Comments on: Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier

By: Biff_Tannen

Biff_Tannen — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:05:35 +0000

I think it’s really interesting that, love it or hate it, nearly everyone has different opinions of which songs are good/bad. Not many albums are as polarizing as that….That leads me to believe there is more going on during this album than meets-the-ear at first glance….

By: Appollyonx

Appollyonx — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:28:36 +0000

Good review Erik. I did one on my site as well. I do feel like at this point in their career Iron Maiden really have nothing to prove to anybody. If they said fuck it, this is our last album and we’re retiring, would it be the best swansong album? No, it wouldn’t, and while I’m not completely disappointed with it, I wasn’t as blown away as I was hoping I’d be. I have to admit, Mother of Mercy is one of my favorite songs on the album.

By: faust666

faust666 — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:51:43 +0000

Good to see someone say it like it is. This album IS tired, lifeless,terribly produced(again) snooze-inducing and flat out boring.Maiden is merely a “nostalgia-juice” act now – in the studio.

By: gabaghoul

gabaghoul — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:57:00 +0000

I’m only halfway through my second dedicated listen but here’s my .02 so far:

1) Final Frontier: Intro is at least interesting but should have been its own track. The song itself is dull and toothless and barely metal, but at least it’s better than the past two Maiden openers.

2) El Dorado: This is actually ok far as songwriting goes, it sounds like something off Piece of Mind. Bruce sounds strained in parts, I find that when he sings in his lower register he sounds flat, but he perks up in the chorus.

3) Mother of Mercy: Don’t understand the hate, I like this song more than most Maiden songs over the last decade. It’s dramatic, has some genuine menace and some interesting melodies when things get heavy. Despite some banal lyrics, Bruce feels like a storyteller on this and is quite effective.

4) Coming Home: Soooo boring. Confirms what I said above about Bruce singing in his lower register – it makes the song just drag. Only things I like here are the solos. Considering deleting this so I don’t have to hear it anymore, I realllllly don’t like it.

5) The Alchemist. This could have been an Aces High-style barnburner had Kevin Shirley’s production not been so, well, earthbound. Nothing has any bite, it’s all a solid chunk of sound. Bruce’s vocals and the bass are so high that everything else has been cranked up as well and there’s just no dynamism. Compare this with the rollicking, fleet-footed charge of “The Trooper” and you’ll see what I mean. I had to turn the bass down and the mid and treble up to really enjoy this. At least the song is decent.

More later! Shit I should’ve just written a 2nd opinion review.

By: Fred Phillips

Fred Phillips — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:39:17 +0000

Been a Maiden fan all my life, but I’m with Erik on this one. It’s lifeless and flat. A few of the songs are not bad, but I don’t get any energy off of it at all. I feel the same about it as the last two, which I haven’t cracked the case on since shortly after they came out. I’d rather have another Bruce solo record. His last three have been consistently better than Maiden’s output over the same time frame.

By: Jeff Kent

Jeff Kent — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:58:28 +0000

I agree that ‘Coming Home’ is great, just a well written and poignant tune not unlike ‘Wasted Years’ in theme. I love the relaxed feel that it has too, keeps it from being completely ballady. Plus H’s solo on it is tasty. It would fit right in on Bruce’s Tyranny of Souls.

By: emperorjvl

emperorjvl — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:02:52 +0000

The best thing about this album is that doesn’t include the nauseating “Blood Brothers”. Otherwise, pretty boring, plodding, and lifeless output by Maiden.

By: Biff_Tannen

Biff_Tannen — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:58:26 +0000

Staylow- DUDE. Coming Home is fantastic !!! Bruce’s vocals are just amazing on it.

And I agree….anyone who thinks Bruce is losing his voice hasn’t seen them live in the last couple years. The man has gotten better with age. He has much more control of his voice these days.

By: Staylow

Staylow — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:29:48 +0000

“Nobody in the scene of Bruce’s tenure can hide the signs of aging on their voices, and Bruce is no exception. But his power and passion is there as strong as ever and he sings the material on this album brilliantly, IMO.”

Agreed, I think he sounds fine, and as someone who heard El Dorado live recently, he sounded great.

