Please post reviews and thoughts on Senjutsu here

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____no5 said:
What is this pack of 20 Gb he's talking about?

EDIT: The guy hates Shirley's guts. Maybe he's right about him not being able to direct Maiden, but if so, the problem is not Kevin is Steve. Only when "co-produced by Steve Harris" label go away we'll see the real Kevin.
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I'm not OK with him criticizing 'Senjutsu' and Kevin, etc... I just agree with him about the sound on 'Senjutsu' and the excessive use of synths and the guitars playing the same melody as the singing line. It's a little bit weird. But, otherwise, I love this album and I disagree on most of his arguments.
 
Two things that annoy me on the album

Firstly I find the title song a real plodding dull opener. I like that it's different for maiden but it's just all one tempo and never seems to switch up anything for eight minutes.

Secondly when the time machine gets going it's good. The soft intro annoys me though because not only is it maiden ripping off one of their old tunes but it's also so pointless.
 
After many listenings, my favorites songs of the album are, from first to last:

Hell on Earth
The Parchment
TWOTW
Stratego
Days of Future Past
Darkest Hour
Lost in a Lost World
Senjutsu
Death of the Celts
Time Machine

I really enjoyed all the songs, even the last ones. Just a little bit sad about the self plagiarism on Time Machine, I think the band could have more care to not bring old ideas again, as well they did with Shadows of the Valley recycling Wasted Years. Sometimes less is more.

Senjutsu is a better album than TBOS and TFF, IMO, which is a great thing.
 
RoundOnTheMill said:
My Deluxe 2CD (Book version) arrived 3/9 'sharp' and in the meantime I have listened to it a number of times.First time in full,all subsequent spins skipping WOTW (liked it,something a bit different,H!)&Stratego (very good,classic,catchy chorus&verse).To be honest I'm in a bit of light shock:confused:Either this album will gigantically grow on me or it's just one of Maiden's rare letdowns.The only other disappointment was the TXF (with the exception of SOTC,TU&MOTE)and having read the various comparisons with that album it might not be that strange to have this struggle..(that was certainly not only due to Blaze btw as I'm quite fond of VXI).
Of course plenty of positives also (and below par Maiden is still much better than any of that hiphop shit&rap crap):the title track's atmosphere and riffing,DOTC instrumental passages (Steve's bass playing!),some moody intro's&outtro's,few footsteps in new territories,some emotional quiet parts etc.
But..apart from the two already digitally released tracks there's just no catchy melody or instrumental or
vocal highlight part to keep it together so to speak.I've got the feeling it just goes nowhere,it doesn't lift off anywhere,it seems like a heavy plane that is not able to enlight itself from the monotonous dark.A similar feeling I had when listening to TXF and more recently only with the WTWWB as far as I can remember.Taking into account that there's so much goodness from the reunion era,even the most recent BOS,the title track,the instrumental part of TRATB and the superdeluxe EOTC,just amazing.And Steve with British Lion not to forget,like their latest record (and the 1st) very much,so many melodies,catches&hooks.I wonder where it has all gone,they surely can't have lost it overnight?!!
Having been reading all your positive views about the album for the past days I was a bit hesitant to share my thoughts and doubtfully wondered whether I was the only one but the coming across of the post above with a quite similar outlook just gave me the push in the back to take this difficult review hurdle.....Well gonna let it sink in a bit and will visit the album the upcoming week on more 'freshly eared' occasions but for now I need a breather:S
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Hiya @RoundOnTheMill, I need a breather when I read your posts because they lack white spaces after points and comma's.

Would you stop doing this? Thanks in advance.
 
I'm really enjoying this album, a fun and entertaining listen all the way through.
But the Smith songs don't sound like Maiden. The Bruce ones are dead ringers for Bruce's solo stuff and the collaboration with Harris, title track Senjutsu, is Judas Priest(of all people)-Nostradamus era. I can see Halford singing it.
I like Bruce's solo records and Nostradamus so it's no biggy but I'd rather have Maiden.
 
1. Senjutsu 6/10

It's cool but it's so plodding

2. Stratego 8/10
3. The Writing On The Wall 8/10
4. Lost In A Lost World 7/10
5. Days Of Future Past 6/10
6. The Time Machine 7/10
7. Darkest Hour 9/10
8. Death Of The Celts 7/10
9. The Parchment 8/10
10. Hell On Earth 9.5/10
 
Senjutsu is good song, but I as opener? I dont know, what we are going to have 8 minuts of standing at one place with this slow and heavy tempo?

Maybe this is good as Sabbath opener but Maiden not at all.
 
gazda said:
For me IESF is great opener.

TNOTB and TXF were only tours where first song from the album was not opener?
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They opened with SOTC, I believe.

Edit: Oh, they didn't. My bad.

Also, I think Senjutsu doesn't have a track that screams concert opener on it. Maybe Stratego. But I still think they will open with Senjutsu.
 
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I've come to enjoy Senjutsu, but I do agree it was a questionable choice to open with. Then again I don't really think anything else on the album is better suited for that spot and the flow it creates with Stratego is absolutely magnificent so I'll happily take this over a subpar 11th hour addition "because we need an opener" in the vein of Wildest Dreams or something. As it stands, the album doesn't have a single inoffensively mediocre track, and to me that's a good thing because those types of songs usually end up in the "filler" pile in my book.
 
Stratego would be a better opener.

Senjutsu the track, for me, has 3 different vibes. Starting vibe, full on tribal, vibe at solos, with Nicko more in the background, and ofc the melodramatic choruses that have different energy to everything. And then there is a bridge. And then there's post bridge false chorus which is the same type of energy/vibe as the main chrouses, but still a distinct part.

If they open with this one it will be first time in their career they open with song that's such a diverse arrangement.

The most similar song I could think of would be Longest Day without the prog breakdown but with solos in main theme. I really don't feel this is optimal opening material.

They had Sign of the Cross as the #1 track on the record, they opened the tour with #3 so it wouldn't be that much of a surprise.

Also Parket's penultimate verses have such a satisfactory downpicking pattern while Bruce is singing some of the best Harris lyrics like he wrote them himself.
 
srfc said:
I like that the key thing for making Steve think that we're living on hell on earth is that child soldiers exist.
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And it took him 40 years to realise that??? Imagine how strong the debut album could have been (even stronger) by replacing Charlotte the Harlot with a song about child soldiers.
 
I'm only two listens in but it's a shame there's just so much fucking album before The Parchment and Hell on Earth (my two favorites). The Time Machine is probably the worst Iron Maiden song I've ever heard (I find it offensively bad).

Right now it's my least favorite Iron Maiden album. I don't see it moving from that position any time soon, but time will tell. The title track and Days of Future Past have potential but unfortunately were quite predictable.
 
GhostofCain said:
3rd listen with headphones and reading the lyrics from a pdf (courtesy of Iron Maiden) and I am really enjoying it. Lost in a Lost World and The Time Machine are getting better and Darkest Hour is growing on me.

I stand by my previous comment that Death of the Celts, albeit sharing a Celtic DNA, is miles better than The Clansman.
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Nah no way
 
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