The Final Frontier Redux

[ElectricWiz]

I responded to an early post here about the new Maiden, saying I liked it. To be honest, I'd only heard it a couple of times in total at that point.

I was going to revive that thread, but I think it has slipped down out of view. So.....

I am of course aware that all musical opninions are subjective, and that new Maiden is different than old Maiden, though not so terribly different as people imply. But man, I gotta say, it is completely lost on me why the reception to this album was so lukewarm, and even dead cold, here on this forum. This is a VERY good record - (IMO, yes, but I'm having trouble finding stuff worth NOT liking on here).

I'd be curious to hear some input.

 

[poundingmetal74]

It wasn't bad, but there are too many other albums deserving of my attention. And for the love of god, not every song needs to be 10 arduous minutes long. They are not Theocracy.

Also, when I saw the title I thought this post was about Maiden releasing a 4-hour version of this album

 

[sixxswine]

Good album, I don't mind the songs being long...I happen to think that a long Maiden song is better than any long Dream Theater track.
If you put The Final Frontier up against let's say Blood Of Nations I'd take Blood Of Nations 10 out of 10 times!

 

[SickBoy]

But man, I gotta say, it is completely lost on me why the reception to this album was so lukewarm, and even dead cold, here on this forum. This is a VERY good record - (IMO, yes, but I'm having trouble finding stuff worth NOT liking on here).

I'd be curious to hear some input.

As I've said before - it's plain boring, too repetitive and overstretched.
I don't mind long songs, really - hell, one of my alltime favs is Transatlantic's 'All Of The Above' which clocks at about 30mins!!!
But Maiden seem more and more lost with every new release they do... I suppose when you have an army of loyal fans that counts millions, then you can leave creativity out of the equation and simply keep the engine running. And once more - I don't care for their 80s output just because "it was 80s" or "I want them to stay that way forever" - I simply prefer the creativity to boredom!

Take Rage or Saxon for example - both bands have changed their style drastically from their 90s or 80s heydays (Rage being a real chameleon I might add), but still manage to release very good to awesome releases to this very day!
Their latest releases (which are very good, but not really their top stuff) humiliate all of the last 15 years of Maiden's output (with an exception that is BNW) and they had really excellent releases back in 2003 (Soundchaser) and 2004 (Lionheart).
What I don't understand is how can anyone prefer DoD or AMOLAD to either one? If people gave as much chances to like Soundchaser or Lionheart as they did with newer Maiden releases I think they'd be over the moon...

I'll love everything Maiden did up to FOTD, not because I grew with it, but because the songs and the playing are so creative and gel together so naturally. In '95 when "X Factor" was released I was a teenager of 17 totally into them and tried so hard to like that release, but abandoned it in the end and even sold the CD. "Sign of the Cross" will always be a classic for me, but the rest of the songs practically marked the beginning of another Maiden era, which I've disliked from it's very start.

I'll state again yet another thing - I feel they are at a great loss without Birch in command. Ever since he left the business Maiden was on a relatively steady downhill for me and I cannot help feeling that the things would develop very differently if he was to produce their next record...

 

[No-Mercy]

i very much like this album, though i'll admit the consistency of lengthy tracks can get a little old.

i myself have never really been able to figure out what is so drastically disappointing about "newer maiden" as opposed to "older maiden".

granted i was not alive for the older maiden so i experienced it all at once, but i feel like if anything i truly is because of the time. i mean if DOD or TFF came out in the early 80's and POM came out now...i sort of think that opinions would be reversed.

lets face it, would The Trooper be an instant hit in 2010 like it was in 1983? i feel like this is the problem maiden has been running into with some long time fans, but thats just my opinion.

 

[ElectricWiz]

i very much like this album, though i'll admit the consistency of lengthy tracks can get a little old.

i myself have never really been able to figure out what is so drastically disappointing about "newer maiden" as opposed to "older maiden".

granted i was not alive for the older maiden so i experienced it all at once, but i feel like if anything i truly is because of the time. i mean if DOD or TFF came out in the early 80's and POM came out now...i sort of think that opinions would be reversed.

lets face it, would The Trooper be an instant hit in 2010 like it was in 1983? i feel like this is the problem maiden has been running into with some long time fans, but thats just my opinion.

Well, I suppose you'd guess as much, but I agree with you. As to what would happen if the Trooper was released now, I honestly think you are right. BUT, I think you are right largely because there have been SO many songs since that period that are, I guess you'd say, "Trooper style." So, when it came out, the genre was still kind of coming together, and there wasn't that much around akin to what Maiden was doing. Yes, there were tons of bands, but there have been sooooo many Maiden-style metal bands since the 80s, that I dare so the Trooper would not make the splash it did back in the day.

The two styles are distinct, so I actually do understand how someone could like old Maiden but not new. Only that when Brave New World came out, I was so impressed with the fact that it was clearly rooted in the past, but they were also moving into new areas. They've kept on that path, and I really, really dig that - their refusal to simply be a nostalgia band. That, and I really do like the records.

 

[desert_demon]

The fact that I've listened to The Final Frontier only a few times since I bought it kind of speaks for itself. The album as a whole didn't grab me on first (or second or third) listen but I have hopes that it will grow on me as many other "difficult" albums have done.

 

[wdiv]

The fact that I've listened to The Final Frontier only a few times since I bought it kind of speaks for itself. The album as a whole didn't grab me on first (or second or third) listen but I have hopes that it will grow on me as many other "difficult" albums have done.

My thoughts exactly. Had the same issue with AMOLAD

 

[SoundMaster]

Indeed, it's a phenomenal album! I've said it before and I'll say it here, now: Maiden's reunion output blows most bands' "prime era" output away.
They're currently in the midst of a second dominant run....how many bands have even one such run of greatness, let alone two, particularly in the so-called twilight years?

