Iron Maiden The Final Frontier
by Alex Barbieri
Staff Writer
Maiden’s most commercially successful album to date is welcomed with worldwide acclaim.
Iron Maiden needs no introduction, but for the record: 15 albums, 80 million units sold, close to 2,000 live performances for millions of loyal fans over a wildly successful 35-year career. Not bad for a bunch of blokes from East London. All that, and they’ve never changed their logo. At this point, Iron Maiden could cruise on autopilot as a nostalgia act. But, as their hand-painted album covers and chock-full-of-bonus material DVDs have proven, they are never ones to do something half-assed. In The Final Frontier, the heavy metal legends have released one of their most musically ambitious and commercially successful albums in their storied career.
In June 2010, the band offered up a free download of “El Dorado,” the album’s first single. A smart and classy move by a band aging well in the digital age. Maiden further whet fans’ appetites with the video for “Satellite 15…The Final Frontier,” an ambitious sci -fi short by award-winning production company Darkside Animation Films. The Final Frontier — Maiden’s first full-length album since 2006’s A Matter of Life and Death — was released to worldwide acclaim in August via Universal Music Enterprises (Ume). The Final Frontier is available in a limited-edition collectors’ “Mission Edition” CD case and features access to extra bonus content, including the director’s cut of the video for “Satellite 15…The Final Frontier.”
Iron Maiden is a bit of an anomaly. Conventional wisdom would say their unique brand of “gallop rock” would not have such universal appeal. Yet, The Final Frontier is the band’s most commercially successful album to date. An EMI Records press release announced “global chart domination” with No. 1 album debuts in the U.K. — their first since 1992’s Fear of the Dark — and 20 other countries. And The Final Frontier’s debut at No. 4 on the Billboard chart in the USA is Maiden’s highest ever chart position.
The Final Frontier was produced by Kevin “Caveman” Shirley at Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, the mythical Maiden location where Piece of Mind (1983), Powerslave (1984), and Somewhere in Time (1986) were recorded. The album artwork — always an anticipated event with a new Maiden release — was illustrated by long-time contributor, Melvyn Grant. In this episode, Eddie the ‘Ead appears as a Predator-like space creature wreaking havoc on space ape astronauts. Doesn’t make much sense, but you’ll feel 15 again as you gaze upon this next chapter in Ed-story.
Musically, The Final Frontier clocks in at 76 minutes and 34 seconds, and is Maiden’s longest studio album to date. For the most part, the band sticks to its modern progressive formula: long intros into clean picking verses, followed by a powerful pre-chorus and repetitive chorus. That said, The Final Frontier is far from formulaic. The songs vary dynamically, from the unique “Satellite 15” pseudo-instrumental opener, to “When the Wild Wind Blows,’ an 11-minute epic (their longest song ever) based on the graphic novel When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs that closes the album.
Highlights include “Coming Home,” Dickinson the pilot’s homage to air travel: “Coming home when I see the runway lights/In the misty dawn of the night is fading fast/Coming home, far away as their vapor trails alight.” Like “These Colours Don’t Run,” the song has universal appeal and has become an instant fan favorite.
Not surprisingly, performances throughout are top-notch. The three-guitar attack of Smith/Murray/Gers is deadly accurate, Harris’ “bah-da-bum-bah-da-bum” bass and McBrain’s “da-la-da-dat-dat” drum fills familiar, but still impressive. Vocally, “The Air Raid Siren” is in remarkably fine form, considering his age and the band’s touring schedule. There are some moments when he sounds strained at the very top of his range, but Dickinson recovers quickly with the skill of a fencer on the attack.
Iron Maiden’s The Final Frontier is one of the best albums of their career, not a small feat for a band that created some of heavy metal history’s all-time classics. The band is at the top of their game and nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. If you’ve seen the ending of Flight 666, when the Costa Rican fans are crying following a never-before-seen Maiden concert, you have an idea of the spiritual impact of this band.
Still, their albums require some time and effort to truly appreciate. You don’t just listen to a new Maiden album, as much as experience it. But, like a fine wine or complex dish, the open-minded listener will be rewarded with layers of subtle, yet exciting flavors. If you are an old-school Iron Maiden fan resistant to their newer material, please reconsider. You’re doing yourself a disservice by not giving The Final Frontier a proper listen. Try it … or Ed’s gonna get ya. Up the Irons!
Genre: Heavy Metal/Progressive Metal
Band:
Bruce Dickinson – Lead Vocals
Steve Harris – Bass
Dave Murray – Guitars
Adrian Smith – Guitars, Vocals
Nicko McBrain – Drums
Janick Gers – Guitars
Track Listing:
1. Satellite 15 … The Final Frontier
2. El Dorado
3. Mother of Mercy
4. Coming Home
5. The Alchemist
6. Isle of Avalon
7. Starblind
8. The Talisman
9. The Man Who Would Be King
10. When the Wild Wind Blows
Label: Universal Music Enterprises
Websites: http://www.ironmaiden.com/
Hardrock Haven Rating: 9/10