Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier
September 3rd, 2010Mark’s Review:
Maiden’s latest studio effort profiles a disturbing trend which began when Bruce and Adrian Smith rejoined the band in 1999: Long, aimless songs that attempt to be epic, but come off as unnecessarily long-winded. I attribute this to the band’s endless search for a new, modern Hallowed Be Thy Name (or an epic stadium anthem that features a slow intro, a fast ending and plenty of harmony guitars and choruses to sing along to). They found the 90’s version with Fear of the Dark, and seeing how it was the only song post-Seventh Son to make the cut for the “retro” Flight 666 tour set list, you can see how much stock they put into it. Since Brave New World, we’ve heard twenty attempts coming in at over 7 minutes ranging from the successful (Dream of Mirrors) to the dreadfully overrated (Paschendale). I gave up on A Matter of Life and Death after several listens just because the songs were SO long and also SO boring and while having some moments, Dance of Death was overall as dull as it’s cover art. The Final Frontier follows this pattern with six of the ten songs at or over the magic 7 minutes in length. Some of these songs are quality stuff, but with so much added filler, their impact often gets diminished. Iron Maiden simply feels like they’re trying too hard.
The title track, The Final Frontier, is actually a pretty good song, but after sitting through a 4-minute, droning and COMPLETELY unnecessary “intro” called Satellite 15, you’re left pretty confused on what just took place, and whether or not this is really worth your time. The song also follows the predictability of other post-Blaze era album-openers by throwing together a catchy melody and driving beat with a simple, often-repeated chorus (Wildest Dreams, Different World, Wicker Man). Is this necessarily a bad thing? Well, no, because those songs are still awesome, but you get the feeling that maybe Maiden is just going through the motions a bit too much by sticking so blatantly to this formula. The Alchemist and Isle of Avalon are some of the better songs on the album (although Avalon is still too long), and the first single El Dorado is solid despite some lyrics that seems like they were chosen just because they rhymed. Despite being co-written by Janick, The Talisman is a good track, but after a boring 2-minute intro, you might have already skipped past it.
The Man Who Would Be King and When the Wild Wind Blows are the final two songs, and with a combined time of almost 20 minutes, they provide the long slow death to the album. The Final Frontier is not a failure, but it suffers from overworked and over-thought songwriting and a maniacal desire to “create” a classic Maiden live staple. After being beaten over the head with these attempts over the past four albums, it all begins to blend together into mush. I am certain that some of these songs will kill live, because that’s what Maiden still does best, and I’ve noticed that because of Bruce’s “aging” voice, crowd participation help songs from the new era become a more powerful experience. Maiden’s definitely not dead, they’re still probably the best metal band of all time, but I doubt I will listening to The Final Frontier very often.
Mark’s Rating:
King says: “11-minute song about Evil? Bah, been there, done that.”
Matt’s Review:
For a band that has been around for over 30 years, Iron Maiden stays as busy as ever these days. Not only do they keep an extensive touring schedule and churn out a new studio album every 3-4 years, but it also very evident that they are making valiant attempts to progress their sound into different areas, rather than live off of past glories and – at least consciously – rehash the same albums over and over again. To an admirable extent, they achieve this with their latest offering, “The Final Frontier.” However, to another extent, there are some moments of mediocrity and redundancy, which end up overshadowing some of those attempts. Regardless, the album does have its fair share of redeeming qualities – you just have to dig a little deeper and be a little more patient to discover them…
Much like their last effort, “A Matter of Life and Death,” the songwriting duties have shifted more towards a group effort, with Adrian Smith and (to a lesser extent) Bruce Dickinson picking up much of the slack from Steve Harris. Also, much like their previous effort, this mostly results in longer, progressive, mid-tempo songs with an epic feel, slower-moving transitions, and an overall approach that is definitely more simplified than in the past. In other words, you get the feeling that, while the band is letting you know that they have nothing left to prove, they still have plenty of new music left in them and have every intent of continuing to explore their well-defined musical comfort zone.
Now for the album’s highlights: “El Dorado” is just a well-crafted, no-nonsense metal song that will most definitely be the album’s ‘hit,’ as well as a song in their live repertoire for years to come. It’s got everything – a catchy verse, bridge, a trademark anthemic chorus, and three guitar solos in the middle. The ‘fast’ song on the album, “The Alchemist,” has classic Maiden written all over it, even if it does sound a little too similar to “Man On The Edge” at times. Regardless, it is another well-crafted metal song. Track 6, “Isle Of Avalon,” is officially the first ‘epic’ on the album, clocking in at just over 9 minutes. There are some great progressive transitions on this one, very reminiscent of “Out Of The Silent Planet” from the Brave New World album. Back-to-back tracks “Talisman” and “The Man Who Would Be King” are two more quality epics that offers much of the same ear candy. Yes, the proggy epics are definitely Maiden’s forte these days… keep it up boys!
As for the album’s low points: the opening track(s), “Satellite 15… The Final Frontier,” starts out promising with Satellite 15’s dark cyber-metal buildup, but then turns boring and generic after it kicks into the title track. I don’t really understand what they were trying to do here, but anyways… The third and fourth tracks, “Mother of Mercy” and “Coming Home,” respectively, are the obvious filler tracks on the album that frankly sound like rejects from the “No Prayer For The Dying” and/or “Fear Of The Dark” albums – personally my two least favorite Maiden albums of all time.
The remaining two tracks yet to be discussed – “Starblind” and “When the Wild Wind Blows” – fall into that mediocre category that I mentioned earlier. Although both songs are lengthy and have one or two standout parts, particularly during the middle breaks, there are even more unnecessarily drawn out parts that could have easily been trimmed and/or eliminated to make for a much better song.
In summary, if you’re an old-school Maiden fan hoping for another “Number of the Beast” or “Powerslave,” then “The Final Frontier” is definitely not for you. On the other hand, if you happen to be a fan of “Brave New World” and beyond, then the chances are you’ll enjoy this album as well and it will grow on you over time. While the technical side of their playing is much simpler these days, the songwriting as a whole has definitely matured. All in all, it’s another fairly respectable effort from the band that effortlessly rings up $20,000 bar tabs.
Matt’s Rating:
King says: “Yes, age does bring maturity and grace… nothing a little makeup and hair dye can’t fix!”
Have A Listen:
Iron Maiden – El Dorado:
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The Dave Mustaine / Joe Layden book, 
King says: “This is the best book I’ve read since I cried at the end of Eat, Pray, Love!”
