang sangat melodic dan penuh ngan pengaruh muzik tradisi Norway kot? Sangat aku tertarik...

Walaupun EMPEROR pun main ngan lineup impian ni tiga orang (Dream Lineup)  ~~Ihsahn/Samoth/Faust~~ dan memang hebat dan dahsyat tapi tu memang dah boleh tahu la mesti impressive, tapi Vried memang mengujakan aku tak expect.
Jadi sekarang ni ada waktu aku ulang2 dengar Windir. Menarik..

Apasal hati aku cakap kalau ada rezeki aku ada peluang lagi sekali aku dapat backpack tengok Maiden main aku nak tengok dorang main kat Norway? So aku boleh sambil menyelam minum air? Aku baca laporan2 peminat2 yang travel2 backpack tengok Maiden main kat lain2 suasana tempat dan sokongan, laporan2 dorang aku baca kat internet cakap Norway negara mahal nak pergi travel dan jugak tengok persembahan.
Tapi ni negara yang ada bunuh2 tu hari kan? pembunuh tu bunuh ramai budak2 or something, ada kena mengena ngan perkauman?
cam sial kan? semua tempat sama je...babi la orang2 perkauman sampai tahap gini... tapi well...stay put bandar besar je la kan kalau dapat backpack gi sana tengok Maiden main...

tapi aku ada tengok youtube Bon Jovi main kat satu open air stage kat Norway, Bergen ke hapa ntah.. Lawa giler tempat dia dan sangat best la dari apa aku boleh tengok rakaman tu...
Anyway..

Ni video persembahan Vried Sognametal masa Hellfest 2014. Hebat...


&...
I am there somewhere LOL!!!

Ni photo of Vried Sognametal by yours truly...... I like it because I got almost everyone in this shoot... except one LOL!!

& tshirt...

ok ok dah..... next...

(2)
Band famous pompuan yang main tribute Maiden iaitu Iron Maidens..  aku try congak rota kerja in advance...Insyallah masih ada rezeki kerja lagi tu jam..haha. almaklumlah dynamics pekerjaan bukan macam dulu ye tak?  wahhh congak congak rota ke depan...... KERJA PAGI!!!!! hah, dorang main petang kan?, sempat la kot...
Nak ambik cuti dari kerja satu hari cam sayang la...
Anyway dorang main ni hari Ahad, sapa korang kerja opis hr takde hal la, sapa kerja shift...hah...stress nak susun timing.

Ala...main kat club yang kat Harbour Front area sana ye? Alaaa... Aku tak minat la tempat tu...

Takpe... aku kalau pergi pun nak tengok Iron Maidens, lepak luar...nak start masuk, horray horray, abis terus blah....
Ermm takpelah tengok cammana tak la penting sangat kan?
Puasa pun lagi berapa hari je...
Kalau aku pergi aku harap dorang main Alexander The Great. huhu.

(3)
OK yang ni penting..... CENGKIH SEGALA CENGKIH.. Lagi cengkih dari Vried, dari Windir, dari Emperor, dari Iron Maidens. HOHOHO

Robbie Williams ok.... Korang try tengok Knebworth nye show ni aku link kat bawah ni.... mak ai. Terkejut beruk dia punye intro tu...?  Giler babi betul nye intro.
Aku terus terang cakap la... antara live video concert terbaik aku pernah tengok dari segi persembahan ialah Robbie Williams nye persembahan kat Knebworth tu...
Iron Maiden cuma buat satu show kat Twickenham Stadium pun dah terkial2 ok nak jual tiket padahal Avenged Sevenfold main opening tu...
Robbie Williams tiga hari, TIGA ok, kat Knebworth, full house tiga2 hari kat Knebworth. Bukan Full House la ye. Full huge open field ok, kalau 100,000 satu hari, tiga hari 300,000 orang ok. Memang legend persembahan2 tiga petang/malam ni.
Antara video live konsert yang best la pada aku... Dan cantik sangat Knebworth ni, aku ada research jugak tempat ni, ada stesen keretapi dekat ngan tempat ni.



