Blaze Bayley’s post-Iron Maiden career has been one of ups and downs, though artistically certainly more ups than downs. He has consistently been able to find musicians who provide him with music that appears to be tailor-made for his deep voice, the last decade or so finding those partners in the full line-up of UK-based heavy metal band Absolva. Every release Bayley wrote with guitarist Chris Appleton has simply been excellent, and ‘Circle of Stone’ – though having slightly more of a hard rock vibe than 2021’s ‘War Within Me’ and the preceding ‘Infinite Entanglement’ trilogy – is no different.

While the stylistic shift on ‘Circle of Stone’ is subtle to the point that some casual listeners might not even notice, the focus is on relatively concise, simple songs that contain a little more space than the somewhat more contemporary power metal sound of the ‘Infinite Entanglement’ albums. What has remained the same is the fact that Chris Appleton, this time helped by his brother Luke, wrote songs specifically to suit Bayley’s vocals, which sound as stately and convincing as they ever have. Bayley’s voice is also what makes all of his solo releases sound like works of the same band, despite the earliest ones sounding notably more modern.

To be fair, it is actually in the shorter, uncomplicated songs where ‘Circle of Stones’ excels. Opening track ‘Mind Reader’ doesn’t even hit the three-minute mark, but is exactly as long as it should be, whereas ‘The Path of the Righteous Man’ combines an NWOBHM-style main riff with a more propulsive chorus, followed by a more groovy, almost Sabbath-esque riff. Different as all of those sections may be, they fit together very neatly. ‘Absence’ is more on the power metal end of the scale, and it works really well at that. ‘Tears in Rain’ is another elegant heavy/power metal track that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but simply impresses with a bunch of good melodies.

Fortunately, Bayley and his companions largely avoid the pitfalls of becoming too comfortable with their own style. While ‘Rage’ later turns into a mid-tempo heavy metal track with a mean groove, it starts out sounding like it will be a dark semi-ballad from the same ilk as ‘Silicon Messiah’. The intense power metal track ‘The Year Beyond this Year’ – one of the album’s absolute highlights – and the title track surprisingly start with brief a capella sections. There are also two ballads, which generally aren’t Bayley’s forte, but ‘Broken Man’ is fairly enjoyable mostly due to the spirited vocal performance and excellent guitar solo.

Sure, ‘Circle of Stone’ isn’t perfect. The production is a little flat and Bayley’s lyrics tend to profit from having a concept or at least a theme to work with rather than the loose collection of songs that is ‘Circle of Stone’. But overall, Bayley is in a position that many of his peers could envy. The Appleton brothers know exactly how to make him sound best, while there clearly is a lot of heart and soul in the songs. Sometimes, it is justified to question the motivations of veteran rockers, but nearly everything Bayley has done since his departure from Iron Maiden has a sincerity that is simply admirable.

Recommended tracks: ‘The Year Beyond this Year’, ‘The Path of the Righteous Man’, ‘A Day of Reckoning’