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This is the fourth solo disc from Iron Maiden's ex-singer and his first with his namesake as the new moniker. Seven years had past at this point in his career. You know what he stands for musically and this follows his style. But what is clear is the darker turn that this has due to the challenging and deeply personal circumstances during this period in his life. His wife was dead from cancer and he was battling alcoholism, and some of the songs reflect that like in the title track, "While you Were Gone" and "Serpent Hearted Man".

The Man Who Would not Die is a straight up NWOBHM album, no surprises there but here he has developed his own style as opposed to copying his former band. This is definitely a more aggressive album compared to his previous three. The songs are more to the point, full of melody and heaviness, just with a few exceptions. Lyrically Blaze shifts away from the sci-fi themes of the first two albums and focuses on personal thoughts. Nico Bermudez should be mentioned, he does the leads on the album and complements the songs rather well. His solos are well constructed and it doesn't seem that they were pasted on just because they had to be there.

This is not a perfect album. For one it is too long of a record. If it was cut down 10 minutes or so, it could have been a better disc as there is some filler here like "At the End of the Day". There is nothing original here, but if you were enamored with Blaze's style or the genre itself, this will be a treat. Some people will say that this was a triumph and a return to form. I don't think that this is his best effort ever but considering where he was personally, this is a great accomplishment no matter what. Having said that, like every disc that he has released during this decade it is better than what Iron Maiden have released during the same timeframe.