Ada serupa sikit cover inlet Queen Magic yang Queen naik helicopter pergi Knebworth tu..


Dekni masa dia zaman muda remaja dia kepala Take That, aku tak minat Take That masa sekolah dulu, tapi bila dia dah solo, memang cemerlang.

Ni iklan dia dah start keluar kat newspaper Singapore.
Hmmmnnnnnn boleh consider.. Tapi aku rasa cepat je la soldout show ni.

Anyway make up dia ada sikit2 Demon Gene Simmon.
Tapi ok la kot..
Dulu King Diamond adjust sikit dah dapat surat lawyer dari Kiss.
Dorang ngan dorang penghibur pun macam2 cerita..

Bak kata Gene "you put a circle on your eyes, thats fine, you put a star, we sue your ass off"..
Siot je kan...

apa pun lagu Robbie Williams satu lirik dia
"early morning when I wake up
I look like KISS
without the make up"...
siot je kan lirik ... haha.

dah tu je.. nanti sambung

bye

p.s






lagu ni ada makna dalam... makin hari makin betul, macam liriks dia.
lagi kalau taruk repeat mode.

k ni kali betul2 bye...

BOTOK-BOTOK (a fish and leaves-based spicy delicacy)

Boring je la kan cerita pasal rock2 techno ni semua...
So nari aku nak cerita pasal...

BOTOK-BOTOK
(hereafter this typed as Botok2)


Botok-botok is a delicacy where fish together with lots and lots of different edible leaves and spices and coconut are wrapped in BANANA leaves and STEAMED. Eaten with rice. I consider it kind of healthy food due to the lots of traditional green leaves involved. 

Tu hari better half aku nak makan botok2, so meh aku carik, so untuk korang yang dah lama tak makan Botok-Botok atau tak pernah makan...

Let me share with you how aku gi beli Botok2 tu hari..


So aku kebetulan off yang long weekend, so pagi lepas aku abis last kopek kerja malam je aku dah masuk Johor gi terminal Larkin nak naik bas ekpress,
So aku pergi la carik botok2 kat pasar basah,
so aku pergi kedai regular... dia cakap hari ini ada jual, tapi dah abis...Orang KL datang pagi order dan beli semua... (No so Surprising la kan as ni botok2)
ok ok.. so aku carik and carik.. tak susah sangat la carik...

So aku gi gerai2 lain aku masuk dalam pasar la, so aku nampak ada la dalam bakul ada la tinggal berapa bungkus...

So aku beli la berapa bungkusan... masa aku beli tu pun, ada orang lalu tengah beli barang pasar nampak je bungkusan terus cakap " eh ni botok2 eh?", terus ngan lincah dia pun lekas2 beli..

Botok2 ni kan for those not regularly in the know mana nak carik, sesekali, once in a blue moon kalau nampak kat pasar, memang tak hegeh2 la kan, lincah je terus beli.

Makin rare tau botok2 ni...

OK, gerai aku beli ni dia jual satu botok2 harga 7RM.
So gerai yang aku first tanya dia cakap dah abis pagi2 orang dari KL dah beli semua or something like that harganya 8RM. Tak tahu la kan, sama size ke, ikan apa dipakai ke, mana lagi sedap ke? hah...

So gerai yang aku beli ni, yang foto2 ni botok2 dia buat kat PONTIAN. Dah siap then hantar pasar kat Larkin. So memang perjalanan jauh jugak la kan botok2 aku beli ni kan, ada la beratus-ratus KM sebelum dimakan...

Aku tak tahu lak gerai2 lain kat Larkin samada dorang nye botok2 pun buat kat Pontian atau tempat lain atau sama supplier atau lain2.

So kalau korang nak carik botok2 kat Larkin, cuma boleh carik hari Sabtu ngan hari Minggu je, kalau korang gi pasal Larkin hari biasa, aku rasa takde jual...

Tak terkejut la kan, leceh kot buat ni pasal nak carik all the magical daun macam2 daun ye tak nak buat botok2 ni daun ubi, daun kesum , daun betik I think, dan apa2 je la daun2 pelik2 aku memang tak tahu nama dan tak kenal bentuk pun, makan aku tahu la.

