Please post reviews and thoughts on Senjutsu here

Status
Not open for further replies.
DJMayes said:
I guess it's time for some updated thoughts:

I initially described the album as "disappointingly familiar". I think that's perhaps harsh, but it was an accurate sentiment after a first listen when the main things I remembered were specific recycled sections - as the rest hadn't had time to sink in. It still applies to certain songs, mind, who by and large reuse sections other songs used better. The Bruce/Adrian section is in general better. Janick and Steve have some hits and some misses. I like the use of keyboard throughout.

More specific track thoughts:

- Senjutsu is a masterpiece that manages to somehow mix feeling very heavy and very melodic at the same time. The chorus is amazing and it's the bit that I find most often randomly popping into my head.

- Stratego feels a little light on the album now, especially with the keyboard chorus that sounds like it was born in the 80s, but that's no issue. It's still incredibly catchy, and "I hear you calling my name" is one of the best vocal lines on the album.

- I gave The Writing On The Wall a muted reception, but it's one of the better songs here. Super strong, amazing solo.

- Lost In A Lost World is really disjointed. I dislike the "robotic" intro, and we didn't need ATSS/WTWWB again, but it's fun enough to listen to.

- I really love the pace on Days Of Future Past during the verses. If the choruses were as catchy then this would be an absolute favourite.

- The Time Machine is fun enough to listen to, but that guitar part was done better by The Book Of Souls. And that was only an album ago! It's a little early to repurpose it, in my opinion.

- The Darkest Hour is the best track on the album and probably a top 10 Maiden song overall. Absolutely knocks it out of the park everywhere.

- Death of the Celts is fine. No strong thoughts here whatsoever.

- The Parchment is the worst song on the album. It's a whole lot of empty riffing to me, devoid of any hooks. I've listened to it so many times, and yet I can't recall a single part of the first 6 minutes of the song. It does improve after that, but it's nothing spectacular. Too little, too late.

- Hell On Earth is Steve's best song on this album, no questions asked. The acoustic intro is fine, and everything after is just triumphant. There's no other way to describe the general sound of the song. The gallop/vocal melodies are very indulgent, but they just work. The chorus is incredible. Just when you think it's done, it roars back in your face with the "love in anger" line. Glorious.
Click to expand...

I do not rate Darkest Hour that highly and like Death of the Celts more than you, but other than that I mostly agree with the rest.
 
Regarding the 12 string...

Just remembered that H tested the Micro Pog in the Comfortably Numb video... So, it's possible that the 12 string sound on Darkest Hour and Hell On Earth isn't a 12 string, but just a Micro Pog pedal.
 
DJMayes said:
I guess it's time for some updated thoughts:

I initially described the album as "disappointingly familiar". I think that's perhaps harsh, but it was an accurate sentiment after a first listen when the main things I remembered were specific recycled sections - as the rest hadn't had time to sink in. It still applies to certain songs, mind, who by and large reuse sections other songs used better. The Bruce/Adrian section is in general better. Janick and Steve have some hits and some misses. I like the use of keyboard throughout.

More specific track thoughts:

- Senjutsu is a masterpiece that manages to somehow mix feeling very heavy and very melodic at the same time. The chorus is amazing and it's the bit that I find most often randomly popping into my head.

- Stratego feels a little light on the album now, especially with the keyboard chorus that sounds like it was born in the 80s, but that's no issue. It's still incredibly catchy, and "I hear you calling my name" is one of the best vocal lines on the album.

- I gave The Writing On The Wall a muted reception, but it's one of the better songs here. Super strong, amazing solo.

- Lost In A Lost World is really disjointed. I dislike the "robotic" intro, and we didn't need ATSS/WTWWB again, but it's fun enough to listen to.

- I really love the pace on Days Of Future Past during the verses. If the choruses were as catchy then this would be an absolute favourite.

- The Time Machine is fun enough to listen to, but that guitar part was done better by The Book Of Souls. And that was only an album ago! It's a little early to repurpose it, in my opinion.

- The Darkest Hour is the best track on the album and probably a top 10 Maiden song overall. Absolutely knocks it out of the park everywhere.

- Death of the Celts is fine. No strong thoughts here whatsoever.

- The Parchment is the worst song on the album. It's a whole lot of empty riffing to me, devoid of any hooks. I've listened to it so many times, and yet I can't recall a single part of the first 6 minutes of the song. It does improve after that, but it's nothing spectacular. Too little, too late.

- Hell On Earth is Steve's best song on this album, no questions asked. The acoustic intro is fine, and everything after is just triumphant. There's no other way to describe the general sound of the song. The gallop/vocal melodies are very indulgent, but they just work. The chorus is incredible. Just when you think it's done, it roars back in your face with the "love in anger" line. Glorious.
Click to expand...
Thank heavens I'm not the only one that sees the Parchment for what it is
 
Different strokes for different Maidenfans. At this moment, The Parchment is one of the two favourites of mine (the other one being Churchill). Too early for a complex review though.
 
