Heavy Maytal- Iron Maiden's "Final Frontier"

The band's 2010 album was darker and grittier, though also more sprawling and epic, as heard in the almost nine-minute opening track, which takes two and a half minutes to build. I remember liking this album when it came out, but giving it another listen, I can appreciate the sonic layers captured here. This is not like other Maiden songs, which is impressive, though midway it busts into something more accessible to Maiden fans, as hookier vocals kick the door down. 

"Mother of Mercy" is more melodic with a rare strum coming from the guitar. Bruce sounds great, though past the age of soaring vocals, he works with what he has and has retained much of his power. The song builds into the expected gallop, though more mid-paced. You can hear the opening riff off "Coming Home' and know exactly who this is. Some of the best guitar solos from this era of the band, the song has its twists and turns without being overtly proggy, as everything flows well. "The Alchemist" is a more uptempo song that recaptures the direction the band was heading in on "Poweslave" just with the bombast dialed back with age. However, it gets the point across. 

"Isle of Avalon" starts off with a darker tension, which is always hte side of the band I appreciate the most, but the chorus rockets into the realm of their anthems. The choruses are really strong on this album; Dickinson puts a great deal of hooks in them as you can hear on "Starblind". There is more of a folk feel to the beginning of "The Talisman".  Not the first time we have heard this from the band. It occupies the first two minutes before the band comes galloping at full power. Bruce is knocking the top notes out of the park very casually. One of the reasons I like doing these stints of digging into my favorite artists' discographies is it gives me a chance like this to rediscover songs I had forgotten about. "The Man Who Would Be King" also follows their melodic, mysterious intro formula before working its way into something more powerful and metallic. This time is more atmosphere creating a fantasy environment for the epic guitar harmonies to emerge from. They jam out a bit on the instrumental section. 

They close the album with the 11-minute "Where the Wild Wind Blows." When it comes to their sprawling prog adventures, I normally expect things to start in a more subdued fashion like this, after all, they are going to have to have peaks and valleys to keep your interest. This intro part is two minutes before building to a more frolicking folk metal type riff, which, of course, they are the originators of. With three guitars, they can also fill up some time by giving everyone the chance to step into the spotlight. Here, they give this instrumental space, just over two minutes, so nothing excessive. Nine minutes in, they return to the guitar solos.  Metal is about sonic excess, but they use restraint and instead break things back down into the opening theme. This is another underrated album from this later period of the album that you should give a chance, as I give it a 10.