So botok2 ni tengok la, apa ikan dia kat dalam, so basically kalau korang cerewet pasal ikan, korang buat la sendiri, kalau tak, korang beli je la dan apa pun ikan yang dipakai, korang makan je la...

Anyway, botok2 ni kan ramuan2 nye termasuk ada all those kelapa coconut thingys - santan la, kerisik la, so aku saje je la tanya penjual...

Ye la dah dia dah bilang aku botok2 dia jual buat Pontian, abis aku nak naik bas ekpress lagi kan?
of course aku takut dah rosak kan... or basi gitu...

So dia cakap ok je, siap cakap di gerai dia siap orang dari Ipoh datang beli dan bawak balik Ipoh nak makan Botok2 nye pasal...
On the same day makan elok la kot.. tapi I think makan fresh pagi2 is the best ye tak..

Anyway this botok2 ni very the Jawa-influenced gitu, and its best makan ngan nasik putih, and masa aku kecik2, aku hate makan botok2 pasal tulang2 ikan tu...
So aku kalau botok2 ni aku tak suka makan ikan dia tapi aku suka daun2 ubi/kesum/whatever daun bermacam2 tu, and the rempah..
Rempah dia dan sayur2an dia yang buat best la kan makan botok2 ni.....untuk aku la.

Aku rasa daun sayur2an yang banyak tu aku rasa sangat elok, lagipun very traditional daun2 yang digunakan. Therapeutic gitu, cam korang tahu la melayu kan suka all these ulam2 thingys.

Kira korang bungkak bungkusan botok2 ni apa ada kat dalam tu semua korang makan la kan... cuma of course daun pisang pembalut tu jangan la makan..

contoh hidangan sajian botok-botok ikan yang sesekali makan memang rasa thrill.


So thats about it....

So info yang I think beneficial la untuk korang yang nak makan botok2 atau nak carik mana jual botok2....

kalau sapa korang nak buat sendiri....
Buat la extra berapa bungkusan kasi kat aku... (Rempah lebih)

Thank you in advance. 

Maiden United - PHOTOS of how the Vinyl Edition Packaging looks like for Mind The Acoustic Pieces & Across the Seventh Sea albums.

Allow me to express some opinions and a short flashback then its all mostly photo-galore.... ENJOY!!

 - I believed I have quite a decent collection of Tribute Albums on Iron Maiden from different countries bands among my collection, especially the earlier ones. I had stopped collecting them though as there is not much interesting ones among the later tribute albums.

Its always nice to hear other bands interpretations of Maiden with such a vast range of music styles - from the lyrics changing "that we must love all things that SATAN made" (instead of God made) OPERA IX version of Rime Of The Ancient Mariner to the avant-garde-improvisation of SUPERSILENT's Can I Play With Madness.

From the unknown bands from all around the world to big names, such as Dream Theater's JAZZLAND of Gangland. I had the bootleg of that night's performance when they played the whole TNOTB album live. Dream Theater played Gangland TWICE that night!!. I guess maybe the first time they had made some mistakes or some recording problems.
I hope to locate back that live bootleg somewhere in my collection too. LOL!!!
I believe that was the recording that became the DT official bootleg series. I had really forgotten lots of details thru the years.

But without Mike Portnoy, I guess we will never hear the full Piece Of Mind album being played by DT. Its always a choice of TNOTB or POM and DT choose to play TNOTB in full live in a few places where they played two nights at the same location as a treat to the fans. But at least we got To Tame A Land on the Kerrang Magazine CD Tribute.

Anyway, I am very excited on the coming release of the new Maiden uniteD album - Remembrance somewhere next month.

So a photos-packed post of how their first two albums in Vinyl format looks like.

- The 2010 Mind The Acoustic Pieces which the Vinyl Version was released a year or two later with a very nice gesture of discovering my name was printed on the packaging LOL!!! &
- The 2012 Across The Seventh Sea blue-black Transparent vinyl.

