The Final Frontier is the fifteenth studio album by Iron Maiden. It was released on August 13, 2010 in Germany, Austria and Finland, August 17 in North America, August 18, in Japan, and August 16, worldwide. At 76 minutes and 34 seconds, it is the band’s third-longest studio album to date, a duration surpassed only by 2015’s The Book of Souls and 2021’s Senjutsu. Melvyn Grant, a long-time contributor to the band’s artwork, created the cover art. It is the band’s final album to be released through EMI Records, marking the end of their 30-year relationship. It is also the last album to use the band’s alternate logo. While not a concept album, themes of exploration, expectation, and discovery are frequent throughout. The Final Frontier is the band’s first studio album in nearly four years, making it one of the longest gaps between albums.
The album received favourable reviews from critics and peaked at No. 1 in 28 countries. This included the United Kingdom, where it became the band’s fourth release to top the UK Albums Chart following 1982’s The Number of the Beast, 1988’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and 1992’s Fear of the Dark. On top of this, The Final Frontier also charted at No. 4 in the United States, marking their highest placement on the Billboard 200 until it was surpassed by 2021’s Senjutsu at No. 3, in addition to gaining the band their first Grammy Award in the Best Metal Performance category for the song “El Dorado”, released as a free download on June 8, 2010.
EMI released the album in most of the world, while in the United States it was released jointly by Universal Music Enterprises and Sony Music Entertainment – the successor to the Sanctuary Records/Columbia Records joint venture that had previously controlled the Iron Maiden catalogue in North America.
Tracklist:
- Satellite 15… The Final Frontier (Adrian Smith,Steve Harris)
- El Dorado (Smith, Harris, Bruce Dickinson)
- Mother of Mercy (Smith, Harris)
- Coming Home (Smith, Harris, Dickinson)
- The Alchemist (Janick Gers, Harris, Dickinson)
- Isle of Avalon (Smith, Harris)
- Starblind (Smith, Harris, Dickinson)
- The Talisman (Gers, Harris)
- The Man Who Would Be King (Dave Murray, Harris)
- When the Wild Wind Blows (Harris)
Iron Maiden
Bruce Dickinson: vocals
Dave Murray: guitars
Janick Gers: guitars
Adrian Smith: guitars
Steve Harris: bass, keyboards, co-producer
Nicko McBrain: drums
Technical personnel
Kevin Shirley: producer, mixing
Jared Kvitka: engineer
Terry Manning: studio technician (Compass Point Studios)
Brent Spear: studio technician (The Cave)
James McCullagh – assistant (The Cave)
Philip Scholes: SSL Duality technician
Bob Ludwig: mastering
Stuart Crouch: art director, design
Andrew Yap: art direction, design
Anthony Dry: art direction, design
Rob Wallis: art direction, design
Melvyn Grant: cover illustration, working drawings, sketches
John McMurtrie: photography
Rod Smallwood: management
Andy Taylor: management
