Official thread for Final Frontier discussion

well, I think it has been long enough with the new album.  It is amazing.  And now it fits in great with all the others.  I added it to my 15 studio album playlist of Maiden albums, and hit shuffle, and let it all play together... and this new album fits perfectly with all the others.

Up The Irons!!!
Sam :rocker:
 
Galvanise_ said:
Just noticed that there is a Final Frontier album image on the IMC. Does that mean it'll be updated again? I thought it was the end for that place.
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Where?  I went on it right now, checked under albums, and found no change since Flight 666.
 
Genghis Khan said:
Where?  I went on it right now, checked under albums, and found no change since Flight 666.
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On the albums page on the right hand side there are little tabs that link to the discussion of the various studio albums and collections. There is an image for TFF but no linked commentary yet. Maybe we'll get a commentary after all.
 
I'm sure Maverick is working on something, otherwise he wouldn't have added that banner. However, he works at his own pace, and you're best off not even rushing him here. Mav wouldn't be happy with you.
 
LooseCannon said:
I'm sure He Who Must Not Be Named is working on something, otherwise he wouldn't have added that banner. However, he works at his own pace, and you're best off not even rushing him here. You Know Who wouldn't be happy with you.
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I'm just happy that it got updated to be honest. Love that website. So much fascinating into on it. I'd love a full write up on TFF, but I understand it will take time.
 
Maverick used to quote other people's impressions on songs before AMOLAD, which he did on his own completely.  I wonder if TFF will be more like the first 13 albums or like AMOLAD?
 
Hard to tell, at this point. I'm sure if Mav finds interesting comments out there, he'll use 'em (with permission).
 
Galvanise_ said:
On the albums page on the right hand side there are little tabs that link to the discussion of the various studio albums and collections. There is an image for TFF but no linked commentary yet. Maybe we'll get a commentary after all.
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Ah!  I see it now.  It took forever to load.  I noticed that everything after AMOLAD is not updated.  Don't expect it any time soon. 
 
From Kevin Shirley's diary on his site:

Look out for my Iron Maiden studio diaries which I jotted down during the making of the album in the Bahamas earlier this year, which we'll soon be posting on the www.ironmaiden.com website (once Rod has edited out all the juicy bits, no doubt!).
 
My new list :

1. When the Wild Wind Blows
2. Starblind
3. The Talisman
4. Coming Home
5. The Man Who Would Be King
6. Isle of Avalon
7. Mother of Mercy
8. The Alchemist
9. Satellite 15... The Final Frontier
10. El Dorado
 
First post, so go easy, but am I the only one who's beginning to lose their sanity as a result of this album???!!!

I've been a bit of an IM fanboy since '84 and loved every one of their albums (yes, even those that make themselves hard to love), but I am OBSESSED by TFF - I just cannot wrap my feeble mind around it and it's keeping me up at night!!  I keep on finding new parts to love about it, and having just "got" Starblind I'm at the stage where I'm thinking the only slight flaw is MoM (great to hear Bruce at full tilt elsewhere, but this is just a bit too much for my ears).  Avalon is completely mental and certainly one of their very, very finest of all time - that middle section is just killing me - but it's just one out of so many.  I'm loving S15/TFF - individually they wouldn't amount to much, but back to back they're just perfect IMHO.  And that's one of the easiest to dismiss - the rest are just pure ear-brain candy!!

It's so tempting to start categorising each song (ballad/progressive/epic etc), but for me it's missing the strength of this album.  Sure, there's stunning technical complexity of the sort that few could match (random example 'cos it happens to be playing now: the way the lead, presumably Adrian, seems to follow Bruce's vocal in the "upbeat" first part of WTWWB), but that's not it.  Sure the lyrics are as poetic, complex and imaginative as their best work, but that's not it either. 

Like most great albums, this one has a real smell/colour/texture to it - whilst there doesn't seem to be any common subject matter or "concept", there does seem to be some common emotions: loss, longing, home sickness, mortality, fatality, futility etc.  I know these are fairly common themes in their previous albums, but they seem to have captured the meta-emotion so well here.  The Final Frontier seems to be such a fitting title for the album as a whole since it seems to be the punctuation of all these emotions - once all of these have been fully explored then all that remains is that last battle with the Old Enemy.  To weave all of this together and leave me wanting to hear it over and over again really shows just how skilled and clever these guys really are.

How intentional all this is (and how much I'm just making up - I said I was losing it) remains to be seen, but this seems to me to be a work of the very highest order by such an epic band that may be just beginning to sense their own mortality.  I sincerely hope that this is not their swan song, since I think they are at the very peak of their powers (sounds stupid for a band that's been around for 5 decades doesn't it?).  I'm coming 'round to the idea that this may be their very best album - too soon to say maybe, but is certainly fighting for the title in my head!!  Either way MAIDEN FEAKIN' RULES!!!

