Five years later: The Final Frontier revisited

Five years later, what do you think of the Final Frontier

  • I absolutely love it. It's among their best.

    Votes: 29 23.8%

  • It's a strong album that stands up well to the test of time.

    Votes: 61 50.0%

  • It's OK. I like it, or at least parts of it, but I don't listen to it much.

    Votes: 26 21.3%

  • For a Maiden album, it's pretty weak.

    Votes: 9 7.4%
  • Total voters
    122
Is there a space/sci-fi theme to TFF? Other then the obvious (the cover art), I sense a space theme in a lot of the songs. Does it just seem that way or is that an actual lyrical theme on the album? Has the band talked about it?
 
Didn't really like this album when I first listened to it. I don't think any of the songs stood out, maybe I was just in a bad frame of mind. I detested El Dorado, and didn't get the big fuss over WTWWB I had heard from everyone.

The sore thumb for me is Mother of Mercy, and this thread just inspired me to listen to the album again (I still listen to it regularly) and even though the chorus irks me a bit still, the rest of the track can't be denied, its great.

Now I find El Dorado to be one of their absolute best rockers, and The Talisman is up there with my favorites. Pretty strong throughout, I enjoy every track at this point. The Man Who Would Be King, I think, is the most under-rated track on here, what a fabulous song. Dave is always good for some great riffs but that middle section is just stellar, I love the distinct segments of it too, plenty of variety.

I'd say TFF/BNW tied, DOD a close second, AMOLAD last, but I love them all so its really splitting hairs.

I feel like the only one who REALLY likes The Final Frontier, the guitar in it is just great, great groove.
 
The Final Frontier is an alright song, it's just not above average for Maiden. That doesn't mean it's below average either; it's a just a run-of-the-mill Maiden album opener.
 
SinisterMinisterX said:
The Final Frontier is an alright song, it's just not above average for Maiden. That doesn't mean it's below average either; it's a just a run-of-the-mill Maiden album opener.
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Off topic, but you're making a rock'n'roll themed roguelike? That is utterly fantastic, I've always had a dream to program a roguelike. I've started several, even made it through like path finding, field of view and some basic AI.

Your game look's fantastic, I will definitely try it out.
 
Lempface said:
Off topic, but you're making a rock'n'roll themed roguelike? That is utterly fantastic, I've always had a dream to program a roguelike. I've started several, even made it through like path finding, field of view and some basic AI.

Your game look's fantastic, I will definitely try it out.
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Thanks! I'm working on the next version for album release day, it will be much better in a couple of weeks. :D
 
BNW is the best Maiden album. Ever. TFF is very good, but behind AMoLAD

It goes:
1- BNW
2- AMoLAD
3- TFF

Yea, I'm a huge fan of their newer stuff. It's just better. They're better musicians since the reunion, they write better songs. They can write short songs still that are great, but even those are on a whole other level to any short rockers from pre-X Factor days. Examples: Different World's, Mercenary, Fallen Angels, Wicker Man.... List goes on...

I think it has to do with the addition of the guitar trio. Its elevated them to a whole other level.
I've always wondered what it would be like I'd KK rejoined Priest with the new guy staying, or if Grapow rejoined Helloween and they had a trio.... Just saying.
 
NotePad said:
BNW is the best Maiden album. Ever. TFF is very good, but behind AMoLAD

It goes:
1- BNW
2- AMoLAD
3- TFF

Yea, I'm a huge fan of their newer stuff. It's just better. They're better musicians since the reunion, they write better songs. They can write short songs still that are great, but even those are on a whole other level to any short rockers from pre-X Factor days. Examples: Different World's, Mercenary, Fallen Angels, Wicker Man.... List goes on...

I think it has to do with the addition of the guitar trio. Its elevated them to a whole other level.
I've always wondered what it would be like I'd KK rejoined Priest with the new guy staying, or if Grapow rejoined Helloween and they had a trio.... Just saying.
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This is the weirdest post I ever came across. I feel like I need to write the exact opposite thing on everything you said! :)
 
Where do you place Dance of Death? Missed that one.

I don't always agree with Gk1, but I do agree with his stance on (most) of BNW. Great first 3 songs, the rest is just, well, I was hoping for lots better.
 
Listened to this last night for the first time in awhile, and I forgot how much I love it. This was my first ever metal album so it's special for me, and Wild Wind is my favorite Maiden song ever. I'd probably place this in my top 5 Maiden albums honestly.
 
My expectations for TFF were unfairly high, which caused a little bit of initial disappointment. Being the follow up to AMOLAD, one of my favorite albums ever, and the first new release since I had become a fan, there was no way it could have lived up to my own hype. It has become a fairly regular listen though, especially the second half, which is extremely solid.
 
I voted for the "OK", but I cant say I don't listen to it anymore. I have few songs of the album that I really like and listen to often. Like When the wild wind...now THAT is an underrated song. Have you heard the En Vivo version? Makes my neck hair to stand up!

The Talisman, Starblind and Mother of Mercy is good too.

It's a better album IMO than "AMMO LADS".
 
I listened to it today on a car ride (I need Maiden to get me through New Jersey traffic) and I always liked how the guitar solos become less prominent on the latter half as if they really are going for that spacy sound. Starblind is a great example. I'm not saying it makes the album better but it is cool how they did it. The middle section of TMWWBK is simply stuff you've never heard them do before. TFF is one my favorites. It makes a nice companion to SiT.
 
I never stopped listening to it. The first 3 years, it was on my playlist on a daily basis. And the last couple of years, it always ended up on my stereo once in a few days. Talisman, WTWWB, MOM are probably my favorites but I enjoy listening to the whole album. TMWWBK is a slight disappointment, not because it's a bad song but because it could have been a masterpiece, if it weren't for those generic verses. For me it stands the test of time, I''ll probably listen to it today as well. But I wouldn't rank it among my favorite albums.
 
The Final Frontier is a NWOBHM-style song that would have been a hit in 1981.
It's a facet of the band's arsenal that many on here aren't too fond of, but I am.
It is an excellent example of what it is.
 
Gk1 said:
This is the weirdest post I ever came across. I feel like I need to write the exact opposite thing on everything you said! :)
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is He saying that the short rockers from Reunion albums are better than the short rockers from golden era to X factor!!!


LOL,no way man,even Man on the edge are better than any short rockers from reunion
 
I'm really not a big fan of TFF (the song). It's one of the very few songs where I think repetitive is a valid criticism. Not just the chorus, but that main riff and how it's all over the song. It's in both the chorus and prechorus, and I'm pretty sure the chord progression remains for the verse, or at least something very close to that. I'm at work and can't check the song. There's not enough variation there to justify that much repetition imo. I know they've done that sort of thing before, it's all over AMOLAD for example, but normally they mix it up enough to keep it interesting.

That's not to say it's all bad. Bruce gives a great performance and some of the best solos on the Album are on it. Classic trade off I'll give it that much.
 
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