Iron Maiden's latest album, "The Final Frontier", is the truest return to form any metal band has made in the last decade. Without a shadow of a doubt.

I have to admit to some bias here - Iron Maiden's "Two Minutes to Midnight" from the album Powerslave was the hook that dragged me wide-eyed into the world of metal. Previous to that, the hardest my music ever got was a bit of rockabilly - however, one late night while watching Rage at oh-my-god o'clock in the morning, this seemingly non-sensical video clip featuring long hair, spandex, and everything else we associated with the 80s came screaming onto my TV. It wasn't just the raw power of the music that grabbed me by the balls - it was the ferocious energy with which they played, the duelling between the two guitars, the melodies and the rhythms or the lyrical themes that piqued my interest.

From the minute this album rips into "Satellite 15...The Final Frontier" you know something special is happening here. This album is such a departure from anything the band has done in the last ten years, and yet at the same time the songwriting, melodies and rhythms bring me straight back to that evening infront of the TV. The opening track, "Satellite 15...The Final Frontier" is unlike anything they've done to date. It immediately brings to mind the concept behind this album - space. After the break it rips into "The Final Frontier" - a riff-heavy, lyrically-screaming song full of big guitars and massive drums.

I could go on and on for hours about this album, but instead I'll just concentrate on what I believe to be the standout tracks of the album.

"El Dorado" - a fast paced song featuring the trademark triplet 'gallop' Iron Maiden is so famous for. It's a ripper of a song and sure to be a favourite at concerts for years to come.

The next song, "Mother of Mercy" brings me back to the albums of the early 2000s - big choruses that you can never get out of your head. Bruce's singing absolutely wails on this track.

"Isle of Avalon" was for me the best song of the album. Adrian Smith's writing really shines in this song - the guitar melodies are outstanding, the lyrics are amazing and the whole song feels like a lot of energy and personality has gone into its creation.

"The Talisman" starts out with a haunting acoustic guitar part accompanied by almost lullabye singing from Bruce Dickinson, and then suddenly shifts into overdrive as the electric guitars and 'air-raid' singing screams out of the speakers.

All up, it's a fantastic return to form, and the best part of it is in less than a week I'll be seeing the band live in Melbourne. Once upon a time I thought I'd never see them live, and now I'm seeing them for the second time. Bloody fantastic!