Senjutsu will be released on the following formats and available to pre-order from all good music retailers starting Wednesday July 21st:

Standard 2CD Digipak
Deluxe 2CD Book Format
Deluxe heavyweight 180G Triple Black Vinyl
Special Edition Triple Silver & Black Marble Vinyl (from selected retailers)
Special Edition Triple Red & Black Marble Vinyl (from selected retailers)
Super Deluxe Boxset featuring CD, Blu-Ray and Exclusive Memorabilia
Digital album (streaming and download)

Steve says "We chose to record at Guillaume Tell Studio in France again as the place has such a relaxed vibe. The setup there is perfect for our needs; the building used to be a cinema and has a really high ceiling so there's a great acoustic sound. We recorded this album in the same way we did The Book Of Souls in that we'd write a song, rehearse it and then put it down together straight away while it was all fresh in our minds. There's some very complex songs on this album which took a lot of hard work to get them exactly as we wanted them to sound, so the process was at times very challenging, but Kevin is great at capturing the essence of the band and I think it was worth the effort! I'm very proud of the result and can't wait for fans to hear it."

Bruce continues, "We're all really excited about this album. We recorded it back in early 2019 during a break in the Legacy tour so we could maximize our touring yet still have a long set up period before release to prepare great album art and something special as a video. Of course the pandemic delayed things more - so much for the best laid plans - or should that be 'strategies'!? The songs are very varied, and some of them are quite long. There's also one or two songs which sound pretty different to our usual style, and I think Maiden fans will be surprised - in a good way, I hope!"

Written by Cynic Metalhead on 19.07.2021 at 17:24

some of them are quite long.

I have a feeling there are going to be people that don't like the sound of that...

On a sidenote. The art looks really nice imo.

I called it too that I hoped iron maiden announced a new album after the single dropped. Love that this album cover is more detailed than the last. However, I'm hoping the album is good

If the songs are like their new single "The Writing On The Wall", then it will be a great listen.

Is this a new version of Somewhere in Time ? Tracks 5,6, and 7 (Days of Future Past, Time Machine, Darkest Hour) seem to have a "time" theme - and "Lost in a Lost World" = "Stranger in a Strange Land" ?

The artwork looks really good. Not so much of the new single, hoping for better songs.

Quote:

1. Senjutsu (Smith/Harris) 8:20
2. Stratego (Gers/Harris) 4:59
3. The Writing On The Wall (Smith/Dickinson) 6:13
4. Lost In A Lost World (Harris) 9:31
5. Days Of Future Past (Smith/Dickinson) 4:03
6. The Time Machine (Gers/Harris) 7:09
7. Darkest Hour (Smith/Dickinson) 7:20
8. Death Of The Celts (Harris) 10:20
9. The Parchment (Harris) 12:39
10. Hell On Earth (Harris) 11:19

Such a fascinating tracklist. 3 key observations:
-after his solo flights on The Book of Souls, Bruce is back to only writing with his old partner in crime, Adrian
-no writing credit for Dave Murray - when was the last time that happened?
-Harris went all in on this record, writing 4 songs by himself including three 10 minute+ epics to close the album

Very exciting to have a new Maiden album to look forward to. I'm so happy.

Don't like artwork, somgs 1 b 2 has bad titles, makes me be sceptic.

I really don't like the artwork on this album. I hope to be surprised by the sound.

Can't really explain but i have a feeling its going to be one of their best albums!!!

Written by Azarath on 19.07.2021 at 21:35

Very exciting to have a new Maiden album to look forward to. I'm so happy.

You've said it all with these two simple sentences. I am only going to add two more:

The biggest metal band is releasing a new album. That in itself is a reason to celebrate.

I didn't get to much find what captivated me like pre-FOTD. It's been stale ever since.

Will listen to it though to see the progress.

Written by nikarg on 19.07.2021 at 23:49

Written by Azarath on 19.07.2021 at 21:35

Very exciting to have a new Maiden album to look forward to. I'm so happy.

You've said it all with these two simple sentences. I am only going to add two more:

The biggest metal band is releasing a new album. That in itself is a reason to celebrate.

If it's good drink for hapyness, if its bad drown your sorrow. But it must be Iron Maiden beer.

Written by Azarath on 19.07.2021 at 21:35


Such a fascinating tracklist. 3 key observations:
-after his solo flights on The Book of Souls, Bruce is back to only writing with his old partner in crime, Adrian
-no writing credit for Dave Murray - when was the last time that happened?
-Harris went all in on this record, writing 4 songs by himself including three 10 minute+ epics to close the album

Very exciting to have a new Maiden album to look forward to. I'm so happy.