One question - is it just me, or does this somehow remind you of Floyd (sort of Wish You Were Here)??
 
FriendlyFire said:
First post, so go easy, but am I the only one who's beginning to lose their sanity as a result of this album???!!!

I've been a bit of an IM fanboy since '84 and loved every one of their albums (yes, even those that make themselves hard to love), but I am OBSESSED by TFF - I just cannot wrap my feeble mind around it and it's keeping me up at night!!  I keep on finding new parts to love about it, and having just "got" Starblind I'm at the stage where I'm thinking the only slight flaw is MoM (great to hear Bruce at full tilt elsewhere, but this is just a bit too much for my ears).  Avalon is completely mental and certainly one of their very, very finest of all time - that middle section is just killing me - but it's just one out of so many.  I'm loving S15/TFF - individually they wouldn't amount to much, but back to back they're just perfect IMHO.  And that's one of the easiest to dismiss - the rest are just pure ear-brain candy!!

It's so tempting to start categorising each song (ballad/progressive/epic etc), but for me it's missing the strength of this album.  Sure, there's stunning technical complexity of the sort that few could match (random example 'cos it happens to be playing now: the way the lead, presumably Adrian, seems to follow Bruce's vocal in the "upbeat" first part of WTWWB), but that's not it.  Sure the lyrics are as poetic, complex and imaginative as their best work, but that's not it either. 

Like most great albums, this one has a real smell/colour/texture to it - whilst there doesn't seem to be any common subject matter or "concept", there does seem to be some common emotions: loss, longing, home sickness, mortality, fatality, futility etc.  I know these are fairly common themes in their previous albums, but they seem to have captured the meta-emotion so well here.  The Final Frontier seems to be such a fitting title for the album as a whole since it seems to be the punctuation of all these emotions - once all of these have been fully explored then all that remains is that last battle with the Old Enemy.  To weave all of this together and leave me wanting to hear it over and over again really shows just how skilled and clever these guys really are.

How intentional all this is (and how much I'm just making up - I said I was losing it) remains to be seen, but this seems to me to be a work of the very highest order by such an epic band that may be just beginning to sense their own mortality.  I sincerely hope that this is not their swan song, since I think they are at the very peak of their powers (sounds stupid for a band that's been around for 5 decades doesn't it?).  I'm coming 'round to the idea that this may be their very best album - too soon to say maybe, but is certainly fighting for the title in my head!!  Either way MAIDEN FEAKIN' RULES!!!

One question - is it just me, or does this somehow remind you of Floyd (sort of Wish You Were Here)??
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Very interesting and informative analysis, welcome to Maidenfans!  :hello:
 
Maverick has published his commentary on the new album on the IMC. It's not as in-depth as the previous albums, but I'm certain that this was just a quickie anyways. :D
 
FF, I think you nailed it right there. Even when you understand each part of the album (like I feel I do by now), you're still left amazed by how the parts make up the whole. TFF really is much more than the sum of its parts, and it takes great skill and musicianship to craft such a masterpiece. One that isn't perfect, but 99% there. And most bands can't even get there.

When people said "AMOLAD is Maiden's best album" back in 2006, I had similar feelings of awe, but later I realized that Maiden can do much more than just be complex and dark. With TFF they have proven that, and thus I also think the album is a strong candidate for "best Maiden album of all time".
 
Ranko said:
He Who Must Not Be Named has published his commentary on the new album on the IMC. It's not as in-depth as the previous albums, but I'm certain that this was just a quickie anyways. :D
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Here's Mav's note:

Maverick said:
Note from Maverick:  Some will find the commentaries quite shallow in places, and they'll be right. This is all I could come up with in the very short time I had to write something for those of you whose patience is quite limited. This is just to "keep the hounds at bay", to quote a friend of mine. Just be aware that there are many ideas about the songs running through my mind, and they will be posted in due time. In the meantime, you can send me your feedback, but just know that I'll be away and unable to update the site during the first half of September, so don't expect a prompt response. Thank for your understanding!
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Ranko said:
He Who Must Not Be Named has published his commentary on the new album on the IMC. It's not as in-depth as the previous albums, but I'm certain that this was just a quickie anyways. :D
Click to expand...
Is that his actual user name or is it someone you don't want to give the name away of?
 
Oh, noobs.

Maverick is a poster who's name, were we to utter it, would instantly ban half of the people posting here. We do not say his name out of respect for you all.
 
Ah, so there's a member on here who has banning power, but we can't say his name? :wtf: Well, the only mods I know of are LC, SMX, Perun, Shadow, and Wasted. And the admins that I know of are Real World and the head admin, Jon.
 
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