Senjutsu - 20 Months Later

____no5 said:
For some people not a huge bar to clear :D
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I recently listened to all 4 of them to seeing if my opinion changed, after that I bought Virtual XI but just that one.

For the 1st two I don’t know why Bruce went with the extra growly snarky vocals but for me that messed up some songs that I rather enjoyed musically.
 
Still my least favorite of the reunion albums but I like it a lot more than I did when it was first released. The Parchment and Hell On Earth are top tier Maiden.
 
I like Book Of Souls so much better. I would agree Senjutsu is an INTERESTING album, but INTERESTING definitely does not mean BEST. for me, there's something missing with Senjutsu that I can hardly explain. the album is lacking in something. maybe I'll find out any day what exactly this is.
 
Dick Brucinson said:
I like Book Of Souls so much better. I would agree Senjutsu is an INTERESTING album, but INTERESTING definitely does not mean BEST. for me, there's something missing with Senjutsu that I can hardly explain. the album is lacking in something. maybe I'll find out any day what exactly this is.
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There's a lack of energy in the interpretation and power in the production...
 
There are many things that can contribute to my feelings towards an album. For instance, AMOLAD was my first album as a fan. I went on the hype train leading up to it, and it didn't disappoint. One of my favourite albums to this date by any band. I listened to it non stop for probably years.

For Book of Souls, I was at a lowpoint in my life. Battling what I now know was a very deep depression. That album was the high point of my year. But to this day, it has sour undertones of that period in my life. I consider the album to have four legendary Maiden songs in Eternity, the title track, Red and The Black and Empire, but the weakest tracks are just subpar at best. Still enjoy listening to it, but if we compare that with their newest work, there is no comparison for me.

In Senjutsus case I'm well established and have a good life by the time it gets released. That contributes to me having Senjutsu way high up on my Maiden Albums Tier list, but I feel this album also have so many stronger songs than BoS - and the "low points" - if we can call them that - are still so much stronger than the weakest tracks on BoS. To be honest, the only song I don't really don't care for from Senjutsu is Days of Future Past - which probably is unfathomable to a great majority of you. All the other songs are on par with their best work, at least since 2000.

As for the production I don't have any problem with it, perhaps the only thing is the choice of having a high pitched synth in various places. The production on BoS is, for me at least, so much worse.
 
TheMercenary said:
I love 'No Prayer For The Dying' and 'The X Factor' and I like 'Fear Of The Dark' and 'Virtual XI'... I don't understand people who don't appreciate what Maiden has done in the 90's, because its material is far better than a lot of rock, hard rock and metal albums released during this period. :blink:
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Far better from some albums, but if we ask 100 random metalhead journalists to make a list of the 100 best Metal albums of the 90s, and combine the results, would any of them reach the Top 50?
Then you know if an album made any impact in it's era, it it was truly great. Take a look at the below list:

Painkiller, Cowboys from Hell, Rust in Peace, Bastards, Chaos AD, Seasons in the Abyss, No More Tears, 1916, Badmotorfinger, Dirt, Angel Dust, Metallica, Rage Against The Machine, Undertow, Vs, Vulgar display of Power, Facelift, Lights Camera Revolution, Use Your Illusion I & II, Nevermind, Korn, Empire, Arise, Persistence of Time, Twilight of the Gods, Dopes To Infinity, Roots, Powertrip, Slipknot, Countdown To Extinction, Superunknown, System Of A Down, etc etc.

You see what I mean? Hell, I doubt that any would make such a Top 100 list.

PS: You'd see BNW & AMOLAD in 00s lists, or TBOS in 10s.
 
____no5 said:
Far better from some albums, but if we ask 100 random metalhead journalists to make a list of the 100 best Metal albums of the 90s, and combine the results, would any of them reach the Top 50?
Then you know if an album made any impact in it's era, it it was truly great. Take a look at the below list:

Painkiller, Cowboys from Hell, Rust in Peace, Bastards, Chaos AD, Seasons in the Abyss, No More Tears, 1916, Badmotorfinger, Dirt, Angel Dust, Metallica, Rage Against The Machine, Undertow, Vs, Vulgar display of Power, Facelift, Lights Camera Revolution, Use Your Illusion I & II, Nevermind, Korn, Empire, Arise, Persistence of Time, Twilight of the Gods, Dopes To Infinity, Roots, Powertrip, Slipknot, Countdown To Extinction, Superunknown, System Of A Down, etc etc.

You see what I mean? Hell, I doubt that any would make such a Top 100 list.

PS: You'd see BNW & AMOLAD in 00s lists, or TBOS in 10s.
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I agree with you. But, Maiden has released some great albums who had a huge impact on the people who listened Maiden for the 1st time on 'No Prayer For The Dying', 'Fear Of The Dark' or 'The X Factor'. And other fans should respect that, because these are some excellent records, especially 'No Prayer For The Dying' and 'The X Factor'.
 
Still don't like it. Only liked the first single and Days of Future Past. They basically continued in the same vein as TBOS, and I didn't enjoy that one either (except for Bruce's 22 min epic and Speed of Light). The last album that they released that I really enjoyed was The Final Frontier. I like RIFFS.
 
Mandume said:
Still don't like it. Only liked the first single and Days of Future Past. They basically continued in the same vein as TBOS, and I didn't enjoy that one either (except for Bruce's 22 min epic and Speed of Light). The last album that they released that I really enjoyed was The Final Frontier. I like RIFFS.
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I share your love of TFF - top 5 IM for me - but for me disc 2 of Senjutsu is brilliant.
 
Just listened it once again yesterday in its entirety (mp3 version), with headphones, and the sound seems OK. It's weird that when I put in my CD player (CD version), the production is weak... :blink:
 
I listened the whole album again yesterday after having taken a break from it for a couple of months. Yep, it's still excellent. It has a great flow from song to song. My favorite reunion-era Maiden album is still The Final Frontier (a minority opinion for sure), but Senjutsu isn't far behind.
 
I too took a long break after borderline overplaying it shortly after release, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I still like it. I think I'd slate it behind AMOLAD when it comes to my favorite reunion era material. Time will tell how it ages (both Book of Souls and to a far greater extent The Final Frontier have slipped massively for me after the honeymoon period), but for now I can still put it on and enjoy the entire thing.
 
Mandume said:
Still don't like it. Only liked the first single and Days of Future Past. They basically continued in the same vein as TBOS, and I didn't enjoy that one either (except for Bruce's 22 min epic and Speed of Light). The last album that they released that I really enjoyed was The Final Frontier. I like RIFFS.
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Senjutsu and TBOS do not contain riffs?
 
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