Yeah also noted those three things. By not looking it up I think the last time Murray didn't have a writing credit was on The X Factor (he co-wrote 1 of the b'sides though). Also I really like that we get a bunch of long songs by Harris, that could be great

Written by majormalfunction on 20.07.2021 at 16:00

Also I really like that we get a bunch of long songs by Harris, that could be great

Oh yes, those songs are the ones I'm most curious about. Harris has written so many great Maiden epics.

Of course, there's a chance of half of those last 34 minutes being endless chorus repetitions.

Written by Azarath on 21.07.2021 at 00:20

Of course, there's a chance of half of those last 34 minutes being endless chorus repetitions.

Yikes

Written by F3ynman2000 on 19.07.2021 at 19:41

Is this a new version of Somewhere in Time ? Tracks 5,6, and 7 (Days of Future Past, Time Machine, Darkest Hour) seem to have a "time" theme - and "Lost in a Lost World" = "Stranger in a Strange Land" ?

Don't overthink this. These are just song titles. Most likely the titles are taken from books/films that Steve Harris reads/watches. He's known for that - every album contains at least a few songs inspired by books/films. As for these three:
Days of Future Past - is a silly movie based on a comic book for kids or puerile adults.
Time Machine - is a book by Herbert George Wells
Darkest Hour - is a movie about Winston Churchill, a period piece set during WW2.
We'll see in a few weeks anyway.

Written by Azarath on 19.07.2021 at 21:35

-Harris went all in on this record, writing 4 songs by himself including three 10 minute+ epics to close the album

Knowing his recent songs from the last few albums, half of those long songs will be boring instrumental intros/outros. The guy just can't write a concise song anymore.

Written by Daniell on 22.07.2021 at 13:59

Don't overthink this. These are just song titles. Most likely the titles are taken from books/films that Steve Harris reads/watches. He's known for that - every album contains at least a few songs inspired by books/films. As for these three:
Days of Future Past - is a silly movie based on a comic book for kids or puerile adults.
Time Machine - is a book by Herbert George Wells
Darkest Hour - is a movie about Winston Churchill, a period piece set during WW2.
We'll see in a few weeks anyway.

Yeah I get the movie/book references. I just found it funny that time seems to be a common theme - at least judging from those three titles. (And sheesh, you are definitely no Marvel fan )

Written by F3ynman2000 on 22.07.2021 at 15:42

Yeah I get the movie/book references. I just found it funny that time seems to be a common theme - at least judging from those three titles. (And sheesh, you are definitely no Marvel fan )

Three out of ten is hardly a theme
As for Marvel - I saw quite a few Marvel movies, most of them actually. That's why my opinion is what it is. Martin Scorsese once said that Marvel movies aren't cinema. He is right in my opinion, to a large extent.

Written by Daniell on 22.07.2021 at 14:01

Knowing his recent songs from the last few albums, half of those long songs will be boring instrumental intros/outros. The guy just can't write a concise song anymore.

To be honest his longer tracks seem to be the most popular ones on the last couple of albums. Even people I know that didn't really like the last album found "The Red And The Black" to be one of the few highlights for them. And the album before that... The only song I've seen that gets generally praised quite a bit (even by people who didn't like the album) is "When The Wild Wind Blows".

Personally I always found his epics to be a lot more interesting than the shorter tracks. Don't get me wrong, a lot of his shorter tracks are really nice, but his epics always have that little bit of extra for me. Like you're going on a journey or something. The shorter tracks lack that a bit. They feel like they are build up in the same way as other heavy metal bands do that. While I rarely see the same style of storytelling and journey feel of the longer songs on an album from another band. The combination of lyrics, song structure (it pretty much follows a film/theatre template) and the music itself which takes the role of the visual storytelling (from films), is something he masters really well imo.

I think the last time I felt a similar style being used as effectively was with 1914's song: "Passchenhell". Unsurprisingly it's my favourite song from "The Blind Leading The Blind". That song also has a 50 second intro (though it's a heavy one), a 30 second outro-ish accoustic part, followed by a recording of an old song they used to sing in the trenches and that takes another 40 seconds. That's about 2 minutes for a 7 minute track. Don't know why, but I absolutely love that.

Same for Sorcerer's Ubearable Sorrow track, that takes almost 2 minutes to completely kick-off and has an outro of almost a minute long. But it works imo.

