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The Final Frontier

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For the Star Trek movie, see Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
Untitled

The Final Frontier is British heavy metal band Iron Maiden's fifteenth studio album, released on August 13, 2010 in Germany[1] and Finland[2], August 17 in the United States[3][4], and August 16 worldwide[5]. At 76 minutes and 34 seconds, it is the band's longest studio album to date. It is their first album since the release of A Matter of Life and Death in 2006, the longest gap to date between two consecutive Iron Maiden studio albums. The North American leg of their tour in support of the album started in Dallas, Texas on June 9[6], with a European tour beginning in Dublin on July 30, an Australian tour beginning in Melbourne on February 23, 2011[7], and further dates to be announced.[8] Melvyn Grant, a long-time contributor to the band's artwork, created the cover art for the album.[9]

Prior to the album's release, band founder Steve Harris was quoted as saying that he imagined the band would release a total of fifteen studio albums. The titles of the album, tour, and opening track fuelled further rumours that The Final Frontier would be the band's final album.[10] The band members have since admitted that they hope to release further albums and continue touring into the future[11].

Overview

On April 22, 2009, during a Rock Radio interview promoting Iron Maiden: Flight 666, Nicko McBrain revealed that Iron Maiden had booked studio time for early 2010.[12]

On March 4, 2010, the album title was announced as The Final Frontier, along with North American and European tour dates for summer 2010.[13]

On June 5, the band's official website opened to a countdown screen which counted down to 12:01 am (UTC) on June 8.[14] At the end of the countdown, the expected announcement revealed the album artwork, release date, and track listing, as well as providing a free download of the track "El Dorado".[9]

On July 13 it was announced that as well as a traditional in-store release, the album will be released as an iTunes LP, a digital download, and a limited collector's "Mission Edition", containing interviews and a game entitled "Mission II: Rescue & Revenge".[15]

Production

On November 2, 2009, Janick Gers confirmed to BBC News that the band already had new material written and would head to Paris, France, to start composing and rehearsing the bulk of the new album. The band took time off for Christmas and New Year's Eve before recording the new album in January, with Kevin Shirley producing.[16] In another interview with heavy metal DJ Eddie Trunk, Nicko McBrain confirmed that the band had finished writing eight songs for the new album which he claimed would probably be released in 2011.[17]

On April 6, Shirley told Blabbermouth that he had completed mixing the album[18], and commented on the final stages of its production on May 6:[19]

"Bruce Dickinson flew in for a few days and sang all his parts before flying off to the four corners of the globe and Steve Harris stayed behind to finish the record with me. He's pretty hands-on like that. Adrian Smith dropped in from time to time to hear stuff, and like in any band, not everyone has the same end result in mind, but we get there."

Regarding the band's return to Compass Point Studios, where they had previously recorded in the 1980s, Dickinson remarked:

“The studio had the same vibe and it was exactly as it had been in 1983, nothing had changed! Even down to the broken shutter in the corner... same carpet... everything... It was really quite spooky. But we felt very relaxed in such a familiar and well-trodden environment and I think this shows in the playing and the atmosphere of the album.”[9]

Songs

The album is the fourth for which Steve Harris receives writing credits for every track, following Killers, Brave New World, and A Matter of Life and Death.

"El Dorado", the album's first single, was released as a free digital download on the band's official website on June 8.

In a July 1 interview with Billboard, Dave Murray commented that the album mixes "straight-ahead, uptempo rock songs with good grooves with some other tracks that are kind of longer and more complex", referring particularly to "When the Wild Wind Blows", the band's third longest song to date, after "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "Sign of the Cross"[20]:

"The rhythm's a little bit different from what we've done before, and there's lots of melodies... It's a big song. We learned it in sections just because it was such a complex arrangement, but it sounds quite natural."

On July 9, a teaser video for the album's first track, "Satellite 15... The Final Frontier," was released. The full music video, the album's first, was released on July 13.[21]

Interviewed for Ultimate Guitar on July 15, Janick Gers discussed the album's overall sound[22]:

"We're taking it to extremes. The one song we released isn't indicative of the rest of the album. There's so many different feels and ways of playing. We go through some different attitudes and take you to different places. There's a lot of thematic tunes and some very varied music."

Referring to the album's composition in a July 26 interview, Adrian Smith said[23]:

"We always set out to come up with the strongest songs possible, melodies, and try and do what Iron Maiden does best... I’m moved into different areas to more progressive pieces, more intricate, which I think is the band’s forte... We only write what we need. Obviously everyone comes in with a load of ideas, it pretty much was a band effort. I think Steve these days is more into arranging and writing lyrics and melodies. I came up with quite a lot of music, six or seven songs and Janick wrote some also. Bruce wrote lyrics and melodies as well. So it was pretty much was a group effort, probably more than in the past."

