Zwijsen, a talented classic guitarist who became a cult-musician on YouTube for his acoustic arrangements of Iron Maiden's classics. Zwijsen co-wrote most of the music of the new Bayley album. The same line-up recorded the album and backed Bayley in the King of Metal European Tour, playing more than 60 gigs. The busy schedule of 2012 also saw an acoustic tour with Zwijsen (July), some appearances with Czech band Seven, a few gigs with Wolfsbane (October), a second co-headlining tour with Paul Di'Anno in Eastern Europe, Australia and New Zealand (November), and the successful "unplugged" tour that also touched Brazil and Europe, with Zwijsen on classical guitar and Dutch violinist Anne Bakker. In 2013, the intense acoustic experience became an official release in the catalogue of Bayley: in partnership with Thomas Zwijsen, he released an EP (Russian Holiday) of classically arranged tunes, working with Yellowdog Creative Project Management for the release. The artwork of the album was created by Akirant.es. Bayley then hit the US for a special tour with an all-star band named The Foundry, with guitarist Rick Plester (Black Symphony), bass player John Moyer (Adrenaline Mob, Disturbed, Queensrÿche) and Scorpions drummer James Kottak, plus vocalist Shawn Austin. Later in the year, Bayley reached Canada for some acoustic gigs and then toured again with Di'Anno in Finland, Russia and Ukraine. Initial partnership with Absolva (2013–2016) Bayley announced Soundtracks of My Life, a double-CD best of, as a tribute to his 30th anniversary as a singer, released in November 2013, and followed by an extensive world tour the following year. The album presented two new tracks, "Hatred" and "Eating Children", written and performed by Blaze Bayley and Rick Plester. For both songs, two promotional video clips were shot. After a first leg of the tour in South America, Bayley presented the new live band for European gigs. They were musicians of the Manchester-based band Absolva: Chris Appleton (guitars, already seen live with Bayley), Dan Bate (bass, then temporarily replaced by Luke Appleton, brother of Chris and member of Iced Earth, and then again new Absolva permanent bass player Karl Schramm) and Martin McNee (drums). With the Absolva line-up, Blaze recorded the DVD Live in Prague which contained a full show of the Soundtracks of My Life European tour plus bonuses. In Slovakia and Germany, with other musicians, Bayley then celebrated his 20th anniversary of joining Iron Maiden with a small