On first listen I was unimpressed, but the second time through blasting it out loud and it's all coming together. It's like the best parts of Brave New World combined with the worst parts of AMOLAD... which makes a pretty good mix really. A lot stronger than the last album.
I am currently writing a review of it, it's over 700 words and I've barely mentioned the music yet.

Refused wrote:On first listen I was unimpressed, but the second time through blasting it out loud and it's all coming together. It's like the best parts of Brave New World combined with the worst parts of AMOLAD... which makes a pretty good mix really. A lot stronger than the last album.
I am currently writing a review of it, it's over 700 words and I've barely mentioned the music yet.

Sounds like this review

http://www.creemmagazine.com/_site/BeatGoesOn/IggyPop/OfPopAndPiesPt001.html

Admittedly I have been reading too much Lester Bangs and Hunter S Thompson lately.

My review is here if anyone cares to read my nonsense - http://bit.ly/d3EFvT

"Dance Of Death I wasn’t so keen on, but it was saved by some absolute classics like Paschendale which is one of my favourite Maiden songs. A Matter Of Life And Death took me a long while to get into, but after I’d seen them perform the entire thing live it really opened my eyes to how good it was"

This is how I feel. I used the word 'feel'.

Mazz wrote:"Dance Of Death I wasn’t so keen on, but it was saved by some absolute classics like Paschendale which is one of my favourite Maiden songs. A Matter Of Life And Death took me a long while to get into, but after I’d seen them perform the entire thing live it really opened my eyes to how good it was"

This is how I feel. I used the word 'feel'.

That's quite absolutely correct. Although I found AMOLAD quite boring live actually, but I'm glad they did it as I may not have gotten the chance to see The Legacy live otherwise. But over time I have come to love AMOLAD a lot. Very very much indeed actually. I don't know if TFF will have the long lasting appeal, but so far it has grown on me a lot, it definitely is a grower of an album. There's a lot going on and at first it seems like a bit of a mess, but it slowly comes together. I just wish there was a bit more greatness like The Talisman and less warbling like Mother of Mercy and Coming Home (even though the latter has quite a lovely chorus). And I wish El Dorado would just go away and not make me waste my energy on pressing the skip button every time I want to listen to the entire album.

Tonight I told my friend and one time Battlewitch bass player 'Heavy Metal Jim' that Coming Home is one of the most important power ballads of the last 15 years. I then told him that Jesus was an ancient astronaut and it was about time that he got used to the idea.

The best part of probably my whole life ever is when Bruce sings "...and more free from thee..." in the intro of The Talisman.

This is the best bit

"TO ALBIONS LAND..

Coming home when I see the runway lights
In the misty dawn the night is fading fast
Coming home, far away as their vapor trails align
Where I’ve been tonight, you know I will not stay"

Has anyone notice how humorous the end to Isle of Avalon is? "Lost soooooooooouls..... in the iiiiiisle..... OOOOOOOF THE DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

Amazing.

Jonny K, amongst others, visited me up yesterday and he was kind enough to set me a copy of this album.

Now, I am not a Maiden obssessive. I am, as is pretty much everyone, a big fan of their classic period (though, I find I am generally more inclined to listen to Priest) and I was massively into and impressed by Brave New World. The last two albums have completely passed me by and I could not tell you what Paschendale or any other track sounds like. So, this is pretty new listening for me, if you catch me drift. I am currently going through the album for the third time.

It's certainly not rubbish. However, it is certainly not free from error either. Fortunately, it's things that can be put up with because of the definite redeeming features.

I like Satellite 15. Quite a lot, in fact. However, it's really out-of-place. I appreciate but it doesn't work in any context of the album. Good but inappropriate. Especially with that transition. Really odd. I would have thought Maiden of having more sense than this but whatever.

Anyway, here things go very wrong. I have no truck with the first real three tracks. The Final Frontier, so far, has not grabbed me at all. It's distinctly average sounding a bit repetative and it feels sort of unfinished. This is followed by the rightly lamented El Dorado. Again, it repeats to much and leads from a strange intro and what I consider an uninspired track. I know this is called the 'easy half' but it's not. It's a shit start. Mother of Mercy does not fair much better with me at the mo. The chorus actually sounds to me like Dickinson is struggling. Besides that it just seems like another medicore track. We're now on a three track (four song?) flop. I like albums to grab me and I think that a good opener would have made all this a lot more forgivable. A disconcerting start.

