This is the reason Blaze Bayley never fit into the IRON MAIDEN mould. See, the UK four-piece WOLFSBANE is no secret to some of us aging metalheads who used to follow the British scene religiously in the '80s (like Kerrang! before it smelled like a turd). Bayley is in his element as a bruising, bar-brawler with a helluva set of lungs. But he was fist-swinging way before he became friends with 'Arry and Co. And Wolfsbane were hotly-tipped as the next big thing when they signed to Def American Records, and Rick Rubin (SLAYER, METALLICA) produced their first album, Live Fast, Die Fast, released in 1989. But that fame eluded them, although any metal band in North America suffered the same Cobain curse about the same time in the early '90s!

So has much changed with the lads aside from admitting being older and balder?! Nope, which is a blessing in disguise, 17 years since their last studio effort. 'Blue Sky' sets the initial tone with a nod to AC/DC clones RHINO BUCKET, until guitarist Jase Edwards' noodling takes the tune to a headbanging frenzy. And the axeman just wails on 'Buy My Pain' and 'Did It For The Money'. 'Live Before I Die' delivers a bass line Lemmy would be proud of courtesy of Jeff Hateley, but the song builds to a punky peak and grooves with a reggae/ska ala THE CLASH and THE SPECIALS. A top-notch, open-minded affair. 'Child Of The Sun' slows the tempo down, but the infectious chorus is uplifting, something Bayley could never get away with in Maiden or his solo career. Kinda like 'Starlight', a tune full of mellow reminiscing and impassioned vocals. 'Smoke And Red Light' wraps up the entire affair with one lyric - "we were young, we were fast, it was never going to last." Fitting. But the band are back to much surprise and Wolfsbane Save The World is a rousing affair, full of enough British humour, self-reflection and gentle angst to be relevant. Man, we shit-canned those Maiden records with Bayley on the mic, but his roots sees a bloke in his comfort zone and we're better off for it.