I like the album as a whole, but it has it’s downfalls. The intro attached to the title track should have been just an intro – it’s painfully annoying, I’d love to just take it out of the playlist. “Coming Home” is yawn inducing, and I still haven’t heard the closer enough times to make judgement, but at this point it doesn’t move me one way or another. The rest range from good to fantastic, with The Alchemist, Starblind, The Talisman and The Man Who Would Be King being at the top of the heap.

All in all it’s a fair review though Erik, even if I completely disagree.

By: Jeff Kent

Jeff Kent — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:12:10 +0000

From what Kevin Shirley has said it sounds like Bruce flew in to do his parts then left. Maybe he didn’t stick around long enough to work on them much. I get the impression there’s no arguing with Steve while recording either. It’s his band and you do the songs his way.

By: Red

Red — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:18:31 +0000

I’ve got to admit, this is not a album that will be liked or easily digested by casual or mediocre Maiden fans. The songs just aren’t taliored for a quick fix/listen. I do think that most hardcore fans will love it, I know I do and alot of other fans I’ve talked to seem to dig it as well. That said, why the hell did Erik review this??? I mean we knew he wouldn’t care for it, there’s not a deathcore breakdown insight. Jk Erik, just giving ya a hardtime. =)

By: Shawn Pelata

Shawn Pelata — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:48:17 +0000

I also disagree on the vocals not being up to quality. Bruce is a fine, strong vocalist and, even at age 52, the man is still one of the best in the game. He never went the Halford route and used super high falsetto screams. He went the Dio route and stayed in his natural range. The amount of touring he has done in his life is enough to choke lesser men. IMO, his tone is rich and full and, even when he gets higher (like the parts Biff mentioned) he never sounds thin and straining. Nobody in the scene of Bruce’s tenure can hide the signs of aging on their voices, and Bruce is no exception. But his power and passion is there as strong as ever and he sings the material on this album brilliantly, IMO.

By: Clauricaune

Clauricaune — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:21:39 +0000

This album can only stick with hardcore Maiden fans. It’s only got a handful of somewhat decent but not exactly memorable songs. The rest is crap, Maiden’s sound taken to exhaustion point.

By: Biff_Tannen

Biff_Tannen — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:52:14 +0000

Bruce really isn’t ‘strained’ anywhere on this record. That is simply how his falsetto sounds these days…he is staying in key, but it comes off very nasely. But,I think some of the falsetto parts should have been re-worked and sung in his superior tennor range, where he is most commanding. This problem was present on AMOLAD as well…I really don’t know why they don’t seem to notice this stuff in the studio and toy with his vocals until they sound right. The only thing I can think of to rationalize this oversight is maybe Bruce/Maiden/kevin shirley felt very passionate about that particular vocal take and decided to keep it. On Starblind, he sounds like crap at parts, and brilliant on others…but it seems to be all one long, emotional take that the band was happy with.

The vocals are quite a toss up on this album. It contains some pretty painful falsetto, yet also plenty of stuff that I wouldn’t hesitate to put alongside his best ever vocal work….

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:35:07 +0000

Also, talk about giving them a pass, none of the glowing reviews I’ve read mention how strained Bruce sounds, “El Dorado” being a prime example.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:33:17 +0000

I think we’re on the same page Erik. I’m not a Maiden expert, but that shouldn’t keep me from enjoying their music. Everything I’ve heard from TFF has been pretty unmoving.

By: Jeff Kent

Jeff Kent — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:24:53 +0000

My feeling is that the band is more relaxed on this record and by not trying so hard to blast into outer space they sort of break the field of gravity and float around for a while in orbit before gliding back gently to earth. Let’s face it, Maiden was never Slayer or some extreme Metal band. They’re….Maiden. More influenced by Jethro Tull and UFO than by Meshuggah or (insert extreme metal band here).

I agree that TFF could use a heavier hand while editing, those 3 minute ‘atmospheric’ slow intros have got to go and the solos need to be higher in the mix. Adrian’s solo on Coming Home is its own little tune.

By: Shawn Pelata

Shawn Pelata — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:39:28 +0000

I disagree. I went out and got it Friay evening and have spun it 3 times. I like it. I’m not bored by it at all. It’s not mind-bending super-genius, but it rolls along quite well and I enjoyed it overall. Iron Maiden, for all intents and purposes, have become a Prog Rock band, IMO. That’s what I hear when I listen to their last few albums and I like it. Harris’ well-known love of Prog Rock has taken over and woven itself into the tapestry of the band and, for me, it works.