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllmusicN/A[24]
Classic Rock[25]
Rock Sound[26]
Metal Hammer[27]
Kerrang![28]
Consequence of Sound[29]
BW&BK[30]
About.com[31]
PopMatters[32]
Ultimate Guitar[33]

The Final Frontier has received unanimously positive reviews.

The album was reviewed by Classic Rock on July 23, being praised as "densely-layered and substantial" as well as "beautifully paced and disarmingly complex". Summarising the album as "a fresh take on a sound that has admirably withstood three decades of fashions and fads", the magazine issued a rating of nine out of ten.[25]

Metal Hammer published a track-by-track guide to the album on July 16, calling it "a demanding album, but one that most Maiden fans are going to absolutely adore..."[27]

Kerrang! rated the album four of five, saying that the album was "a record that'll still bowl you over in a decade's time."[28]

The Quietus reviewed the album on August 11, commenting that "The Final Frontier takes time, it takes effort, but it's overwhelmingly brilliant. They haven’t just served up the easy option - that would have been boring for us and, more importantly you feel, boring for them."[34]

Allmusic rated the album three and a half out of five, saying that "The Final Frontier still brings Iron Maiden closer to their aesthetic legacy and triumphant year 2000 rebirth than its two predecessors."[24]

Joe Bosso of MusicRadar published a track-by-track review of the album, saying that "Iron Maiden have created a work full of hypnotic excitement, unconventional structure and dizzying vision...the group have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams."[35]

Consequence of Sound deemed the album "easily the best from the six-piece since 2000’s Brave New World", rating it four out of five.[29]

Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles awarded the album nine and a half out of ten, saying that "this is a thrilling and deeply satisfying glimpse into a brave new future for the people’s metal band."[36]

About gave the album four and a half out of five, commenting that "The Final Frontier is definitely a grower. Some of the songs are immediately accessible, but others take a while to fully unfold and appreciate. When a band has recorded some of the classic metal albums of all time, new material has a lot to live up to. Iron Maiden meets or exceeds all those expectations."[31]

PopMatters rated the album eight out of ten, considering it "in some ways... the most ambitious album Iron Maiden has ever made, a 76-minute opus".[32]

BBC praised the album as "a remarkable achievement", complimenting the band for "no compromises, just complexities and challenges and more moments of brilliance than perhaps even they thought they still had left in them."[37]

One Metal summarised the album as "a prog rock odyssey that confirms Iron Maiden as the best of the big name bands working today".[38]

Track listing

The track list and music credits for The Final Frontier are as follows:

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Satellite 15... The Final Frontier"Smith, Harris8:40
2."El Dorado"Smith, Harris, Dickinson6:49
3."Mother of Mercy"Smith, Harris5:20
4."Coming Home"Smith, Harris, Dickinson5:52
5."The Alchemist"Gers, Harris, Dickinson4:29
6."Isle of Avalon"Smith, Harris9:06
7."Starblind"Smith, Harris, Dickinson7:48
8."The Talisman"Gers, Harris9:03
9."The Man Who Would Be King"Murray, Harris8:28
10."When the Wild Wind Blows"Harris10:59
Total length:76:35

Chart positions

During the Final Frontier World Tour, Bruce Dickinson often requested that fans put the album to number one in the respective country's music charts.[1][39] The album debuted in the UK[40],Germany[41], Swedish[42], and Finnish[43] charts at number one, the Dutch[44] and Australian at number two, the Irish at number three, and the Belgian[45] at number six.[3]. It is the first Iron Maiden album to debut at number one in the UK charts since 1992's Fear of the Dark.

Country Debut Peak position
Australia[46] 2 2
Belgium[45] 6 6
Finland[43] 1 1
Germany[41] 1 1
Ireland[47] 3 3
Netherlands[44] 2 2
Norway|[48] 1 1
Sweden[42] 1 1
UK[40] 1 1
Austria[49] 1 1
New Zealand[50] 1 1

