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 23.6%

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

    Votes: 61 49.6%

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

    Votes: 27 22.0%

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

    Votes: 9 7.3%
  • Total voters
    123
mckindog

mckindog

Living for Sanctuary from the law
Staff member
final_frontier.jpg

Almost exactly five years ago I joined this board during the hype surrounding the release of The Final Frontier.

In the déjà vu atmosphere created by The Book of Souls, the time seems ripe to revisit TFF with a perspective only time can create.

I gave it a re-listen yesterday and came to this conclusion: it is one of my favourites. It’s ambitious, varied and performed very well by a band comfortable in its own skin.

What are your thoughts?
 
It was the first album I come across when I discovered Maiden by listening to When The Wild Wind Blows. At that moment in time, I thought it was the best song I had ever listened to, and it opened me up to the world of metal.

I have high hopes that The Book of Souls will either be on par with TFF or even better it!
 
I sense two conflicting wishes for Book of Souls. Some in the fan base want the band to strip down and revisit their roots with more concise songs and a “play classics” vibe. Others desire Maiden to push the envelope and explore new ground. What I find amazing about The Final Frontier is how it achieves the near-impossible by catering to both those elements at the same time.

On one side, you get the very basic, stripped-down title track (which reminds me of British Steel-era Priest), plus El Dorado and The Alchemist, which could fit on Piece of Mind or Powerslave. On the other you get the smart hard rock of Mother of Mercy and the proggy grooves of Avalon and Starblind, all of which are a huge departure from anything they’ve done before.
 
I really enjoy this album. I've been an Iron Maiden fan, officially, for three releases - Dance of Death, A Matter of Life and Death, and The Final Frontier. The former has sunk down my rankings, and the middle is my #2 album of them all right now. TFF clocks in around 4 or 5 for me in terms of albums. Even the songs that I consider weaker - Mother of Mercy and The Man Who Would Be King - work well in terms of the overall album structure. It is bold in some ways, familiar in others, but always strong.
 
LooseCannon said:
It is bold in some ways, familiar in others, but always strong.
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This forum has always preferred the more epic Maiden, but I am surprised the more familiar tracks don't get more appreciation from the Play Classics crowd.

I raise my eyebrows when people say El Dorado was the wrong choice for single. It is the most obvious single since the Wicker Man. It has so many signature Maiden elements: galloping bass, biting lyric, huge, catchy chorus…. It's fun, powerful live song.
 
It's five years, but it is still the latest album Maiden has released. If it stood the test of time? I guess I can answer that more easily when another 10 or 15 years have passed. I haven't played it for a long time. I remember that I was much more positive about a couple of songs when it just came out. After a year or so, I noticed too many familiarities , some stuff that reminded me too much from earlier work, so I became more critical, and rate these songs (and thus the album) less high. What has not changed: it still features a song with one of the, if not the least vocal performance by Bruce Dickinson.The real bold stuff from the album was unfortunately not played live. I'd say: It's still relatively good (instead of OK) but I am not that enthousiastic anymore. I like it, or at least parts of it, but I don't listen to it much.
 
Forostar said:
It's five years, but it is still the latest album Maiden has released. If it stood the test of time? I guess I can answer that more easily when another 10 or 15 years have passed. I haven't played it for a long time. I remember that I was much more positive about a couple of songs when it just came out. After a year or so, I noticed too many familiarities , some stuff that reminded me too much from earlier work, so I became more critical, and rate these songs (and thus the album) less high. What has not changed: it still features a song with one of the, if not the least vocal performance by Bruce Dickinson.The real bold stuff from the album was unfortunately not played live. I'd say: It's still relatively good (instead of OK) but I am not that enthousiastic anymore. I like it, or at least parts of it, but I don't listen to it much.
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Hope you get a chance to give it a serious re-listen. Mine reinforced some of my prejudices, but opened my eyes to a few things too.

If there is a flaw in TFF it is a lack of a specific focus. It explores many elements of the band’s personality, and does that well. As a collection of songs, it is outstanding. But as an album it lacks an overall binding focus, an issue that is exacerbated by the fact it followed AMOLAD, possibly the most focused work in the catalog.
 
I went with the second option. It has some really strong songs and a great overall feel as an album. My only beef with it is that after Track 7, it already feels like the album is complete, but it goes on for three further very long tracks. It's a bit long drawn out. Starblind, Mother of Mercy, Coming Home, Isle of Avalon and El Dorado (and Satellite 15, if you count that as a stand alone piece) have stood the test of time very well while my appreciation for the rest of the bunch lowered over time.
 
Mckindog, alright. I'll play it a few times before The Book of Souls will be released. Not sure what you mean about exploring many elements of the band's personality, but I think this lacks in the solo department. Adrian delivered some of his finest in years but I think the album lacks exciting Janick solos. Jan had not only a laughable amount, but it also was not the stuff I look forward to when I play a Maiden song.
 
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Forostar said:
Mckindog, alright. I'll play it a few times before The Book of Souls will be released. Not sure what you mean about exploring many elements of the band's personality, but I think this lacks in the solo department. Adrian delivered some of his finest in years but I think the album lacks exciting Janick solos. Jan had not only a laughable amount, but it also was not the stuff I look forward to when I play a Maiden song.
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I love his Alchemist solo.

