Thants right! Last night we finally discovered the prize after time ran out on the countdown clock posted on Maiden's website last week. The band has released the first single of their upcoming studio effort The Final Frontier.El Dorado, the second track off their 15th studio album tells the introspective tale of age old explorers hunting for something that was never there. Thematically the lyrics have a hint flavour of Stones and Sympathy for The Devil, exploring perceived dualities through the use of first person narrative. Sonically the song brings to mind previous songs such as New Frontier, Wildest Dreams and Montségur. Though notably different from pre-Blaze Maiden hits, El Dorado shows the logical progression of a solid, very progressive Iron Maiden building on previous works (Brave New World and Dance of Death) while evoking some classic sounds from works such as Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of A Seventh Son.
It is no coincidence that El Dorado evokes days of Maiden-past. For production the band has partnered with long time friend and mastermind Kevin “Caveman” Shirley, who lists Zeppelin, RUSH and Dream Theatre as guests of his studio, and previously responsible for AMOLAD, BNW and Dance of Death, as well as a plethora of live DVD's-for those of you who have the AMOLAD spec-ed he's the guy that shoots their video diary found on the DVD (disc 2). For the recording process the band returned to Compass Point Studio in Nassau, a familiar place where they have previously recorded Piece Of Mind (’83), Powerslave (’84) and Somewhere In Time (’86).El Dorado has been made available as a FREE digital download through the band's website and is also available for streaming below for your enjoyment as you read this blog.
The band has confirmed that they will be playing some of the new songs during their upcoming tour starting tomorrow in Dallas. They will tour the U.S and Canada over the summer and head to Europe for select appearances at festivals and stadiums around the continent, for official dates check HERE.
The album has a confirmed running time of 76:35 and is scheduled for release on Monday 16th August (17th in the US). The track list is as follows:
THE FINAL FRONTIER
1. Satellite 15....The Final Frontier 8:40
2. El Dorado 6:49
3. Mother Of Mercy 5:20
4. Coming Home 5:52
5. The Alchemist 4:29
6. Isle Of Avalon 9:06
7. Starblind 7:48
8. The Talisman 9:03
9. The Man Who Would Be King 8:28
10. When The Wild Wind Blows 10:59
No comments:
Post a Comment