So yeah, this review is a little late. I was even fortunate enough to receive the album in the mail 10 days before the release date and was planning to have this done in time for it, but then circumstances conspired to render me unwell for longer than I would have liked.

Anyway, that’s finally (mostly) in the past, so let’s get to the review. To give a little background, Circle of Stone comes only a few years after the career-highlight War Within Me, my album of the year for 2021 (on reflection I would give it the extra half a star for the full 5/5 in 2024).

So much like Iron Maiden when they announced Senjutsu after the amazing Book of Souls, Blaze had a lot to live up to with this release. But I am happy to report that just like Senjutsu, Circle of Stone is an album that, while it may not have outright exceeded it’s predecessor, built on it and offers a different experience that absolutely justifies its existence and more.

We kick things off with the riffy, uptempo “Mind Reader”. Immediately we are welcomed back into familiar territory, with the production harkening back to War Within Me. There’s that slight robotic edge to the vocals that suit the sci-fi topic of some of the songs. But back to the tune, “Mind Reader” is an excellent opener, wasting no time in getting to its simple and effective chorus hook.

Song two, “Tears In Rain” continues right where “Mind Reader” left off stylistically, but brings a lot more to chew on lyrically because, yes, it is about Blade Runner. My favourite lyric on the album comes from this song. Just look at the below-

“We are the ones they made to fight and die/So hard to kill but not worthy of life”

This song absolutely could have, and maybe even should have, been a single.

“Rage is next, telling the tragic story of Gelert and Prince Llewelyn of Welsh folklore. It gives us a short rest with a softer and slower intro, before blasting our faces off in an intensity increase so sudden as it shifts from 1st to 6th gear without missing a beat. I don’t think I’ve heard a song go from 1 to 100 as quick as this one does.

“Rage” absolutely rocks. So does “The Year Beyond This Year”. Admittedly there’s nothing new on this tune that you won’t find elsewhere on the album, but what it does do it does great. Strong guitars, brilliant soloing, and an epic chorus.

These words directly apply to the next song as well- “Ghost in the Bottle” – which has a bit of a Maiden-esque gallop and an awesome guitar-harmony backed chorus. Much like every other song on the album it’s tight and punchy, with no dead weight.

And it also bears worth mentioning that Blaze hasn’t missed on a single chorus hook yet. I can replay how every chorus on War Within Me goes in my head on demand. It won’t be long before I’ll be able to do this for Circle of Stone as well.

The first ballad of the album comes now with “The Broken Man”. Simple, yet effective, Blaze’s voice takes centre stage, with minimal instrumentation. As the song progresses, additional instruments join, building the song a little bit with each one. It’s a great way to keep the song interesting as it goes on. At no point during it’s almost six-minute runtime does the song drag.

Now this is where we would have the side break if we were listening on vinyl, but on CD things carry right on (although, humorously, the CD insert still separates the tracks by ‘Side 1’ and ‘Side 2’)

This half of the album commences with “The Call of The Ancestors”, a short instrumental piece primarily featuring bagpipes (courtesy of Vicky Kennerley).

“The Call of the Ancestors” leads directly into the centrepiece of the album, the title track “Circle of Stone”. And what a track it is. It features Niklas Stalvind of Wolf on vocals, bringing a venomous aggression at a bit of a higher pitch. This is one of the top songs on the album, and the second vocalist is a big part of that.

Now by no means do I wish to imply that the presence of Blaze on his own album is a bad thing, rather instead I wish to state that the contrast between having two equally awesome singers on each verse makes the song better. Plus they work wickedly together in harmony in the song’s finale.

As always, I must also give a huge shoutout to guitarist Chris Appleton. His guitar solos are always the perfect length and feel for the songs, and always perfectly lead back into the singing. For contrast, a lot of the solos on KK’s Priest’s Sermons of the Sinner sound like someone abruptly dropped a block of guitar notes two thirds of the way into the song.

On Circle of Stone they are all brilliant. On the title track he even takes the opportunity to go for a longer, more experimental solo. It sounds great and helps the song sound even more fresh.

The album continues on with “Absence”^{[Note 1]} and “A Day Of Reckoning”. Though they bring nothing new to the table, they are both enjoyable songs. Highlights include a fiery guitar motif for the former and a chorus that takes a little while to get to, but is absolutely worth it for the latter.

Approaching the end, second to last song “The Path of the Righteous Man” delivers the goods. It brings one last injection of uptempo energy to the album to rock to before, as is becoming a bit of a tradition, the album ends with a ballad.

“Until We Meet Again” can’t hold a candle to the amazing “Every Storm Ends” that closed out War Within Me, but I’m trying to not let that influence this review too much. It’s not a bad song. The violin and female vocals (courtesy of Anne Bakker and Tammy-Rae Bois respectively) help it stand out as a unique song. And at the end of the day, if the sounds I’m hearing make my ears happy, that’s all that matters. The violin also makes an appearance earlier in the album on “Rage”.

The talented team behind this album.

We’re lucky to even have this album. Blaze had a pretty big health scare earlier this year, and he addresses that in the liner notes (as well as giving the background/inspirations to each song). But I am over the moon that he’s returned just as strong as ever.

While it just falls short of the unbelievably good War Within Me, Circle of Stone is an excellent album packed with plenty of great songs to love.

The verdict – 4.25/5 stars

I’m excited to see what the future holds for Blaze Bayley. Here’s to many more years of great music.

[Note 1] Curiously, the liner notes also state that Stalvind returns on “Absence” for additional vocals, but I can’t actually hear him on the song. I think it’s a typo because it only credits him for appearing on songs 7 (the instrumental “Call of the Ancestors”) and 9 (“Absence”), but not 8 (“Circle of Stone”, which he definitely sings on). I think it’s possible that the liner notes were written at a point when “Call of the Ancestors” and “Circle of Stone” were all together in track, because I think I hear Stalvind’s voice backing the chorus to song 10 (“A Day of Reckoning”, but also song 9 if “Ancestors” and “Circle” were combined). [Resume Reading]