Iron Maiden
The Final Frontier

Someone sang years ago "Sono solo canzonette" (They're just little songs). Well, that's certainly not the case with this album. In this album, there's really little that could be defined in the proletarian slang as "Canzonetta" or simply a "ballad." Here, there is metaphysics, a desire to reflect, but also the unique ability to unleash energy through moods and images, sometimes soft and then ready to explode. That's what you don't expect, that Iron Maiden, at 50, pull out stuff like this. Sure, it can't have been easy to come to terms with this "The final frontier" for the fundamentalists of the old Maiden sound. But, once you overcome the initial difficulties, those that come from reading such a challenging name on the album cover, well, there's a world to explore in this record.

The first 4 minutes of the intro of the first track leave you stunned. It feels like you're facing a crap from Dream Theater. Then the solemn, almost apocalyptic intro dies out, and the voice of a lost Bruce Dickinson strikes from the afterlife. You could turn off the stereo after just forty minutes and send everything and everyone to hell. Nothing could be more wrong, guys. This album is superb, far from being nonsense. Enough has already been heard in these days, it's about time to put nostalgia aside and look at the work for what it is. Take "Mother of Mercy" for instance and tell me it's not an extraordinary piece, mind-blowing. One of the most beautiful pieces in Iron Maiden history, also because it's unusual compared to their typical brand. Then there's so much more in this album that's applause-worthy: Coming Home, beautiful and nostalgic, perhaps like the Maidens have never been. And what about "Starblind", a piece of unique intensity and especially "The Talisman", which starts as an epic ballad and suddenly unleashes an unexpected anger. "El Dorado", the single of the album (a debatable choice), is a piece that releases energy, and even though it's not mythological, well, it deserves respect, damn it!! Absolutely outstanding is the splendid "When the Wild Wind Blows" and "The Alchemist", which is somewhat reminiscent of the old Maidens.

In the album, there are at least 4 or 5 splendid tracks and not a single note that sounds banal. It's logical that the sound has changed, it's logical that you can't review this album while you have "Fear of the Dark" in your ears. Here, there's something else, there's more desire to reflect than to thrash. But that doesn't mean the energy and anger have weakened. I would just say that the old Maiden sound is dead and buried. And there's nothing more grandiose than steering and not giving a damn, moving forward and bringing out stuff like this.

And stop whining, you old stubborn heads, we're in 2010-