The 15th album during a magnificent 30 years of molten metal, is ‘The Final Frontier’ really IRON MAIDEN’s swan-song? Bacon Music gives its track by track verdict on the rock legend’s new opus…

‘Satellite 15 … The Final Frontier’ (Smith/Harris) 08.40

In the case of ‘Satellite 15′, you’re talking probably the most adventurous number MAIDEN have ever penned. Out of the box, its a swirling mist of atmospheric guitars, frenetic bass lines and pummelling drums – after of which the track ascends into QUEENSRYCHE-esque melodrama and hits you for a Brian Lara 6 quite memorably – smouldering. 

Segueing into eponymous title track ‘The Final Frontier’, there’s slab after slab of classic MAIDEN riffery, complete with infectious melodies from verse through to chorus, and some slick lead guitar work. Also features a stunning, Eddie premiere of a video that must have cost insane amounts of wonga. Check it out @ www.ironmaiden.com. Probably would have been better to separate the two, but then again, any excuse for the cause of another 7 minute plus epic…

‘El Dorado’ (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) 06.49

First listen to this spiralling epic and it appears to be a dubious singles release choice. A bizarre intro more akin to how MAIDEN would close a track than start one, the verses, while telling a story, don’t really stir the musical soul. Luckily, the mystical pre-chorus and a swashbuckling, monolithic chorus – not to mention the grandiose triple solo section – more than restore fortunes. Also sees the ‘Air Raiden Siren’ Bruce Dickinson hitting his most crazily high notes in possibly a decade. In spite of the rather mundane verse melodies, ‘El Dorado’ is a real grower.

‘Mother Of Mercy’ (Smith/Harris) 05.20

“You say you are a holy man but what is it you do? Of where I stand there’s nothing, but a hollow man I see…” Passionately croons Bruce, the first of many songs on ‘The Final Frontier’ to slam the sins of bad religion and all who endorse it. A rocker, ‘Mother Of Mercy’ contains frequent, beautifully executed time changes as well as a good dollop of old fashioned MAIDEN gallop on the verses. A true mini Irons epic. The solo section again classically whiffs of a QUEENSRYCHE-esque vibe.

‘Coming Home’ – (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) 05.52

The lighters in the air ballad of ‘The Final Frontier’, this glorious effort oozes gooey melodies from the first minute to the last, joining previous MAIDEN gems in this department such as ‘Wasting Love’, ‘Blood Brothers’ and ‘Journeyman’.

A harmonized intro gives birth to acoustic verses and a simply epic chorus, with Bruce romanticizing over coming home from a pilot’s prospective. An interesting approach, it’s certainly well handled given the predictability of most ‘Coming Home’ related themes.
In fact, we’ll go further – given most people who attempted such a Dickinsonian-esque task would probably work in a European soft cheese factory (and fall flat on their arse at that) this is a bona fide triumph.

‘The Alchemist’ (Gers/Harris/Dickinson) 04.29

A classic MAIDEN tactic of the last few years has seen MAIDEN‘s three amigos combining harmonies with higher octaves. The intro (which also doubles up as an after chorus section) shows this off flawlessly.

‘The Alchemist’ not only delivers a memorable chorus, we also get a frenetically paced number with further tantalising harmonies and a blistering ‘he’s had his Weetabix’ solo from Gers. Its true to say a lot of MAIDEN fans would like to see more efforts like this, and while one can see MAIDEN have evolved into an entirely greater epic entity these days, ‘The Alchemist’ does at least prove they can still deliver these type of songs emphatically.

‘Isle Of Avalon’ (Smith/Harris) 09.06

In a nutshell, an absolute pearler. Dreamy style verses give way to what have to be some of the discs finest pre-chorus and chorus melodies.

The “I can hear you, can you hear me, I can feel you, can you feel me” lyrics may seem unbelievably basic, but they fit like a dream, the only breathing space from the incredibly deep lyrics (presumably based on mythical fertility rituals) that penetrate throughout the rest of the song. This song builds more than Tesco, the chorus at one point recalling a classic chord from ‘Brighter Than A Thousand Suns’ (on previous album ‘A Matter Of Life And Death’), and Adrian Smith’s Satriani style solo is reminiscent of something from the ‘Somewhere In Time’ album. Smart.

‘Starblind’ (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) 07.48

A true head turner, ‘Starblind’ takes you by surprise with its huge keyboard intro and rather off kilter vocal melodies – a nice touch. A monster riff launches the song into orbit before a decent chorus grabs the ascendancy, remarkably bettered by an after chorus which to these ears is one of the greatest moments on the disc.

Humungous hooks, all underpinned by ‘Infinite Dreams’ like bluesy guitars and a clever key change, there’s an uncanny similarity to the DIDO melodies (taken from EMINEM‘s ‘Stan’ progression) following the key change, but we can at least rest assured there’s more chance of an asteroid sending you Eddie via special delivery than Harris and co taking inspiration from something they accidently overheard on Radio 1. The guitar-work in the remainder of the track – whether it be colossal riffery or cleverly orchestrated solos – is sublime. Another track asking searching questions about religion.

