Please post reviews and thoughts on Senjutsu here

Status
Not open for further replies.
R@inmaker said:
Only listened through all the songs once through but here are my very early initial ratings of songs:

Senjutsu – 8/10 (obvious strong Maiden "war" song)
Stratego – 8/10 (same as above)
Writing – 8/10 (cemented as unique song but still a very catchy strong tune)
Lost – 7/10 (not sure how i feel yet but doesn't suck)
Days – 6.5/10 (was hoping for a "pop" song here but it's no Rainmaker or Wicker Man so far)
Time – 7.5/10 (pretty interesting song that could emerge as a gem...hard to tell)
Darkest – 7.5/10 (not sure how i feel yet but doesn't suck)
Death – 8/10 (why is this song getting so dogged? MUCH better than i was lead to believe)
Parchment – 7/10 (too long and didn't hear what everyone else is hearing so far)
Hell – 8/10 (too long again but the actual parts are really solid)
Click to expand...
Solid summary.
 
I’ve just finished my first listen and here are some of my initial thoughts!

Overall, it’s definitely a great record. There’s a lot to love about it. When it comes to reunion albums, as of now I would probably rank it at number 3, just below BNW with AMoLaD being number 1. Speaking of BNW, it’s definitely the closest relative to Senjutsu and that’s really cool. I’m also happy to say there’s not a single bad track on this album. Some mediocre ones? Sure, maybe. But there’s something to enjoy about every one of them.

The album is vastly different from TBoS, which I think is by far the worst reunion album. Senjutsu is more epic, more atmospheric, more focused and more metal than its predecessor. There’s none of that weird lightheartedness, which makes me check out of many TBoS tracks. This time the band did significantly better at writing in studio, but I still feel like some of the songs could have been improved if the writing/recording process was less rushed.

Soundwise, it’s probably the second best-sounding reunion album after AMoLaD. I was really impressed with how clear the mix is. It sounds very "produced", but I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It just doesn’t beat the natural sound of AMoLaD, where everything sits so damn well.

There’s a lot to process! I’ll be back with some track-by-track commentary.
 
Just finishing up my first listen through. My initial rankings:
  • Senjutsu - B
  • Stratego - C
  • The Writing On The Wall - A
  • Lost In A Lost World - B
  • Days Of Future Past - A
  • Time Machine - A
  • Darkest Hour - A+
  • Death Of The Celts - B+
  • The Parchment - B
  • Hell On Earth - A
I'd love to hear the 5 A's live along with Senjutsu and either Death of the Celts or The Parchment. Hell on Earth just needs one more reference to Hell on Earth at the end of it other than that the song is amazing.

Top 3:
  1. Darkest Hour
  2. The Writing On The Wall
  3. Hell On Earth
 
Just letting it soak in, and man- every listen I find a new wrinkles to enjoy.

I am still just in love with the chores at 1.20 of the title track. Such majesty and gravitas! Triumphant and even somber.
This is an album of musicians completely comfortable with themselves.
 
The Dissident said:
Just finishing up my first listen through. My initial rankings:
  • Senjutsu - B
  • Stratego - C
  • The Writing On The Wall - A
  • Lost In A Lost World - B
  • Days Of Future Past - A
  • Time Machine - A
  • Darkest Hour - A+
  • Death Of The Celts - B+
  • The Parchment - B
  • Hell On Earth - A
I'd love to hear the 5 A's live along with Senjutsu and either Death of the Celts or The Parchment. Hell on Earth just needs one more reference to Hell on Earth at the end of it other than that the song is amazing.

Top 3:
  1. Darkest Hour
  2. The Writing On The Wall
  3. Hell On Earth
Click to expand...

To each their own, but I have no idea how you can assign letter grades after one listening. It so complex and multifaceted.
 
Poto said:
I agree! Hell On Earth hasn't clicked with me yet. That's two listens just to be clear.

Steve's epics ranked as of now

Death of the Celts
The Parchment
Lost in a Lost World
Hell On Earth

This will surely change over the next few days
Click to expand...
Seeing this post, I've just realised that my favourite 4 songs from the album are all the Harris only penned songs.
 
After more than ten sessions, my points are as follows:
Senjutsu: 90%
Stratego: 82%
The Writing On The Wall: 95%
Lost In A Lost World: 85%
Days Of Future Past: 90%
Time Machine: 95%
Darkest Hour: 75%
Death Of The Celts: 80%
The Parchment: 95% (omg)
Hell On Earth: 99% (due to the way it evolves after 7:30, this piece is one of my all-time favorites)

Sound Quality:
Clarity: 85%
Soundstage: 55% (pls, someone, give Bruce the space he deserves)
Balance: 65%
Texture: 70%
Musicality: 80%
 
Last edited:
I'll admit I've only heard the album once, and it seems like a bit of the same stuff they've been doing for the last two albums. I remember it being pretty decent, but nothing that truly stuck out to me. Then again, I had a similar opinion about AMOLAD, and it's now one of my favorite post-reunion albums. I'll certainly have to give this one a few more listens to see if it grows on me like AMOLAD.

About the only thing that I can say now, is that Steve Harris & co have gotten into the bad habit of going long for the sake of long. They had the same problem on Book of Souls, where songs like Red and the Black would have been true classics if they had trimmed a few minutes. Only Empire of the Clouds seemed to justify its extended length. I might have a similar feeling with this album, but again, I'll have to hear the tracks a few more times to see if the length is justified or if Steve really needs someone to edit his ideas. At this point, I'm about ready for Maiden to go back to their older style, with mostly short to mid-length songs (4-6 minutes) with only one or two epics on an album, but I guess those days are long past.
 
After just one listen, I am still processing the album (btw HOE is a monster of a song). However as an amateur guitarist and strictly from the guitar parts perspective, it seems to me that Dave does not have any highlights on the album. As if he was too bored to play something special. Otherwise, Jan delivers his usual solos, 90% following the same pattern (however he compensates a lot on the writing part) while H is the only one of them who really tried to deliver something special.
 
mihai said:
After just one listen, I am still processing the album (btw HOE is a monster of a song). However as an amateur guitarist and strictly from the guitar parts perspective, it seems to me that Dave does not have any highlights on the album. As if he was too bored to play something special. Otherwise, Jan delivers his usual solos, 90% following the same pattern (however he compensates a lot on the writing part) while H is the only one of them who really tried to deliver something special.
Click to expand...
I love Davey's solos on The Time Machine and The Parchment.
 
The best things in every song imo:

Senjutsu - the riff, the verses and the melodic rhythm with Adrian's 2nd solo.
Stratego - the chorus, the pre-chorus and the gallop.
TWOTW - Adrian's solo and the triple-lead guitar harmony between the solos.
LIALW - the intro/outro and the melodies.
DOFP - the riff, the verses and the chorus.
TTM - the melodies.
Darkest Hour - the verses, the chorus and Adrian's solo.
DOTC - the intro, the bass playing, the ''Celtic'' melodies and Bruce's singing.
The Parchment - the melodies and the solos.
Hell On Earth - the intro, the melodies, the chorus and Bruce's singing.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top