If
you have read any of my past music reviews, you know that I have a
fairly broad taste in music; I embrace many styles and genres with
hard rock and heavy metal being a particular favorite. Having been a
hardcore rock fan since my teens, I am always excited when one of my
favorite bands release a new recording. Even after all these years I
still rush to the record store and try to be the first in line to
grab the newest efforts by the metal bands I love. I guess I will
forever be a teenager in that regard.
When
it comes to finding great metal, the legendary Iron Maiden has
consistently managed to stay in my list of the top ten metal bands. They are one of the bands whose music I never hesitate to purchase,
because I know I will like more of their songs than I dislike. Through the years, they have released some albums that I have liked
better than others, but there has never been one that I considered
bad enough that it could not be listened to. Their music has long
been known for intricate melodies, meticulously strung into grand,
sweeping arrangements. Their lyrics are filled with imagination,
telling stories that you can easily visualize in your head as you
listen.
Unfortunately,
their latest effort, The Final Frontier, was a huge letdown for me. I
would definitely categorize it as one of their albums that I like
less than the others. It isn't necessarily horrible, but it isn't
all that great, either! It definitely falls short when placed up
against their classics. The sound quality and production are top
notch, as always, and there are several good moments on it, but a
majority of the record is just bland and boring!
First
of all, the record is too long to listen to in a single sitting; it
contains ten songs, and clocks in at a whopping seventy-six minutes. On past albums, they could easily improvise with enough imagination
to hold the listener's interest through one of their trademark ten
minute arrangements, but that just doesn't seem to be the case here. The melodies on this record just seem to ramble along without any
clear or logical structure, and they are so repetitive that you may
find yourself nodding off midway through the song. Listening to this
gave me the impression that the band had just run out of ideas, and
had to resort to recycling many of their past riffs.
Also
gone is the wonderful lyrical imagery usually present in Iron Maiden
songs. The lyrics, just like most of the melodies, felt completely
uninspired to me. This is particularly true on many of the longer
numbers. They just seem to rattle verse after verse without any
clear, strong choruses! The singing is strong, as Bruce Dickinson's
voice has always been top notch, but again, there is just not much in
what he is singing to spark your interest.
There
are a couple of moments of the old Maiden brilliance on the record to
me; tracks seven and eight, titled Starblind and The
Talisman respectively, are both excellent songs that
are a bit closer to the band's glory days. Aside from those, the rest
of the record just falls flat in my opinion. As much as it saddens me
to say it, this is the first of Iron Maiden's albums to disappoint
me, but I guess every great band is allowed to have at least one dud
in their album catalog. Sorry to trash the album after all the work
you put into this one guys, but I gotta call it as I see it...better
luck next time!
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