Iron Maiden "The Final Frontier" Review

Band: Iron Maiden
Album: The Final Frontier
Homepage: www.ironmaiden.com

Iron Maiden's "The Final Frontier" is their 4th album since Bruce Dickinson coming back to the band and is their first studio album in four years. I have been waiting for this album eagerly and from the information coming from the band had very high expectations, too bad those expectations were not met.

I believe an albums opening track is the most important song on an album, it sets the mood for the whole album and should let the listener know what to expect from the rest of the album. This is strike one. The album starts with some ridiculous intro to the title track in which the first 2:30 is some kind of tribal drums and weird synth, then goes into another two minutes of Bruce telling some story mixed with the drums and synth, then the song finally starts. Over half of this track should of been cut off or at least made into a separate track so you could easily skip it. Once the song starts it actually is one of the better tracks and one of the most likely to make you think of the glory days.

The fancy intro problem repeats itself in a few other tracks, although none near as bad as the first track. Mother Of Mercy has 1:30 at the beginning that should of been cut in at least half before it gets going and turns into one of my favorite tracks. Isle Of Man drags on for over 2:30 before getting going but even then never really gets into gear. The Talisman starts with almost 2:30 of nothing before the song actually starts, but again it is missing something. The Man Who Would Be King does almost exactly the same thing.

Coming Home, Starblind, and When The Wild Wind Blows are all mid-tempo songs that never grab me and before they are finished I find myself skipping to the next track.

The only other track that even comes close of reminding me of the glory days is the first single, El Dorado, but even it just feels like a memory.

For a band consisting of three guitarist of the caliber of Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, and Janick Gers the guitars sound hollow and never make me want to bang my head like when I put in great albums like "Powerslave", "Piece Of Mind", or "The Number Of The Beast".

Favorite Songs: Mother Of Mercy, El Dorado, and the actual song part of Satellite 15...The Final Frontier.

Rating: 6/10