My favorite songs of the album: Stratego, Lost In A Lost World, Darkest Hour and Hell On Earth. I really like Days Of Future Past.
Least-favorite: The Time Machine.
 
The Parchment is a trancelike song, almost meditative, where repetition and slow development makes total sense. It's definitely a case of atmosphere over anything else and I love it. Too bad it transitions into that slightly uninspired bombastic ending, but the rest of the track is so good that I easily forgive that.
 
daan said:
The Parchment is a trancelike song, almost meditative, where repetition and slow development makes total sense. It's definitely a case of atmosphere over anything else and I love it. Too bad it transitions into that slightly uninspired bombastic ending, but the rest of the track is so good that I easily forgive that.
Click to expand...
It's interesting that you complain about the ending, because my perspective is that the ending is the best part (pretty much 10 minutes onward) - it's just nowhere near bombastic enough to merit all the build up to get there.

The song does nail the atmosphere but it needs more for me. I like the singalong choruses and the solos that demand you air guitar no matter how silly you look. To put it one way, I'd rather much more Powerslave and much less To Tame A Land.

At the end of the day it's one song. There are 9 others with plenty of cheesy moments, I just feel like I don't "get" this one at all.
 
It is to be expected I suppose that the same song will evoke many different reaction. After listening to the album in the proper order for many days now, I have decided to change things up. Made a group of 4 songs for imaginary Side A and Side B. Quite liking this particular order for now.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20210908-091605_Spotify.jpg
    Screenshot_20210908-091605_Spotify.jpg
    173.9 KB · Views: 28
I've gone through the album about five or six times now, and though I really do like it and am not let down in the least, I suppose I'm not as over the moon as some people are (particularly in the super-fanboyish FB groups). It's a strong album with a overall production sound that, to my non-audiophile ears, is a step up from BoS by a little bit. It does have a darkish overall sound that makes me think of this as a cousin to The X Factor a bit. I was a bit worried about Bruce's performance on this, since 2019 wasn't exactly a year he was at his best, from a lot of the shows I've seen posted online and NotD, but was pleasantly surprised by how strong he sounded here.

If I have any gripes, they're thankfully few. The title track still comes across to me as an overlong intro that doesn't really stand on it's own as a song. Great lead-in to the album, but I'm having a hard time picturing them opening a show with kind of a ploddy, mid-tempo number like Senjutsu. But that's just me.

Then there's the trio of Harris-penned closers. Hell on Earth is the best by far, and while Death of the Celts is slowly growing on me, it's super reminiscent of The Clansman, and for the most part makes me want to listen to that better structured song. DotC, like The Parchment, feels a bit directionless and doesn't really build to much of anything, IMO. I've long felt that Shirley is basically giving Steve exactly the albums he wants with little of his own input, and these two songs in particular I think Steve could have been reined in and the songs rearranged and sharpened into something much more succinct and probably stronger.

All in all, a far better album than anyone should expect out of a bunch of dudes in their sixties. It's mindblowing to me that they're still writing and recording at this level at this stage in their careers. In that light, any gripes I have mean very little. I'm thrilled we got this album, and I'm sure even the songs I'm on the fence about will grow on me.

Now to pick the songs for my expanded Best of the Beast playlist (basically the 1996 quad-vinyl tracklist of Best of the Beast expanded with what I imagine they might have chosen from Virtual XI onward). The two singles would undoubtedly make the hypothetical cut, but unsure about the third selection. Days of Future Past? Hell on Earth? Hmmm.
 
I've wanted to do a review and post it here for a while already, but the album is so good that I just think: "nah, I will do it later... let me listen to The Parchment again in this little free time that I have".

Anyway, I think the album is better than TBOS already, which was in my top 5 of maiden albums.

I really hope they play the full album live. I really do.
 
Title track is really growing on me. Not sure why Death of Celts is getting so little love - I think it plays like a contemplative Braveheart aria. Love it. Time Machine is wearing thin. All else is fine.
 
Going for an early rating. Obviously this can change with time but have listened to the album around 15 times.

Senjutsu-9
Stratego-9
TWOTW-9
LIALW-10
DOFP-8
TTM-6
DH-8
DOTC-10
TP-8
HOE-10

As soon as the album track listing was released I knew I would like it due to the number of Sir Steve epics....
The lower rated songs are growing on me as well so really pleased with the album.
 
For me the numbers would look something like:

Senjutsu - 9
Stratego - 9
The Writing On The Wall - 9
Lost In A Lost World - 7
Days of Future Past - 8
The Time Machine - 7
The Darkest Hour - 10
Death Of The Celts - 6
The Parchment - 5
Hell On Earth - 9
 
For it is currently as follows:

Senjutsu - 9/10
Stratego - 8.5/10
The Writing On The Wall - 8.5/10
Lost In A Lost World - 7/10
Days of Future Past - 8.5/10
The Time Machine - 8/10
The Darkest Hour - 8/10
Death Of The Celts - 8.5/10
The Parchment - 7/10
Hell On Earth - 9/10
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top