IRON MAIDEN’S THE FINAL FRONTIER (BOB COCK’S SORTA TAKE)

Full disclosure: Bob Cock has only listened to The Final Frontier once in its entirety. He also got it just a couple days ago and still has a few other things he’s working on, but this isn’t about excuses.

Let’s face it, though: once a band has become an institution like the almighty Iron Maiden, it’s not so much about the new albums as it is about the band’s legacy. Whether it’s classics (see: Powerslave, Fear of the Dark, Killers, Piece of Mind, etc.), the venerable band’s more recent “comeback” catalog (Brave New World, Dance Of Death, A Matter of Life and Death), the swing and misses (anything – aside from a few songs – with Blaze Bayley), or the underrated (Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, Iron Maiden), you know you’re going to buy it.

Sure, I have A Matter of Life and Death, but it probably hasn’t seen the CD player or iPod more times than I have fingers on one hand. And obviously I’m a little late to the punch on The Final Frontier. Virtual XI? Collecting dust. But for all the “individual taste” picks for a listener of a band like Iron Maiden, every self-respecting metalhead has a favorite, a “close runner up” pick, and a firm belief that if someone doesn’t agree with whatever his or her stance is on the subject, than that person is wrong.

We all know there’s the “Paul Di’Anno was better than Dickinson” crew (advantage: “Transylvania”), the Piece of Mind stalwarts (“The Trooper, man!” guys, or the Guitar Center guys that feel the need to harmonize the main melody at maximum volume in the showroom), the fans of the more proggy direction of the post-Dickinson reunion output (although, let’s be honest — Brave New World is still the crowning jewel), the Powerslave guy, the right-before-Bruce-split-Fear of the Dark-guy, and any number of combinations in between. I don’t know anyone who thinks the Blaze era was Maiden at the best, though, so maybe it’s a safe bet that not a whole lot of folks constitute this minority.

Digression aside, the point is: Everyone has got their favorite Maiden album/era/song/whatever, and no matter what the answer is, we’re all right. Why? Because Iron Maiden wrote, writes, and will write good goddamn songs. Now, we can all argue if that’s due to Dickinson/Di’Anno, or the Dave Murray/Adrian Smith/Janick Gers combinations (I know someone’s going to argue Clive Burr over Nicko McBrain too… you know they’re out there), but everybody’s got their own favorites and nobody’s really wrong, because Maiden has been a consistent deliverer of music, many times in years where little else redeemed or reunited the metal community. 1992? The third wave of hair metal. Response: Fear of the Dark. 2001? Nu-metal and imports from Europe. Answer: Brave New World.

Fast forward to 2010. The Final Frontier is a solid album. From the goofy, awkward “Dude, are you sure this is Maiden?” intro of “Satellite 15…” through the progginess of the album’s back end, replete with everything in between, and some good old verse-chorus-solo-chorus-chorus-chorus Dickinson magic throughout, it’s a solid record that matches up well with both the band’s collective output and the post-2000 incarnation of Maiden.

Maybe that’s not the magic of Iron Maiden, though. Maybe the magic lies in the fact that you can get a group of metalheads and casual fans alike together, argue about the best Maiden line-up/song/album, and nonchalantly ask if you can grab another round of beers from the fridge and — while restocking the “conversation pieces” — throw on any Iron Maiden album and watch just about everyone in the room collectively tear up, whip out an air guitar, or shriek along to the songs. Or any combination of the three.

And the best album? Yeah, that’s Seventh Son Of A Seven Son. I’m still a sucker for my first Maiden album. But I won’t argue if you throw on Powerslave. Or Killers. Or Piece of Mind, or Fear of the Da…you get the idea. Just don’t break the plastic on my picture disc version of the “Out Of The Silent Planet” single. You owe me then.

-BC