A lot of people have criticised Blaze, but I'm one of the minority that likes him. I can't imagine Bruce Dickinson doing this album, and I think that Blaze's vocals are the best for this darker, moodier, borderline gothic Maiden album.

Each song has an almost epic feel to it, especially Sign of the Cross and The Unbeliever. It's like Maiden decided not to just make songs, to make works of art.

The lyrics have matured very much, as I doubt we'll ever see a song like 2 A.M. now that Bruce & Adrian are back and Blaze is gone.

There are a few problems I have with the album. Sign of the Cross, while really damn good, has an intro that takes just a little too long, just like Blood on the World's Hands. The Aftermath, Look for the Truth, and Fortunes of War all sound a little too the same.

Also, Blaze's vocals aren't perfect, as he tends to warble, like in Edge of Darkness with the line, "Your mission terminate - with extreme prejudice." The word prejudice sounds more like prejUdiiIIIiiiSSS.

But aside from that, I loved the album, and some of my all-time favorite Maiden songs came from this album, such as the aforementioned Edge of Darkness. I can't get a line from that song out of my head, it goes, "Here I am with the knife in my hand, and now I understand why the genius must die." I don't know why, but I like that line.

Lord of the Flies is another favorite, and an underrated one at that. 2 A.M., The Unbeliever, and Sign of the Cross are also my favorites.

Hell, every song is a favorite of mine.

pretty darn good if ya ask me...
Ignore all of the Dickinson junkies out there. Blaze isn't that bad. After hearing about this album I expected something just completely AWFUL, like Loverboy meets Korn, or something like that. To my pleasant surprise X-Factor is some good Iron Maiden, a logical progression of a darker sound that really started with "7th Son". This is still Maiden, and you can hear the trademark maiden sound on songs like "Fortunes of War", "Edge of Darkness", and "2 AM". And come on, "Sign of the Cross" is an 11 minute magnum opus, loaded with a ton of hooks and melodies. Blaze's voice is far more limited that Bruce's, but he is a great singer and delivers some excellent vocals here. X Factor is not Number of the Beast or Powerslave, but if you're stuck into comparing everything to Maiden's glory days, you're missing out on some great music. I'm going to listen to this album again right now, and I'm going to enjoy doing so!

Quite simply...not bad
I was, and always will be a Bruce Dickinson fan, so like many Maiden fans, I imaturely refused to even hear the X-Factor. I was living in the Golden Years. I hated everything after 7th Son. Then they hit me with this Blaze b.s. Oh well. Time however is a funny monster. I found the X-Factor at a used CD shop and figured what the heck. So X number of years later(smile folks), I am intrigued by the sounds on this album. Blood on the Worlds hands, and of course the Sign of the Cross are awesome! What an underated album. Blaze was an excellent singer on this album, and Maiden sounded very tight. This album is by far better than Fear of the Dark, No prayer for the Dying and their various live crap that was released. Up the Irons!!!

It took me a while to like this album
I am a diehard Iron Maiden fan, and I was devastated by Bruce Dickinson leaving the band and being gone so long. I originally bought this album (The X Factor) and didn't realize till I started listening to it that it wasn't Bruce!! I immediately put it aside for a long time before reading a review here on Amazon.com about it and finally decided to give it another try with an open mind.

I was still disappointed and it was probably because I kept expecting it to sound like Bruce on vocals. Finally, after what seems like an eternity has passed, I can appreciate this one for what it was/is: The band wanted to make an album, Blaze Bayley was available, so they did it. It's a good album, but it's at the bottom of my Iron Maiden list. It's worth listening to if you're an Iron Maiden fan, or maybe even if you're not (maybe you won't have any personal biases for rejecting it like I did).

The songs are decent, with a few memorable ones, but Blaze's style in many places seems like he's halting or waiting for the music to catch up to him and the band is waiting for him to catch up to them. It makes for some really strange pauses in the music/vocals as if their timing is off a little. (If I can find specific examples I might add them later.) The music is actually really good and sounds like Iron Maiden should, but Blaze brings them down in a few places and it's not what I would consider a "great addition" to the Iron Maiden legacy. And a two and a half minute lead-in of chanting, sound effects, and slow single guitar notes makes for a boring entrance to the album.

So, even though Blaze is a blemish on this Iron Maiden offering, it's still worth 4 stars.

C'mon,give it some credit
OK, most people might believe that iron maiden is nothing without Bruce Dickinson. What I believe is this: although I'm a huge fan of Brucie, Iron Maiden is NOTHING without Steve Harris, the man who started it all! The brilliant songwriting of Harris stands out well in this CD. OK, Bailey might not be as good as Dickinson, but anyone who tries to take Dickinson's place has big shoes to fill! Bailey is still good, as shown through tracks like 'sign of the cross' and 'man on the edge'. It is not the best maiden CD ever, but these guys are legends of metal. Don't u forget it!