BLAZE BAYLEY: 'Words Are Incredibly Important And Powerful, Both In A Positive And, More Importantly, In A Negative Way'

In a new interview with the "Fantasm" podcast, British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley, who fronted IRON MAIDEN more than 20 years ago, spoke about the lyrical inspiration for his solo song "Warrior", which appears on his latest album, "War Within Me". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "'Warrior' is the internal dialogue and the words that we use in our own mind to describe ourselves and things that we do. People don't realize that's important. Unless you've had some kind of therapy or spoke to some kind of counselor or something, you don't realize that — nobody tells you that. I do know that.

"Words are incredibly important and powerful, both in a positive and, more importantly, in a negative way," he continued. "You can choose the words to describe yourself. You don't have to settle with the words that other people use to describe you; you don't have to use those words about yourself. If you call yourself a loser, you are reinforcing the idea that you probably are a loser. But you do not have to use that word. And the idea is that warriors do not always win, but they always fight. And so if you are broken, defeated and down, you can ride this again; you can try again. You don't have to accept what other people say about you. You create your own future. But you must be very careful about the words that you allow yourself to think and say. And that's what 'Warrior', essentially, is about that.

"On my own journey through life, it's been a lesson that I have learned, and it's been something that, sadly, I've seen other people make mistakes with," Blaze added. "A very small line in Shakespeare, who I've been a fan of, is 'You are what you think you are.' And it's so true. So, if you are the words that you describe yourself with, choose good words and describe yourself as a warrior and a hero and a survivor. And that's what I have learned.

"I'm not always up, I don't always feel like a warrior, but I just have learned that to tackle this life, to move forward, to get up, the word I have to use is warrior, not loser."

The 58-year-old Bayley, who was born in Birmingham, recorded two studio albums with IRON MAIDEN — 1995's "The X Factor" 1998's and "Virtual XI" — before Bruce Dickinson returned to the group. The MAIDEN albums he appeared on sold considerably less than the band's prior releases and were their lowest-charting titles in the group's home country since 1981's "Killers".

Since leaving IRON MAIDEN in 1999, Bayley has released a number of albums, including several under the moniker BLAZE and more than a handful under his own name. He also appeared on 2012's "Wolfsbane Saves The World", the first album of new material by WOLFSBANE since the group's self-titled 1994 effort.

"War Within Me" came out on April 9. All songs were written and produced by Blaze and guitarist Christopher Appleton.