Originally published by L.S. Media. August 17th 2010.
Four years may not sound like a long time but in music terms it can be an absolute eternity, especially when you have been riding high for the best part of 30 years as one of Britain’s finest metal exports.
Iron Maiden have constantly lived up to their billing, (even forgiving a few turbulent years in the late 90’s when they were in danger of becoming an irreverence) no matter what, they knew what their fans wanted and even led the way in new musical ideas.
Now the band has finally released the 15th studio album, one that will undoubtedly split the enormous fan base. For a start at 76 minutes it is the longest studio album the band have attempted and for some older fans it might feel as if they are straying too far away from their remit.
For the avid and long term fan there will be a lot to like on The Final Frontier; however for those that have come across Iron Maiden relatively late in their outstanding and illustrious career it might take an extreme amount of effort to get to grips with this new direction that the band seemed to have taken.
In some ways it is a welcome return to the adventurous Prog sojourn the guys took when they released Seventh Son of a Seventh Son concept album back in 1988. As bass guitarist and founder of Iron Maiden Steve Harris never really fails to deliver an album that hold true to the core of British Heavy Metal but as with everything in life, those crashing riffs and pomp lyrics must develop over time, as the band have grown so has the grandiose that has accompanied it.
The opening track of Satellite 15… The Final Frontier is a song of two halves, the first 4 minutes may have the listener scratching their heads and wondering if they have put on an insane version of a Tubular Bells and Holst’s Planet Suite mix by mistake but get past that, as you really should, and you will be propelled back to classic Maiden.
There seems to be a mix of influences on the album that hasn’t been in evidence before on previous albums, from the slight Magnum feel on El Dorado to the days of older metal with When the Wild Wind Blows, all of which seem to flow in the right direction.
All the band manage to get a piece of themselves down on the record and for a band of that consists of six members there doesn’t seem to be much of a clash of ego’s with drummer Nicko McBrain giving the best performance of his career since the days of Somewhere in Time.
It may take time to get used to this extravagant piece of work but it deserves more than one or two listens to get where the band are coming from on this record.
Ian D. Hall