But then it gets MUCH better. Coming Home is a good. Very good. A much better quality track, tasteful. I don't know if heavy metal ballard is the right term or whatever but this is more the calibre I'd hope from Maiden. And then, from there the album seems great. The Alchemist is exactly the sort of stuff that should have been at the start of the album - immediate, simple without being tired and simply enjoyable. The other songs clearly require a lot more time but are musically varied and impressive. Again, I can't say how good exactly these songs are yet but they are definitely not shit. All of them initially sound good and many I can see myself really enjoying on the record and, hopefully, live too. I'll let you know.

It really is a shame about the start of the album. I may retract my thoughts about Mother of Mercy and, possibly, The Final Frontier but I doubt it. My initial response was a 7/10. I now think really that has to drop to a six, at best. Not because it's nearly so average but at the moment it does seem notably inconsistent which seems so strange becuase I consider Maiden to be, generally speaking, thematically coherent.

So, these are my current thoughts. I am now to listen to the album again - from track four - and try to get my head round the epic songs so I can tell exactly what I make of them. But I am very grateful for Jon for bringing it.

Oh, as for the Classic Rock review - Dom Lawson cannot critically assess Maiden to save his life. He's worse than Jonny! I read Refused's review. I'll read it again.

You're very welcome indeed Caps! I'm glad you like it (or most of it anyway). After listening to the album a million times, I quite agree with you there. I do like the fun of The Final Frontier and I quite enjoy Mother of Mercy, however both tracks are a bit boring really, they don't really do much for me musically, and Bruce's vocals on the chorus of MOOOther of Mercy are utterly hilarious (not helped by the bad editing of the vocal takes). I've also stopped listening to the intro now really, it's pretty cool but doesn't fit in at all with anything else, and apart fromt the lyrics, just doesn't fit with The Final Frontier whatsoever. A nice idea done pretty poorly.

So the album really starts from Coming Home for me too, from then on I love the album very much. I think the tracklisting should've been this:

1. The Alchemist
2. Starblind
3. Coming Home
4. Isle of Avalon
5. The Man Who Would Be King
6. The Talisman
7. Where The Wild Wind Blows

That woud've been a truly wonderful album for me, and I probably would've given it 8.5/10, maybe even a 9. Because of the other tracks, which I kind of enjoy but not really (apart from El Dorado which is really rubbish), I'd give it 7, or 6.5 maybe. Probably 7, as I do love the rest of the tracks a lot. As a result, I think it's on a par with, or slightly better than AMOLAD. Musically more interesting and fun, but not quite as consistent and the production isn't as good.

I think they needed an overweight rocker to encourage them during the recording process by shouting “MAKE IT SEXY”.

Once they had achieved the required level of sex then he would have shouted “KEEP IT FUCKING SEXY” while looking really livid.

jonny_boy34 wrote:1. The Alchemist
2. Starblind
3. Coming Home
4. Isle of Avalon
5. The Man Who Would Be King
6. The Talisman
7. Where The Wild Wind Blows

This would have been much much better! Significantly, it would knock 21 minutes off the album and made a much easier to digest and coherent album. I think we're very much in agreement, Jon. Well done. The Talisman is brilliant and Where the Wild Wind Blows is a great finisher. Starblind and Isle of Avalon are great too. The lengthier tracks are actually really enjoyable Maiden numbers. Good stuff, overall.

Indeed! Yes, the tracks you mentioned are definitely the best ones, although I still feel a bit disappointed every time the chorus of Starblind comes in, as the rest of the song is so good, and I think that chorus is a bit lazy and predictable compare to how good everything else is. The Talisman is still definitely my favourite, with When The Wild Wind Blows being a close second. The Man Who Would Be King really grew on me too after a few listens, the bit where it goes into that fast happy harmony joy after the weird but quite nice and strangely poppy half-time middle bit makes me want to run around with joy everywhere.