I guess I'm fine with it if a band can actually write good lyrics with an interesting story or idea to accompany the music as well as music that can actually bring over an emotion or atmosphere that's fitting. And if I'm honest the good lyrics part is a lot of the time missing with a lot of bands.

Anyway, in the end it's about preference, I guess.

Written by Daniell on 22.07.2021 at 16:08

As for Marvel - I saw quite a few Marvel movies, most of them actually. That's why my opinion is what it is. Martin Scorsese once said that Marvel movies aren't cinema. He is right in my opinion, to a large extent.

Movies is one thing, but... no love for the comics?

I can't listen to the new Iron Maiden album without my buddy, Superfly

The first single is mehhhhh......

A good album by Iron Maiden is better than a great album by most other bands. Looking forward to this one. Will buy the high res version for sure.

Written by metalbrat on 25.07.2021 at 03:48

The first single is mehhhhh......

The last time the first single was so good was in 2006, "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg". The new song isn't "The Trooper" of course, but nothing ever will be. Expecting IM to release an album on par with their classics is completely unrealistic. It'll never happen. They already had one resurgence quality-wise, it was in 2000. I doubt there will be another. All that said, I'd love nothing more than being proven wrong about the new album. I do hope it'll be excellent, even though a voice in my head tells me otherwise.

Written by Daniell on 28.07.2021 at 10:30

Written by metalbrat on 25.07.2021 at 03:48

The first single is mehhhhh......

The last time the first single was so good was in 2006, "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg". The new song isn't "The Trooper" of course, but nothing ever will be. Expecting IM to release an album on par with their classics is completely unrealistic. It'll never happen. They already had one resurgence quality-wise, it was in 2000. I doubt there will be another. All that said, I'd love nothing more than being proven wrong about the new album. I do hope it'll be excellent, even though a voice in my head tells me otherwise.

You are spot on. As a big fan, I really wish the rest of the album is just opposite of this single.

Written by tominator on 22.07.2021 at 17:31

Written by Daniell on 22.07.2021 at 14:01

Knowing his recent songs from the last few albums, half of those long songs will be boring instrumental intros/outros. The guy just can't write a concise song anymore.

To be honest his longer tracks seem to be the most popular ones on the last couple of albums. Even people I know that didn't really like the last album found "The Red And The Black" to be one of the few highlights for them. And the album before that... The only song I've seen that gets generally praised quite a bit (even by people who didn't like the album) is "When The Wild Wind Blows".

Personally I always found his epics to be a lot more interesting than the shorter tracks. Don't get me wrong, a lot of his shorter tracks are really nice, but his epics always have that little bit of extra for me. Like you're going on a journey or something. The shorter tracks lack that a bit. They feel like they are build up in the same way as other heavy metal bands do that. While I rarely see the same style of storytelling and journey feel of the longer songs on an album from another band. The combination of lyrics, song structure (it pretty much follows a film/theatre template) and the music itself which takes the role of the visual storytelling (from films), is something he masters really well imo.

I think the last time I felt a similar style being used as effectively was with 1914's song: "Passchenhell". Unsurprisingly it's my favourite song from "The Blind Leading The Blind". That song also has a 50 second intro (though it's a heavy one), a 30 second outro-ish accoustic part, followed by a recording of an old song they used to sing in the trenches and that takes another 40 seconds. That's about 2 minutes for a 7 minute track. Don't know why, but I absolutely love that.

Same for Sorcerer's Ubearable Sorrow track, that takes almost 2 minutes to completely kick-off and has an outro of almost a minute long. But it works imo.

I guess I'm fine with it if a band can actually write good lyrics with an interesting story or idea to accompany the music as well as music that can actually bring over an emotion or atmosphere that's fitting. And if I'm honest the good lyrics part is a lot of the time missing with a lot of bands.

Anyway, in the end it's about preference, I guess.

I have no problem with intros / outros / long solos. Whatever I don't like will be edited out and it will still be a longer than average album.

A review of the album for those interested
https://bravewords.com/reviews/iron-maiden-senjutsu

I think it's going to be okay. Not gonna rock our pants off, but gonna give us some nice headbopping when it's on. I don't expect anything else from them 40+ years into their career.

Written by Daniell on 17.08.2021 at 12:59

A review of the album for those interested
https://bravewords.com/reviews/iron-maiden-senjutsu

Someone dissed the mix in the comments there and I can't agree more. It sounds flat and the drums are a bit half baked, too dynamic.