Iron Maiden
The Final Frontier

Extensive premise.

I believe that reviewing an Iron Maiden album here on DeBaser is akin to diving, after a nice soak in a tub of barbecue sauce, into a den of wolves that haven't eaten for a month. Fully aware of what I'm doing, I decide to write this review for various reasons, hoping that in the meantime a slew of others doesn't get published.

First of all because the one writing to you is a fan of the group. Or rather, let's clarify: not one of those who owns every gadget marketed by the English band, or much less one of those who confidently declares them the best metal band of all time (never have and never will, but here we enter another discussion), but simply someone who believes the eighties era to be practically unassailable in terms of quality and expression, not to mention a couple of excellent albums post '88 and a couple of other generally successful records, while still clearly admitting that they've definitely made more than one misstep (Virtual XI above all), and especially with or without Dickinson.

The second reason for reviewing this album is because yes, there is already a review (by Green by the way, about whom I can only say positive things, at least from what I've read so far), but with which I essentially disagree, to put it mildly; in any case, two viewpoints are always better than one.

Thirdly, because I would like to take advantage of this to express my opinion on the various criticisms that frequently rain down on the group and which frankly irritate me a bit. Strange, considering how little I care to hear comments pulled from thin air through a computer screen, but what really makes me want to stand here and waste time responding to such users is the superficiality of such verdicts, often surrounded by a poor musical understanding of the band itself, perhaps even of the genre itself wanting to hit the jackpot.

Turning towards the actual album, it's the longest ever recorded by the band and the furthest in time from the previous one (4 years compared to the 3 we were accustomed to since the Bailey era, except for “Brave New World”).

The album seems practically divided into two parts: the first five tracks, in fact, are in the vein of old productions, with an average length just over five minutes, except for the opener, a sort of medley between a kind of introduction to the album and the true title track “Satellite 15… The Final Frontier”, while the remaining five songs reflect the trend of recent albums, particularly "A Matter of Life and Death", with songs that go the long distance without too many compliments, reaching the peak with a closing track, “When the Wild Wind Blows”, which practically reaches eleven minutes.

As the cover and especially the album artwork suggest, the mood of the album is framed in an almost space-like atmosphere, an atmosphere that becomes immediately perceptible in the opener written by Harris and Smith, divided between an almost cataclysmic and redundant start and a second part as a true single, given the disarming ease in listening; from here it seems clear who of the two contributed more to which part.

From there a series of quite immediate tracks for maiden standards. "El Dorado", released some time earlier, is probably the worst of them, given the not very inspired verse and the general flatness of the pre-chorus... a pity, because the basic riffing isn't bad, not to mention the chorus, the only truly noteworthy moment of the song. Following the intriguing “Mother of Mercy” the solemn “Coming Home”, then onto faster tracks with “The Alchemist”, a generally well-done episode.

The best the album has to offer remains in the second half, namely in the escalation of long-duration tracks. As far as I'm concerned, one cannot remain totally impassive to the work done with songs like "Isle of Avanon", "The Talisman" and especially "Starblind", particularly for the evoked atmospheres and the work put into both the rhythm section and the solo work of the Smith/Murray/Gers trio, despite the usual Harris influences regarding E progressions or the well-supported gallops by McBrain. So yes, the usual warmed-up soup as you will say, the usual songs based on continuous riff changes, extensive instrumental sections, atmospheres, and progressions for the final closure, but from here to say “it's a shitty album”, as it's obviously easy to say for those who have no patience and/or willingness to listen to it all, one needs quite a bit, indeed a lot.

For closure, only the driving “The Man who would be King” and the introspective “When the Wild Wind Blows” are missing, albeit with yet another hint of Harrisian gallop which, as appreciable as it may be, now stinks of stale.

So what to say, an album that basically has nothing new, but which can still undoubtedly please Iron Maiden fans, and which might even carve a small space for genre lovers, provided they are mature enough to take the album for what it is: the fifteenth studio album of a band on the world scene for thirty years now. Meaning that if truly new and fresh ideas are scarce, it would be normal given the years that have passed, while remembering that this inevitable decline shouldn't be taken as a total excuse for certain undoubtedly rehashed compositional choices.

For those who finally tell me that Dickinson's screams have had it and that the instrumental or non-introduction minutes are unbearable... guys, every band has its style, if you're not mature enough to listen to these songs and judge them consistently (and above all civilly) it's nobody's fault, not counting the geniuses who complain about it and then drool over Metallica's latest album, with the same average duration of the songs and riffs mashed together just to dupe the listener into believing they're back to the “glory” of old.

In conclusion, you see the album rating: I tried to remain as objective as possible, it's up to you to try and notice it, and I hope I succeeded. It will be the usual warmed-up soup (not even that much, if you listen carefully to certain passages in the songs I mentioned), whatever you want, but if you manage to play something that can still be listened to after thirty years, I'd say we can already talk about a halfway success, and that’s enough for me.

Small closing note: I also believe that this "The Final Frontier" is quite eloquent about their future, hoping it’s limited to studio work, since live they'll probably play until they drop dead. And that's for the best, since they still rock live like few others.