Guitar solos - Senjutsu

@Poto
The first, right after Dave definitely not for me, for the rest two I haven't distinguished them yet. Have you noted the time signatures somewhere to save me some time?
 
Dave's solo of The Parchment, the best solo of the album in my opinion. More than 40" long which if memory serves, is the typical length of both solos of a pre BNW song.
Brutally good solo! Second best solo in the album for me. Isn't Dave's solo in ''Alexander The Great'' longer?
 
Brutally good solo! Second best solo in the album for me.

Which is your best then? Tell nous! Wait, I know: The Writing on the Wall!

Isn't Dave's solo in ''Alexander The Great'' longer?

No idea, I never sat down to distinguish them, could be. There are a few longer solos here and there in the pre BNW era but typically each of them lasts ~20".
If I'm not wrong, the longest pre BNW solo is Stranger in a Strange Land, more than a minute long. Which is quite strange since Adrian recently hinted that The Writing on the Wall is his longest Maiden solo, at ~50".

*A well known interview he was mentioning that a normal Maiden solo is X bars whereas TWotW is X+n bars and how unusual was for him and first time ever etc etc.

3:17, 5:48, 10:30

Many thanks Poto! By the way, poto is a French slang for "friend" ;)

3:17 this is the most interesting in my opinion, though quite tiny. I was not considering it a solo up to now, more like a bridge.
5:48 is what I referred as first, quite ok but not comparable to Dave's first.
10:30 by no means a bad solo but it's all about speed, technique and typical Janick "nonsense" whereas Dave's full of tone and feeling.
 
Last edited:
Which is your best then? Tell nous! Wait, I know: The Writing on the Wall!
The album is full of great solos and my favorite one is Adrian's solo in ''Darkest Hour''.
If I'm not wrong, the longest pre BNW solo is Stranger in a Strange Land, more than a minute long. Which is quite strange since Adrian recently hinted that The Writing on the Wall is his longest Maiden solo, at ~50".

*A well known interview he was mentioning that a normal Maiden solo is X bars whereas TWotW is X+n bars and how unusual was for him and first time ever etc etc.
Adrian's solos in ''Stranger In A Strange Land'' and ''Isle Of Avalon'' or Dave's solo in ''The Man Who Would Be King'' should be Maiden's longest solo, yeah.
 
Adrian's solos in ''Stranger In A Strange Land'' and ''Isle Of Avalon'' or Dave's solo in ''The Man Who Would Be King'' should be Maiden's longest solo, yeah.

Yes but if you check I mentioned the pre BNW era. Following that things changed. Still the recipe 20" each for usually 2 soloists was followed but not always.

In any case, thanks for the tips, I'll check both out!
 
Many thanks Poto! By the way, poto is a French slang for "friend" ;)

3:17 this is the most interesting in my opinion, though quite tiny. I was not considering it a solo up to now, more like a bridge.
5:48 is what I referred as first, quite ok but not comparable to Dave's first.
10:30 by no means a bad solo but it's all about speed, technique and typical Janick "nonsense" whereas Dave's full of tone and feeling.
The first is short, but surely counts?

Your description of Janick's last solo could also apply to Dave. Typical Dave nonsense. Still quite good though!
 
Does anyone else think Janick has had the best sound on the last two albums? At least when it comes to solos.
 
The first is short, but surely counts?

Yes, of course. It's the most interesting of the three.

Your description of Janick's last solo could also apply to Dave. Typical Dave nonsense. Still quite good though!

I find Dave's solo full of emotion and tone, a solo that stands out. Not business as usual.
You seem to appreciate Janick and I respect that. Can you indicate me your top 3 all time Janick solos? So I can have a closer look. Don't include 1000 suns, I already worship that one.
 
I find Dave's solo full of emotion and tone, a solo that stands out. Not business as usual.
You seem to appreciate Janick and I respect that. Can you indicate me your top 3 all time Janick solos? So I can have a closer look. Don't include 1000 suns, I already worship that one.
There is definitely emotion and tone in it, but I wouldn't expect less from the most unique sounding guitarist in heavy metal history.

1000 Suns would have been one of the three. Blood Brothers is another. Those two are maybe my favourite Maiden solos from 2000-2021. Maybe Fear of the Dark, but I haven't really ranked solos beyond a top 2-3.
 
What guitar picks would you suggest using for this particular album? I am only a beginner, but I can clearly hear the difference between different picks. So, the pick I choose will influence the general outcome. There are so many types of Plectrums that I don’t even know which one to choose. I could not find any information on what picks were used by the band members, and that’s why I write here. Which ones do you use to get the best results? I use a carbon one now, but I think that it’s not the best option for this style of music. Maybe an acrylic one?
 
Last edited:
What guitar picks would you suggest using for this particular album? I am only a beginner, but I can clearly hear the difference between different picks. So, the pick I choose will influence the general outcome.
1mm is a safe bet. Blue Dunlop Tortex or something similar. Maiden use Ernie Ball 1mm picks.
 
I haven't ranked all the solos yet (I think I kind of forgot about it), but I think these are my safest bets (that have been for the longest time ever since the release of Senjutsu):

1. The Writing On The Wall (Adrian)
2. Darkest Hour (Adrian)

strong contender for third place is:
The Parchment (Dave)

This needs and has to be updated later when can rank more.
 
The best solo comes from Adrian (TWOTW), however, I think Janick and Dave's solos are better throughout the album. My favs:

Janick- Death of the Celts, The Time Machine, The Parchment (all 3), outro on Darkest Hour
Dave- The Parchment, Darkest Hour
 
Back
Top