Both are delicious gatefolds. Very attractive.

I had previously talk about these two albums in this blog somewhere in 2010 & 2012 when they were first released so I won't talk about it again. If you guys are interested, click under the label/tag Maiden United.. it should be there including the photo of the T-shirt that those who pre-ordered got with the names of the countries printed on the back...

SO lets start with Mind The Acoustic Pieces..

HORROR!!
The lobotomised straight-jacketed Eddie has escaped LOL!!!

The gatefold spread Reminds me of one of HANOI ROCKS amazing gatefold.

I really got to blog about HANOI ROCKS one day... I hope soon... LOL!!

but seriously HANOI ROCKS!!!

I always wonder how it would be like if female singers especially Tracy Chapman or Tori Amos cover Maiden songs...

Like I say its a very wonderful gesture Maiden United did with the Vinyl version. At least for me.

Names of Countries... and names of those who pre-ordered when they were coming up with the first album..
I remembered listening to their samples and live versions and really like what I hear so I pre-ordered and its nice those who believe enough to put in the money in advanced being mentioned in the sleeves.

(Which reminds me, Blaze Bailey is without a record-company, he is an Independent now, and his live DVD recording and production was in part helped by the pre-orders of his fans all over the world... and yes, for the I dont know how many times, I am waiting for the Silicon Messiah 15th Years Release... I hope my name is in there too LOL!!!)

Some Raindrops...

Rain..
Feel It On My Finger Tips
Hear It On My Window Pane
Your Love's Coming Down Like
Rain...
Wash Away My Sorrow
Take Away My Pain
Your Love's Coming Down Like
Rain....

- MADONNA UNITED LOL!!!!!!

MOVING ON.....

TO....

The packaging of the Across The Seventh Sea Vinyl..

The Book Of Life is really silent in this photo...Submerged under the sea...

Always love how Acacia Avenue from the futuristic Somewhere In Time album is also submerged underwater....

And finally...

Hope you guys enjoyed the beautiful Maiden United packaging of the first two albums Vinyl version.

Remembrance already have a cool cover artwork...

Yes the music is always the most important, but a nice cover and packaging helps..

I hope one day I can see Maiden United plays...

I love especially the pianos and the hammonds

ok ok I stop now... bye..

Anthem (Japan) & Maiden uniteD (Netherlands) new "and got me excited" releases coming soon...

Two things that got me excited. One from Netherlands (Holland) and the other from Japan.

Firstly - The new Maiden United or (Maiden uniteD) album is coming soon. Remembrance.

I already got the single, of course LOL!!! (I love their re-interpretations and try to follow their news wherever possible). Here is how the packaging of the first single looks like...

It will be STRANGE WORLD and with the second song an alternate version of THE EVIL THAT MEN DO. Spectacular of course.




This is the Strange World single... Simply Magnificent and wonderful reworking of a personal favourite of mine from the first Iron Maiden album.



I cannot get the Wudstick version of the Evil That Men Do on youtube, so this is the version that appears on their second album Across The Seven Seas..






Untuk korang yang mungkin tak perasan sangat pasal side project ni, Maiden uniteD ni base dorang pemuzik2 Negara Belanda. Berunsur bermain accoustic instruments gitu..

Gitaris dorang ialah Ruud Jolie - Within Temptation.




I will talk more of it next time... and also I think I havent show how the vinyl version packaging of both the previous Maiden United albums looks like...
Its awesome....

Next time...


Secondly...

ANTHEM is coming out with two new releases...

Stupid language barrier. Its very difficult to get news about Anthem as I have zero knowledge of Japanese language and I dont even know where to source for their infos.
I rely a bit on cdjapan.co.jp..


So the first release in May 2015 will be a Best of - The limited edition has triple disc... From their Victor Label Years 2000 onwards choices of best songs...

The second one Blazing Faith Revisited somewhere in June 2015 will be something like this..

Description

First Blu-ray in 2015 from Anthem features a studio concert, in which current members perform songs in Anthem's first album, and a concert "ABSOLUTE WORLD" held at Shibuya Lamama for their 200 fans. Also includes interview with members, making-of, and more. This edition comes with a live CD featuring the studio live in the Blu-ray.

