Angry Metal Guy reviews Senjutsu...4 years later

I still really enjoy Senjutsu. I also completely understand folks who say it's overlong and could use trimming because it definitely can. I still enjoy it even despite those issues.

The title track itself is indeed plodding and repeats sections a bit too much, but Maiden has never really done anything like this before and when in the right mood it can be super captivating.

I have no issues at all with Stratego or Writing on the Wall - those tracks rule.

Lost in a Lost World is maybe the least fully compelling of the Harris tracks, but I love love love the intro and outro to this tune. This one could have used some trimming for sure.

Days of Future Past is alright. Time Machine is a lot of fun but does not need to reprise the intro as the outro. Standard Harris-ism right there.

Darkest Hour has those silly soundscape intro and outros which should have never made the final album. Chop those right off.

Of the final 3 Harris tracks, I still question why Death of the Celts needs so many different acoustic intros. I wish Parchment was sped up a bit. Hell on Earth is nearly perfect.

I like this one a lot more than Book of Souls which I find nosedives after disc 1 and hasn't aged well at all to me, but we all have a different way to view the world.
 
Funny how our opinions change with time, in my case I think I need at least 2 years to judge a new album without passions and biases.
Yeah I like it less than when it came out for sure.
 
Yax said:
The title track? It does not need to be 8 minutes and 20 seconds long. It would be a really cool 5:30 track though
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Funny, reading this I remembered someone sent me a fan edit of the album shortly after its release, and the title track is whittled down to 5:38. Just listened to it, and I feel like I didn't miss anything that was in the (nearly 3-minute longer) original. Still can't say I like the song other than it sets a mood and even at 5:38, it's an overlong buildup to Stratego truly launching the album.
 
Donner said:
Of the final 3 Harris tracks, I still question why Death of the Celts needs so many different acoustic intros. I wish Parchment was sped up a bit. Hell on Earth is nearly perfect.
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Funnily enough, I more or less feel exactly the same way about these three.

Lost in a Lost World has grown on me somewhat, I should add.
 
I didn't like the album as much as previous post reunion efforts from the day it came out. I don't mind repetition or long intros as much as others. What gets me the most is the muddy production / underproduced vocals and the lack of climax in any of the songs, Death of the Celts begs for one for example. There's no song that stands out on the album. Also, I hate self plagiarism when I notice it and the Edge of Darkness riff bugs me every time.
 
naranja said:
Have they had a weaker live opener than Senjutsu?
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Tailgunner, Wildest Dreams, Different World and TFF. At least.

I like Senjutsu very much. At first, it sounded like a 6.5/10, but it grew on me to an 8/10. I love the lyrics and the way Bruce sings it.

By the way, while 2022 wasn't his best year vocally, he nailed the high parts at some shows. By high parts, I mean:

"Hold our fortune
Avenge the merciful
Hold the great wall
Never fall again
Arrows falling
Dark oblivion
Live in spirit
Live to tell our sons"

I also particularly love the line: "Honour our dead so they never fought in vain."

Great song. Just my opinion, of course.
 
I like Senjutsu (the song) but opening Legacy of the Beast with it was a mistake imo. Honestly just swapping Senjutsu and Stratego would have been fine and a more imaginative choice.

Weaker openers? TFF, Different World, and Wildest Dreams are all lesser songs but I don't think they were terrible live show starters, in many ways they were written to kick off shows. I will say that I am glad they have stopped writing openers for the sake of writing openers as If Eternity Should Fail and Senjutsu are both way more creative than anything that kicked off the previous three albums.
 
Mosh said:
I like Senjutsu (the song) but opening Legacy of the Beast with it was a mistake imo. Honestly just swapping Senjutsu and Stratego would have been fine and a more imaginative choice.

Weaker openers? TFF, Different World, and Wildest Dreams are all lesser songs but I don't think they were terrible live show starters, in many ways they were written to kick off shows. I will say that I am glad they have stopped writing openers for the sake of writing openers as If Eternity Should Fail and Senjutsu are both way more creative than anything that kicked off the previous three albums.
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Well it's like Maiden didn't open X Factour with Sign of the Cross. They swapped it with Man on the Edge
 
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