Iron Maiden
The Final Frontier

"The Final Frontier" is quite an eloquent title for this latest studio effort by Iron Maiden, and with "latest", it seems to be meant in every sense and definitively: much to the dismay of some, and to the great joy of others. There are already rumors that even the tour just undertaken in June of 2010 might be their last, something I find impossible, given that Iron Maiden has always been one of the last stage war machines, those who won't quit until they drop dead (can you imagine Steve Harris in his castle, admiring a mythical collection of seashells or assembling ships in bottles?).

Going back to the reception of this album, if indeed as rumored, it is the last, I will be one of those who take it with great relief. In the studio, they had already said what they needed to say many years ago. I'm one of the old guards, utterly convinced that their last great album was "Seventh Son Of Seventh Son". Until then, they were grandiose, undoubtedly, at least as far as British metal is concerned. But afterwards... "No Prayer For The Dying" and "Fear Of the Dark" could have been one album, retaining only the best songs; I'd only save a couple of tracks from the two dreadful albums with the mediocre Blaze Bayley, and the reunion, over the past ten years, is a grand reheated stew. In short, since 1987, Iron Maiden has been repetitive and more worthy of a financial expense for a concert ticket than for a studio album. With "Brave New World" and "Dance Of Death" there was a slight recovery, but little truly new, while "A Matter Of Life And Death" I find frankly embarrassing, and finally this... "The Final Frontier".

This is the longest album Iron Maiden has ever composed (76':35"), with an average track length of 07':59", thus yielding to the annoying trend in the modern album market of "filling" the CD as much as possible. Produced for the fourth time with Kevin Shirley, we had a preview of "The Final Frontier" with the song Eldorado which, quoting Wikipedia, discusses "the confusion created by the global economic crisis that has hit world markets recently, creating a situation where, after doing what they wanted with their money and having squandered it, everyone now has to sell everything to the highest bidder, making ordinary streets seem gold-plated". Themes aside, as always, previews are the ones that make you think the album will be awesome, but only because they had the good taste to choose the best song to throw at the eager, hungry public. The album is a whole other story.

"The Final Frontier" is indeed what is known in Lombardy as a "quadrello", that is a brick, extremely heavy: Satellite 15… The Final Frontier, Isle Of Avalon, When Wild Wind Blows (perhaps one of the most beautiful tracks on the album with Eldorado, at least in the melodic first part), are all too long tracks, redundant. Once, every Maiden album lasted between 40 and 50 minutes, and the only "long" song was the final piece, a genius compositional solution in the '80s. Those were good times: see Hallowed be thy name, To Tame a Land, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Alexander the Great.

The Iron Maiden themselves seem to be once again dull in the studio, a bit like with "A Matter Of Life And Death". I then wonder why, why, why they kept Janick Jers? Weren't Murray and Smith enough? There are too many of them! Beyond the fact that I can't stand Janick Jers (okay, personal opinion!!!), I am convinced he has nothing to do with the "real" Irons: once the reunion was done in 2000, they could have left him home peacefully to knit or at most form an Iron Maiden tribute band. The only piece Jers signs is The Talisman, Maiden's predictable made song. Even the compositional pattern is always the same: syncopated bass with various guitar arpeggios in the background and then the piece increases speed in distortion (Iron Maiden did this on their debut album!!!): let's now take Isle Of Avalon, it is a typical example. The same goes for The Man Who Would Be King and Starblind. Perhaps Coming Home and The Alchemist are not bad, but nothing that gives goosebumps.

The problem with "The Final Frontier" is the same that has been present for many years now, namely the weakness of the vocal lines (I think of, for instance, Mother Of Mercy), already well-worn, in every song there's some reference to a track from the past. Dickinson still brings out his voice, and surely he performs as usual, but precisely... "as usual". Even the rhythm changes in the songs, also all heard and reheard.

Even the cover doesn't appeal to me too much, this umpteenth reincarnation of Eddie is downright grotesque. The setting is cool, but he looks silly, far from the figure with the axe in hand of Killers or the madman of "Piece of Mind". No wonder they are touring with Dream Theater, another group to add to the simmering pot cart from a studio album perspective.

The days of "The Number Of The Beast", "Powerslave", or "Seventh Son Of A Seventh" were obviously not going to return, also because stylistically and musically they have been in a stall for years, but in the last Maiden productions, the trend seems alarmingly headed towards the abyss. In short, if after a week of uninterrupted listening (yes, it's been circulating online for a few days already!!!) this album still fails to communicate anything of note to me. I'd say there's nothing new under the sun: it's definitely time for Iron Maiden to stop making studio albums!

PS and for once, I'm the first to review an album that is new/just released/in the process of being released at this moment, after me you'll see forty thousand identical reviews popping up, gnegneregné!!!