I tried sampling some of the latest Anthem album with their YUKIO MORIKAWA return as a singer for their latest album...
But... I always prefer Anthem with EIZO SAKAMOTO.

I think EIZO has a bit of metal in his voice compared to YUKIO and personally for me - their latest studio album is a bit less heavy to my ears compared to the EIZO years.
So I never buy it... YET. LOL!!!!!
But I am excited on this Blazing Faith Revisited release. The limited edition has a 2nd live CD... 

I just wonder YUKIO returning means more of the songs from his years are played, and less of EIZO years are played?

Hmmmm.... 

I would like to hear YUKIO sings Black Empire LOL!!!  I am still finding out what is EIZO doing now... I got to make a Japanese friend in the internet!! hahahaa...



Akio Shimizu is the best!!!!!
and What is Naota Shibata talking at the end of the song? But it sounds so nice...... I wish Steve Harris also still talks on stage nowadays...

 I think the biggest challenge for me is to find news, get tickets, and backpack all over Japan to see Anthem live on their Japanese Tour... Maybe one day, AFTER IRON MAIDEN IS NO MORE. 
I saw on the Live Unbroken disc documentary there is European Girl (yes a GIRL) speaking in English somewhere in Japan talking about Anthem. I dont know how she got all the infos and tickets in the first place. The fans always look amazing on the videos...

I REALLY REALLY GOT TO FIND A JAPANESE FRIEND to help me with Anthem. LOL!!!

5 Jam sehari dalam tren/bas/jalan kaki & Latest IRON MAIDEN EXCLUSIVELY MASTERED FOR ITUNES from original analog source - lets begin with the most crucial and triggering my curiosity - the first album

A new Maiden news, even its about them TAKING MORE $$$$$$$MONEY$$$$$$ FROM ME!!! DAMN YOU MAIDEN!! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!! LOL!!!  So my usual rants and complaints in Malay language and then in English. So please bear with me.

Ipod Nano on a XPS 13 2015

Buat masa kini, Hari2 atau malam2 yang aku kerja, sekurang2 nak gi kerja aku kena naik mrt (train), bas, jalan kaki ambil masa semua 2 JAM.
Balik tambah lagi 2 JAM. Kalau pergi sana sini, contoh rumah orang tua, berapa jam sehari aku kena jalan kaki, naik bas, naik train. 5 JAM? 6 JAM? so on average every work day or work night senang cakap aku akan spend 5 hours travelling gi kerja balik kerja.

Ini yang hari aku kerja la...
Kalau duduk cramp bontot, kalau diri nak collapse kepala lutut, tapi....Selagi ada rezeki, kerja je la, ENDURE je la... satu hari nanti rezeki abis kat sini, entah tak tahu bila masa terdekat atau jauh lagi masih dapat peluang bekerja di tempat sekarang,
maka kat tempat lain la kita carik rezeki yang lain..

Tu yang hari kerja... tapi kalau hari off day, rest day...berapa jam aku dalam bas ekpress, aku kat TBS, aku naik LRT, jalan kaki...

Jadi masa2  SEPERTI gini aku guna peluang sepenuhnya untuk buat apa aku nak buat, MY PRIVATE TIME!, termasuk mendengar lagu2, band2 dan penghibur yang aku minat.....Sebab tu aku cuba pastikan aku ada alat2 yang sesuai yang akan membantu aku buat apa aku suka buat.. apa yang aku minat dalam masa aku dalam bergerak ni...  ada mp3 player, ada Ipod, mungkin aku nak kena beli satu gadget untuk main FLAC secara portable... (nope aku tak gunakan henpon atau tablet untuk pasang lagu)
I mean, ni passion aku dan aku memang lama betul duk dalam MRT/LRT, bas awam bas ekpress, berjalan kaki jarak dekat, jarak jauh sikit, jarak jauh banyak 1km , 2km, 3km dan lebih...


