BLAZE BAYLEY On His Time With IRON MAIDEN - "The Top Job In The World For A Heavy Metal Singer" (Video)

Nearing 40 years of hard, hard rocking, vocalist Blaze Bayley is a man proud of his achievements and where he stands nowadays as a fiercely independent musician. From Wolfsbane to Iron Maiden and to a solo career of over 20 years, Blaze spoke with Metal Planet Music's Gary Spiller about his career. Check out the interview below.

Bayley: "What's nice is that when I do my anniversary setlist, which a lot of festivals asked for, then I can play songs in my set from those two albums that Maiden have never played and will never play. And they are my songs, personal to me, so that's really cool. So if you did get into those albums and you like those albums, then you'll come and see me and go, 'Oh, actually, I've never heard 'Como Estais Amigos' live...' So it's a really cool thing.

I'm very lucky to have actually had the top job in my field, to have attained the absolute top. For me, I wanted to be a heavy metal singer, and by some quirk of faith, a lot of luck, and a lot of help, then I managed to become the lead singer of Iron Maiden, which for me is the top job in the world for a heavy metal singer. And I got that job. So that's fantastic that I was able to get that."

Bayley replaced Bruce Dickinson and was with Iron Maiden from 1994 - 1999. He recorded two studio albums with the band: The X Factor (1995) and Virtual XI (1998).