The Flash said:
I went with the second option. It has some really strong songs and a great overall feel as an album. My only beef with it is that after Track 7, it already feels like the album is complete, but it goes on for three further very long tracks. It's a bit long drawn out. Starblind, Mother of Mercy, Coming Home, Isle of Avalon and El Dorado (and Satellite 15, if you count that as a stand alone piece) have stood the test of time very well while my appreciation for the rest of the bunch lowered over time.
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I think TFF suffers for putting all the epics in the bottom half of the album.
I would have spaced them out more. Maybe:
The Final Frontier
El Dorado
The Talisman
Isle of Avalon
Coming Home
Starblind
The Alchemist
The Man Who Would Be King
Mother of Mercy
When the Wild Wind Blows
 
Love this album. It has aged very well and contains some of their very best song, including Isle of Avalon which has become my favorite Maiden song since then. I thought having five rockers followed by five epics was a brilliant idea. It had the feel of a double album for me, or at the least the feeling of having a side 1 and side 2. When The Alchemist ends and the wind sounds fade in for Avalon it's like the start of a new album; one more progressive and experimental.

I especially like that each song has its own personality. Where AMOLAD could get a little samey at times (this isn't necessarily a bad thing, like others have said this album is probably their most focused) every song on TFF has its own mood and atmosphere. You've got Mother of a Mercy taking us to the familiar topic of war, WTWWB harkening back to the band's melodic style in the 90s, and a modern classic rocker in El Dorado. Also The Alchemist totally could've been on Fear of the Dark, and it would've been one of the better songs. It really covers the gamut and feels like a culmination of not just the reunion era, but their career as a whole. I can see why this would be jarring for some, but I love it. And it makes me wonder where they could go next with Book of Souls.

I also like that a few songs feel like they're refining ideas from recent albums. Musically, Starblind acts as a spiritual successor to Lord of Light, and does it even better. While The Talisman doesn't quite live up to its acoustic epic predecessors (Dance of Death, The Legacy), it's still a good song and came off really well live. That's not to say the band wasn't doing anything new, because we also get the experimental Satellite 15 and the very Rush like Isle of Avalon, which featured a very new sound for Maiden IMO.

Surprised you don't like the guitar work, Foro, I love the playing from all three guitarists here. I remember having a ton of fun learning this album on guitar, lots of interesting phrasing and really good sounds. Adrian is the clear mvp, but Janick really delivered too IMO. Both his solos on WTWWB are great, The Alchemist is fun and fits the song perfectly, and he rounds off the three guitar attack of El Dorado perfectly. I was also really impressed with Dave's playing. His solos on the reunion albums were very unremarkable at best most of the time, but he really brought it on TFF. Every solo he plays is extremely memorable and really elevates the song.

So to make a long post short, this would probably be a top 5 Maiden for me. :D
 
The Alchemist is good indeed!

But I disagree about the other positivity on Janick's solos. I do not think it was as good as e.g. Navigator, Pilgrim or Legacy and several 90s solos though ;-)
 
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TFF is about the same as AMOLAD for me, but gets there differently. AMOLAD's consistency gives it a high mark and makes even the filler sound good (I still love The Pilgrim). TFF doesn't have that consistency, but the good half of the songs are better than most of AMOLAD. Wild Wind, Avalon, Talisman, Coming Home - and I know most on this forum would add Starblind, although I still believe Starblind is both annoying and massively overrated. AMOLAD really only has two songs of that caliber: BTATS and Ben Breeg. (Stuff like Longest Day, FTGGOG and Legacy hasn't held up as well.) So AMOLAD has really good filler, but TFF has higher highs and lower lows.
 
I cast a double vote, as my opinion is between "a strong album that has stood the test of time" and "an okay album". I like the short rockers (TFF, El Dorado, especially The Alchemist), Starblind is sublime, The Talisman is a live gem, Isle of Avalon is okay (although its structure is repeated twice and ends abruptly), I don't particularly like Coming Home (the lyrics are nice, but the music doesn't fit IMO) or TMWWBK, and I openly dislike Mother of Mercy (AMOLAD rehash) and WTWWB (very repetitive melody, nothing happens musically).
 
TFF is, to me, slightly better than DoD. I liked it when it came out but I can't remember being overly excited about it.

Now, to be fair, I wasn't with AMOLAD either at the first few listens, but it grew on me quickly.
 
I do love it, and I do think it's great and is still exciting after five years, but it's hard for me to vote fro the first option. I chose the second.
I guess I see the last four album as an era of Maiden, much like I view the golden years as such, and have a hard time choosing the best album from that time.

It's definitely better than DoD, and maybe on par with AMOLAD and BNW. I think it's very consistent, while BNW is not.

I don't know. kinda feels like choosing between your children.
 
I for one love the Final Frontier. It's #2 on my list of Maiden albums, right behind Somewhere in Time. When I first heard it, I thought it was boring, but upon second listen, the album clicked and became one of my favorites.

The last 5 songs on the album are some of their best. Avalon, Starblind, Talisman, and WTWWB are all top 20 songs for me. I also agree with Mosh, it feels like a double album.

Also, H really shines on this album, all of his solo's are really good, same with the song writing, especially in the Isle of Avalon. I can only hope The Book of Souls recaptures the energy and the complexity of this album and becomes one of Maidens best.

1. TFF
2. AMOLAD
3. BNW
4. DOD
 
The high water marks that are reached on TFF (Coming Home, The Talisman, When the Wild Wind Blows) are as good as any of the reunion era songs but the album as a whole is certainly not as good as A Matter of Life and Death. It is similar to Dance of Death in this way as it certainly has some tremendous Maiden songs, however I feel that Brave New World and A Matter of Life and Death are the best of the 4 reunion albums. Luckily we're about to get a 5th!
 
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