So aku memang melompat dalam hati bila baca apa STEVE HARRIS sebut tentang dia mastering dari analog tapes album2 studio Iron Maiden dan 2 live albums KHAS untuk Itunes.

Fikiran aku mudah je, Itunes ni walau aku tak suka dan tak sokong product Apple, tapi apa aku fikir Itunes ni untuk orang2 tengah bergerak... So sesuai ngan aku dan cocok untuk aku.

Aku tak boleh lari dari Itunes, pasal kadang2 dorang dapat 1st priority - Contoh - versi Manowar Kings Of Metal MMXIV tu dikeluarkan menerusi Itunes sebulan lebih sebelum album physical.

Adakah aku boleh tunggu? Giler aku dah tak boleh tunggu BRIAN BLESSED (dekni legend - korang yang tengok series BlackAdder tentu tahu betapa legend nye dia) jadi Grandfather ""tell me a story" kat Warriors Prayer MMXIV. Aku kureng ngan Manowar sekarang tapi MMXIV Kings Of Metal memang aku nantikan apa dorang boleh improve dan tak menghampakan walau takde Ross The Boss.

SO jarang2 yang sangat amat, kerana minat aku TERPAKSA mendapatkan product dari Itunes.
Selalu nye 99% of the time, aku prefer RIP 320kbps dari koleksi cd aku. Tapi kali ni aku beri peluang cuba Maiden Mastered for Itunes ni, pasal aku minat Maiden, dan aku memang dengar muzik on the move jadi aku cuba satu dua album dulu.

Jadi album pertama sekali aku dapatkan dari seleksi Iron Maiden Mastering KHAS UNTUK ITUNES ialah tentunya album pertama mereka yang memang dari dulu lagi selalu gembar-gembur rasa kurang puas hati terhadap produksi Will Malone.

Sila baca komen Steve tentang first album ni kat bawah ni kat warna kuning tu...

OK so ni aku nye ulasan first album, dengar ni kat dalam train yang bising, bas yang bising, kaki lima yang bising... (aku pakai headphone... )..

Drums dia... Oooo Clive Burr... trrrrr...trrrrr....trrrrr....  huhu...

Phantom Of The Opera - wahhh memang betul la dari acuan lama dia pakai...  1 saat , 2 saat, 3 saat, 4 saat............, 9 saat, 10 saat - !!Youtorturemebacktothelair!!...

Sanctuary takde. Ni ikut cara pasaran UK 35 tahun dahulu la ye...
Aku rasa NTOTB pun takde Total Eclipse kat mastered Itunes version ni..

Aku fikir...
Berapa banyak kali ni aku dah belanja untuk album pertama Maiden ni?
Bermacam2 versi cd dari first press, different country issues, Jepun nye, dan remastered versions 1998 yang aku terpaksa akui memalukan Maiden sendiri, dan jugak vinyl lain2 pressing lama dan sekarang, dan tentunya zaman sekolah dulu - kaset. Dan ni baru 1st album.

Tapi ni pertama kali aku beli lagu2 Maiden tanpa ada benda (physically) nak pegang kat tangan.
Tapi aku sangat minat mendalam Maiden, dan aku sebagai peminat sanggup berbelanja lagi sekali Itunes ni kerana perkataan keramat ni  - MASTERED FOR ITUNES EXCLUSIVELY FROM THE MASTER ANALOG TAPES.

OK, selain first album, aku sambar Dance Of Death.

Pasal, ni adalah album Maiden yang aku rasa tertekan bila dengar versi studio. Something is wrong gitu.
Nanti la lain kali sambung cerita...

MONTSEGUR!!!

IRON MAIDEN CATALOGUE NOW MASTERED FOR ITUNES

Published: Apr 07, 2015

Parlophone Records (BMG/INgrooves Music Group for the USA) are delighted to announce the release of nineteen IRON MAIDEN catalogue albums which have been Mastered For iTunes (iTunes.com/IronMaiden), encoded from 24-bit / 96 khz high resolution masters and now re-mastered with iTunes in mind, delivering the music to listeners exactly the way the artist and recording engineer intended. These are brand new re-masters from their original analogue sources, exclusively produced for iTunes. 