What shocks me is that the "general consensus" would have you believe "Blood of the Nations" is a better album. I'm at a loss to explain how folks can believe that.

 

[poundingmetal74]

What shocks me is that the "general consensus" would have you believe "Blood of the Nations" is a better album. I'm at a loss to explain how folks can believe that.

Easy, Blood of the Nations isn't a snooze fest! The songs are punchier, the production is way better, and songs like Teutonic Terror absolutely kick your ass 9 ways of Sunday. I want to hear some heavy stuff, and Final Frontier simply ain't gonna give it to me.

And I say of all this given that BOTN will not likely be in my top 10 for the year, but I still much prefer it over the latest Maiden.

 

[Wyvern]

Easy, Blood of the Nations isn't a snooze fest!

This (and I'm not into Accept).

As I've said before - it's plain boring, too repetitive and overstretched.
I don't mind long songs, really - hell, one of my alltime favs is Transatlantic's 'All Of The Above' which clocks at about 30mins!!!

and totally this (great call with Transatlantic)

I don't know how would I have reacted if 'The Trooper' came out now, but it's hard for me since it was my second Maiden song and thus what turned me definitively into POM, Maiden and metal. But if DOD, AMOLAD and TFF have songs like 'The Trooper' I would probably like them, which I don't.

 

[SoundMaster]

Easy, Blood of the Nations isn't a snooze fest! The songs are punchier, the production is way better.

Make no mistake: I do like Blood but dont view it as anything beyond a 7/10. It's too long, too much filler.....the entire record makes for a tedious listening experience (although some of that is driven by the lame Sneap production, which works for thrash bands but sucks the life out of other bands. See also: Opeth - Deliverance).


As for Maiden, when compared to "reunion" albums or the recent output (2000+) of the classic bands, Maiden's the clear frontrunner, IMO. This is due to their "forward movement" (in terms of songwriting and not simply "going through the motions" and being a nostalgia band).
Recent Saxon, Priest, Dio (RIP), Scorpions, Motorhead, AC/DC, Heaven & Hell, now Accept, while all quite good and enjoyable - particularly Saxon - just dont bring the energy or excitement that recent Maiden does.

 

[SickBoy]

Make no mistake: I do like Blood but dont view it as anything beyond a 7/10. It's too long, too much filler.....the entire record makes for a tedious listening experience (although some of that is driven by the lame Sneap production, which works for thrash bands but sucks the life out of other bands. See also: Opeth - Deliverance).


As for Maiden, when compared to "reunion" albums or the recent output (2000+) of the classic bands, Maiden's the clear frontrunner, IMO. This is due to their "forward movement" (in terms of songwriting and not simply "going through the motions" and being a nostalgia band).

Recent Saxon, Priest, Dio (RIP), Scorpions, Motorhead, AC/DC, Heaven & Hell, now Accept, while all quite good and enjoyable - particularly Saxon - just dont bring the energy or excitement that recent Maiden does.

Now this shows a mindset totally opposite to mine - I'd simply reverse the whole statement
Except for Sneap, Dio and Priest remarks to an extent, that is...

 

[Platinum Maze]

I disagree. I can get from 1-13 on Accept with no problems. There are only a couple of what I would call "weaker" tracks, but I don't know if I'd call them filler. The production is great and I think Sneap's thrash albums sound pretty sterile and abrasive in comparison (see Exodus). I also have no problems with Deliverance but that is the album that sold me on Opeth, so maybe I'm biased.

I have not given Maiden a redux yet and don't plan on it any time soon. The new Flotsam blows it away.

 

[Wyvern]

Now this shows a mindset totally opposite to mine - I'd simply reverse the whole statement

Again with are tuned you and I. Maiden and excitement are two words that not going along in the same sentence since 1988 for me.
Although I must agree the latest releases of Saxon, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Heaven And Hell have been pretty weak too. On the other hand Heathen, Count Raven, Pretty Maids, Halford have all released good to great albums in the last 2 years, any of them superior to Maiden last 5 albums or so.

 

[Pabla]

OK---so after about 10-20 listens... I love the album, but not as a whole. Let me explain:

1. The intro is the most horrible thing I've ever heard... I don't care how many people say it's "different" or "creative" or whatever... it is boring period.
The Final Frontier... good riffage, nothing stellar
El Dorado... OMG, I hate this song...
Mother of Mercy---at first I was like "WTF" but then after a few listens and listening to the buildup in the song, I finally got it and like the track
Coming Home---Nice track, sounds a lot like Bruce solo to me
From tracks 5 til the end this disc is pure gold to me...
The Alchemist---I crank that sucker up, full of energy!
Isles of Avalon--for the longest time I hated this song... now I am finally getting into it, but still not one of my favs
Starblind---what a buildup... great sing-along song
The Talisman---Amazing, I can just picture myself on a mission!
The Man who would be king---classic Murray... love it
Where the wild wind blows---classic Harris... obviously love it

So, my favs:

1. WTWWB
2.The Talisman
3.The Alchemist
4. Starblind
5. The man who would be king

 

[Guitar Jar]

As a die hard Maiden fan, I actually think it's the best Maiden album since Seventh Son... you can read a full review here on Guitar Jar:

http://www.guitarjar.co.uk/features/final-frontier-iron-maiden/

 

[poundingmetal74]

The intro is the most horrible thing I've ever heard... I don't care how many people say it's "different" or "creative" or whatever... it is boring period.

+1

 

[wdiv]

El Dorado... OMG, I hate this song...

Yeah, I can't figure out why they picked that song out of the bunch to play as part of their live set this year. The crowd was completely dead when they played that.