Certifications

Country Certification Sales
Finland Platinum 20,000+
Colombia Gold 5,000+

Personnel

with

References

  1. ^ a b "Iron Maiden - Live @ Wacken 2010 - Blood Brothers - HD". YouTube. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  2. ^ "Maiden new album has sold gold before release". Iltalehti.fi. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  3. ^ a b "IRON MAIDEN's 'The Final Frontier' Tops U.K., Finnish Charts". Blabbermouth. August 22, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "Twitter message". IronMaidenFC. August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  5. ^ "IRON MAIDEN announce new studio album 'THE FINAL FRONTIER' and North American Tour". Iron Maiden official website. March 4, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  6. ^ "Press Release from Live Nation North America". Iron Maiden official website. March 4, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  7. ^ "Maiden return to Australia". Iron Maiden official website. August 5, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  8. ^ "Iron Maiden confirm DUBLIN, IRELAND concert - fanclub presale starts Tuesday". Iron Maiden official website. April 8, 2010. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
  9. ^ a b c "MAIDEN ANNOUNCE RELEASE DATE, ARTWORK AND TRACKLISTING FOR NEW ALBUM "THE FINAL FRONTIER" TOUR STARTS THIS WEEK". Iron Maiden official website. June 7, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  10. ^ ""Final Frontier" – Iron Maiden's Final Album?". Maiden Central. March 5, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ "Iron Maiden's Nicko McBrain: "It Ain't Gonna Be The Last Record. Not As Far As I'm Concerned"". Metal Hammer. August 10, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "Nicko: Maiden have booked studio time". Rock Radio. April 22, 2009. Retrieved April 22, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "IRON MAIDEN announce new studio album 'THE FINAL FRONTIER' and North American Tour". Iron Maiden official website. March 4, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  14. ^ "IRON MAIDEN Launches Mystery Countdown". Blabbermouth. June 5, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "Iron Maiden announce the video premiere of 'The Final Frontier'". Iron Maiden official website. July 13, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  16. ^ "Rolling Stone Wood wins rock gong". BBC. November 3, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
  17. ^ "IRON MAIDEN - Eight Songs Written For New Album, Heading Into The Studio Soon". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. January 3, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ "Producer KEVIN SHIRLEY Completes Mixing New IRON MAIDEN Album". Blabbermouth. April 6, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "Producer KEVIN SHIRLEY: 'IRON MAIDEN Are The Best Band In The World To Work For' - May 6, 2010". Blabbermouth. May 6, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ "Iron Maiden Explores 'The Final Frontier'". Billboard. July 1, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ "Twitter announcement". IronMaidenFC. July 9, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  22. ^ "Why Maiden Aren't Playing What You Want". Ultimate Guitar. July 15, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ "IRON MAIDEN – ADRIAN SMITH (GUITAR)". SMNnews. July 26, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ a b "Iron Maiden The Final Frontier". Allmusic. August 17, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ a b "Classic Rock review". Classic Rock. July 23, 2010accessdate=July 23, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ "Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier". Rock Sound. July 30, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ a b "Iron Maiden 'The Final Frontier' Track-By-Track Preview". Metal Hammer. July 16, 2010. Retrieved July 16, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ a b "Iron Maiden: The Final Frontier review". Kerrang!. August 1, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ a b "Iron Maiden The Final Frontier". Consequence of Sound. August 19, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ "IRON MAIDEN The Final Frontier". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. August 20, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ a b "Iron Maiden - 'The Final Frontier'". About. August 20, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ a b "Iron Maiden - 'The Final Frontier'". PopMatters. August 22, 2010. Retrieved August 22,2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ "The Final Frontier Review". Ultimate Guitar. August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  34. ^ "Iron Maiden THE FINAL FRONTIER". The Quietus. August 11, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  35. ^ "Iron Maiden: The Final Frontier review track-by-track". MusicRadar. July 22, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  36. ^ "IRON MAIDEN - The Final Frontier Song Credits Revealed". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. July 10, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  37. ^ "Iron Maiden The Final Frontier Review". BBC. August 18, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  38. ^ Cite error: The named reference MetalOne was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  39. ^ "Iron Maiden's Nicko McBrain on new album The Final Frontier". MusicRadar. August 16, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  40. ^ a b "Chart Archive 28th August 2010". Official Charts. August 22, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  41. ^ a b "Germany's Official List - Albums". German Albums Chart. August 24, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  42. ^ a b "SVERIGETOPPLISTAN - ALBUMS TOP 60". Swedish Charts. August 20, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  43. ^ a b "Finland's Official List - Albums". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. August 20, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  44. ^ a b "Dutch Album Top 100". Dutch Charts. August 21, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  45. ^ a b "Albums 21/08/2010". Ultratop. August 21, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  46. ^ "Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier (Album)". Australian Charts. August 22, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  47. ^ "Irie Chart- Albums". IRFRI. August 22, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  48. ^ "Norway's Official List - Albums". Norway Albums Chart. August 24, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  49. ^ "Chart Archive". Official Charts. August 24, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  50. ^ "Album Top 40". August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
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