Iron Maiden The Final Frontier At this point, a new Maiden album is basically another reason to do a world tour. At least that’s how it felt with the bands previous two releases, “Dance of Death,” and to a little lesser extent, “A Matter of Life and Death.” Neither of those discs were bad by any means, but Maiden truly haven’t captured their classic essence in the studio since vocalist Bruce Dickenson’s return on “Brave New World.” Until now, that is. “The Final Frontier” isn’t just another hour-plus of the band relying on old tricks. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still patently Iron Maiden, but the title track has an almost pop-metal feel, much like say a “Wickerman” or “Hell is From Here to Eternity.” “El Dorado” flat out slays as the standout track with Steve Harris and Nikko McBrain laying down a brutal core in which all three axemen – Gers, Smith and Murray rock gritty down and dirty riffage that quickly transposes into a catchy spiderweb guitar chorus complimented by some of Dickinson’s finest vocal work. Two other tracks, stories if you will, “The Talisman” and “When the Wild Wind Blows” have put Maiden into a new stratosphere in the metal genre all together. The remaining tracks are pretty standard, but performed with conviction the band hasn’t had in a while. Truly, Maiden’s still got it. They’ve never really lost it. But this time, the frontier is as strong, powerful and as gritty as anything they’ve ever done. That includes “Killers,” “Powerslave,” and “Number of the Beast.” 9/10 – B.J. Lisko