:: Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier

Iron Maiden

After touring across the globe with their ‘Somewhere Back In Time’ tour (which saw the band revisit their classic days from 1980 through to 1989), and documenting the entire world tour with the film ‘Flight 666’, legendary heavy metal outfit Iron Maiden have once again ventured forward with something new, with the release of their fifteenth studio album ‘The Final Frontier’. In some ways, it would appear that Iron Maiden’s recent tour has had an effect on the group’s latest release, with ‘The Final Frontier’ sounding a little less experimental and daring than their last couple of releases. But despite the lack of progression within ‘The Final Frontier’, the six piece act still retain some of the more recent influences they’ve picked up over the last few years to keep their sound moving forward enough to keep from standing idle. The opening four and a half minute introductory piece ‘Satellite 15…’ is certainly one of the strangest and most daring pieces Iron Maiden has attempted to date, and one that’s sure to have fans divided over its inclusion on the album. Sounding more like a Dickinson solo effort with its experimental/progressive processed sound, the piece is somewhat of an oddity to say the least, and one that I can appreciate, even if it doesn’t quite fit the album. The title track ‘The Final Frontier’ returns things to familiar territory, and while the song is a solid one, it’s not one of the album’s more memorable efforts with its fairly simplistic chorus structures and plain musical backdrop. In fact, the guitar solos are about the only thing that really makes the song stand out. Overall, as an opener to the album, ‘Satellite 15… The Final Frontier’ is nothing short of a real disappointment.

‘El Dorado’, the first single from the album, is easily much stronger in the song writing department, with Harris’ rumbling bass, the heavy riffing and Dickinson’s air raid like vocals bringing together all the elements that make for the classic Iron Maiden sound. Dickinson does sound a little strained in places, but for the most part, the song is a winner. The anthem-like ‘Mother Of Mercy’ and the fast paced ‘The Alchemist’ dismiss the progressive feel of Iron Maiden of late in favour of their more traditional direction. But that’s not to say it’s disappeared entirely, as ‘Coming Home’ fuses modern Iron Maiden influences with Dickinson’s own solo material influences. Quite simply, ‘Coming Home’ is easily one of the real gems to be found throughout ‘The Final Frontier’. The second half of the album sees a bit of shift towards epic styled numbers, with ‘Isle Of Avalon’ the first to start off proceedings. Sounding similar to ‘Rime Of The Ancient Mariner’ in places, ‘Isle Of Avalon’ eventually breaks free of its own plagiarism to find a path of its own, which inevitably winds up sounding solid, if a little unremarkable overall. The same can be said for ‘The Talisman’ once it gets past its two and a half minute introduction. It’s another solid effort, but otherwise typically Iron Maiden. The subtle keyboards and progressive elements within ‘Starblind’ work surprisingly well, and the deviation from the same chords certainly gives the song something to stand out, while on ‘The Man Who Would Be King’, the band manage to give the song several twists and turns throughout its nine minutes, which definitely works in the songs favour. The final track on offer is ‘When The Wild Wind Blows’, which like the former track, deviates from one section to the next with considerable ease, making the song pass quicker than it actually is. For those who long for a return to the more traditional sound of Iron Maiden, ‘The Final Frontier’ may just be the album that grabs you in a way their previous efforts may have failed to. But for me, I can’t help but feel that ‘The Final Frontier’ fails to surpass either ‘Dance Of Death’ or ‘A Matter Of Life And Death’ in terms of stepping outside their comfort zone and daring to push their sound. In summary, ‘The Final Frontier’ is good, just not one of my favourites.