‘The Talisman’ (Gers/Harris) 09.03

Deceptively opening with a folksy intro that you could deem ‘sea shanty’, by golly is this a two and a half minutes intro that takes some listening to, but as with this album in general, it’s worth it and definitely rewards.

Storm time shortly follows, monstrous riffery parting company with trademark MAIDEN melody lines, numerous time changes, two bombastic chorus sections and cinematic whammy bar insanity that flashes from one channel to the other (listen through headphones) marking a truly dramatic finale.

Lyrics typically depict some IRON MAIDEN reality horror: “Twenty days without a meal and ten without fresh water still, those who didn’t die in storms the scurvy rest did slaughter”
Sure to draw comparisons to 1985′s ‘Rime Of The Ancient Mariner’, its 11 minutes of pure genius.

‘The Man Who Would Be King’ (Murray/Harris) 08.28

One of the most gorgeous intros MAIDEN have ever penned, one detects Dave Murray was having a little bit of a ‘Doctor Doctor’ moment…

A solid epic with some truly anthemic moments, including the fascinating after chorus sections, with vocals unlike MAIDEN have ever really done before, but the chorus itself doesn’t really captivate in the same way as some of the choice cuts present, making this number an epic Prince rather than a standout King. Really well thought out harmonies and a unique Murray solo, deliberately lowered in the mix for textural purposes.

‘Where The Wild Wind Blows’ (Harris) 10.59

The centrepiece of ‘The Final Frontier’ album, this saddening tale of post nuclear fallout (inspired by the Raymond Briggs novel) is the perfect way to conclude what could yet prove to be IRON MAIDEN‘s final studio album (and on this evidence, lets certainly hope not).

There’s no real chorus present, the song mainly driven by all manners of luscious, guitar laden hooks and vocal melodies that interact with guitar melodies. Not that it needs a chorus – the axe-work provides twist after endless twist, turn after magnificent turn of drama and musicality, stunning solos and tear jerking lyrics make this the show stealer bar none.

“When they found them, had their arms wrapped around each other, their tins of poison laying near by their clothes, the day they both mistook an earthquake for the fallout, Just another when the wild wind blows…”
Wild is indeed the wind.

If Carlsberg did easy listening albums, they’d have to be trolleyed via Export to put ‘The Final Frontier’ on their shortlist for greatest in the world. Don’t be fooled my friends, if you love MAIDEN – and particularly their epic nature – then you’re in for one hell of a journey.

‘The Final Frontier’ is the hardest work on the listening front the band have produced since 1995’s ‘The X Factor’. While it’s undeniably an album that’s unlikely to win many new converts outside of the worldwide metal entourage, it’s a must that you make this journey.

Simply because, the reward is a deeply complex, genuinely unique IRON MAIDEN album that not only contains masterpiece after masterpiece, but also chooses to take chances and risks.
You only have to listen to ‘The Talisman’‘s folksy intro, the unfamiliar time signature and key change in ‘Starblind’, the bizarrely heavy and almost alternative ‘Satellite 15′, ballad ‘Coming Home’, ‘El Dorado’s mind boggling intro and towering chorus… on top of all of this, the guitar work is also the most challenging the band has ever done.

On the broader, more critical scale of things, MAIDEN aren’t without their critics so this exercise in doing something different alongside the trademark musical familiarities is a very welcome trait. Maybe returning to Compass Point Nassau studios – in The Bahamas where MAIDEN recorded the classic ‘Piece Of Mind’ and ‘Powerslave’ albums – has rekindled that extra spark of magic.

The choruses – from the title track through to ‘Isle Of Avalon’ – are rarely anything other than outstanding, MAIDEN in general delivering progressive melodies with flair and finesse throughout.

MAIDEN seem to have toned down the intensity of the guitars from the last album – or at least that’s how the production suggests – but there’s moody shades with a glorious balance of soft and loud throughout. In spite of a whole plethora of 6 to 11 minute epics – ‘El Dorado’, ‘Isle Of Avalon’, ‘The Talisman’, ‘The Man Who Would Be King’, ‘Where The Wild Wind Blows’ – there’s also a fine contingent of rockers – ‘Mother Of Mercy’, ‘The Alchemist’ and ‘The Final Frontier’ itself.

The perfect showcase to conclude a magnificent 30 years of molten metal, its hard to pick a defined champion between this and last album, ‘A Matter Of Life And Death’, but there’s no doubt that like ‘Brave New World’, this is IRON MAIDEN’s greatest triumph since 1988’s ‘Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son’.

In conclusion, for three of four albums in the last ten years to draw such comparisons is further outstanding proof of why IRON MAIDEN are widely regarded as the World’s greatest heavy metal band. Long live heavy metal – long live IRON F****** MAIDEN.

Rating: 10/10

Review By Andy Law