All fifteen studio albums, 2 Best Of compilations and 2 live albums were personally selected by Maiden's founder member Steve Harris for this superior mastering technique : Iron Maiden, Killers, The Number Of The Beast, Piece Of Mind, Powerslave, Somewhere In Time, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, No Prayer For The Dying, Fear Of The Dark, The X Factor, Virtual XI, Brave New World, Dance Of Death, A Matter Of Life And Death, The Final Frontier, Somewhere Back In Time, From Fear To Eternity (2CD), Live after Death (2CD) and Rock In Rio( 2CD)

Steve comments,
"The Mastering For iTunes procedure allows the listener to experience the music as close as possible to the way the artist intended it to be heard.  So of course I was very keen for the Maiden albums to be mastered in this way. The records have been available digitally before, when this medium first became a platform for music distribution but that was mastered with CDs in mind. The iTunes process involves a different approach and it's great to finally deliver the music to our fans in as close to a pure and accurate sound as we could possibly achieve.For example, as most people know, I was never really happy with the sound on the first Maiden album but listening to it now, the guitars are louder, the drums more substantial and the overall tone is so very much improved in my opinion. Tony Newton and Ade Emsley who worked closely with me on the project did a terrific job recapturing everything from the original masters and together we've re- mastered them all digitally and I'm really happy with the results."

Tony Newton adds:
“The process started with locating all of the original album mix tapes (or whichever format they were mixed to). Then the choice of analogue to digital convertor was chosen for the most accurate capture to make it as close as possible to the sound of the mix as it was intended by the band.  When a lot of these tapes were last captured it was in the 1980's, early days of digital and only 44.1khz/16bit files were possible. On top of this the new A/D convertors are far superior now, and of course it is possible to produce files of far higher resolution. The result of this is that the songs now sound more defined with added depth and warmth. I was very excited to be asked to be part of this project, I honestly feel that there is a massive improvement in the quality of these classic albums.”

Fans can download the Mastered For iTunes versions of the albums from April 7th from iTunes.com/IronMaiden and learn more about Mastered For iTuneshere.  

As 99% of the time, I only listen to music while I am on the move in the subway trains, public buses, and walking in the streets or anywhere, music in a mobile format is important to me. 
99% of the time it will be something personally ripped by myself from my collection to 320kbps.
So if a AAC Itunes format means I can listen to my favourite band better, then I dont mind buying more and more of the Mastered for Itunes series.

So what I think so far of the Itunes Mastered Iron Maiden selection of albums as chosen and given the master treatment from the original tapes by Steve Harris?

Like I believe most people who will purchase this Itune mastered version, the critical one will be the very 1st album.

My ears wont detect, and I am not a Sound expert but seems I notice more of Clive Burr. Also we got the way Phantom Of The Opera was supposed to be ..... complete with THAT ending.

Everything sound so much smoother when I am listening to these songs on crowded, noisy environments of public transport and streets using headphones, though I guess I need to hear more Itunes Mastered albums to decide better.

I suddenly realised there are a lot of ""sound experts" on the internet once Miaden released this Itunes Mastered series. Its interesting to read that, but for me irregardless, as long as I like it so be it.

I may end up admitting an AAC file from Itunes is simply more suitable for those listening while on the move compared to any self-rip 320kbps rips...
But now I had read some info of a HD files of Maiden being released. So maybe it will be on flac I wont know..

Damn the day I decide I like this band when I was a kid long ago, I think I am going to blow my pocket money on more of the Mastered Itunes albums if not all.
I already got Dance Of Death. I just think its too ponderous the first time around when listening as a 320kbps rip thru headphones.
Hope this will be better.

Lets see how this progress in the next few days and week once I get to listen to more albums.

A Matter Of Live And Death will be interesting as it was never mastered before its release.
plus the Martin Birch years, the non-Martine Birch years , the Kevin Shirley years... the Nigel Green years..
Its nice to return to the happiness, warmth, excitment and self-fulfillment of listening to Maiden after a few months break. LOL!!