The Final Frontier is the fifteenth studio album by British heavy metal band, Iron Maiden, released on August 13, 2010 in Germany, Austria and Finland, August 17 in North America, and August 16 worldwide. At 76 minutes and 39 seconds, it is the band's longest studio album to date. It is their first album since the release of A Matter of Life and Death in 2006, the longest gap to date between two consecutive Iron Maiden studio albums. The North American leg of their tour in support of the album started in Dallas, Texas on June 9, with a European tour beginning in Dublin on July 30, an Australian tour beginning in Melbourne on February 23, 2011, and further dates to be announced. Melvyn Grant, a long-time contributor to the band's artwork, created the cover art for the album.Prior to the album's release, band founder Steve Harris was quoted as saying that he imagined the band would release a total of fifteen studio albums. The titles of the album, tour, and opening track fuelled further rumours that The Final Frontier would be the band's final album. The band members have since admitted that they hope to release further albums and continue touring into the future.
In most of the world, EMI released the album, while in the United States and Canada, 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.
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