Please post reviews and thoughts on Senjutsu here

Status
Not open for further replies.
Still not sure what to make of it. One day I am hating such songs as Senjutsu, the Darkest Hour,Days Of Future Past,Lost In A Lost World and The Parchment, then I listen to those same songs the next I am liking them. The others I like, but I am not crazy about. Exceptions being Writing On The Wall,Hell On Earth,Stratego(love that game) and The Time Machine. As of now, my least fave song is Lost In A Lost World followed by The Darkest Hour. Still, I like listening to it as a whole so for now I will give it a 7/10.
 
Bruins1 said:
Still not sure what to make of it. One day I am hating such songs as Senjutsu, the Darkest Hour,Days Of Future Past,Lost In A Lost World and The Parchment, then I listen to those same songs the next I am liking them. The others I like, but I am not crazy about. Exceptions being Writing On The Wall,Hell On Earth,Stratego(love that game) and The Time Machine. As of now, my least fave song is Lost In A Lost World followed by The Darkest Hour. Still, I like listening to it as a whole so for now I will give it a 7/10.
Click to expand...
What in these songs warrants "hate" in your opinion?
 
Mega said:
What in these songs warrants "hate" in your opinion?
Click to expand...
Should've said "I am disliking" or "Not caring for". Didn't think anyone would look too much into my comment:) It wasn't the music I disliked, but rather the vocals in that there was too much. But again, my opinion changes daily and it also depends upon my mood. I'm not good at giving any type of precise critical review such as those that I have seen posted by others on this thread. Btw, on another website my name was "Megalodon" and your name reminded me of that. Prefer yours for I didn't care for mine after a while. Just chose Bruins1 for this site because I'm a Boston Bruins fan and couldn't think of anything else that appealed to me:)
 
Last edited:
Bruins1 said:
Should've said "I am disliking" or "Not caring for". Didn't think anyone would look too much into my comment:) It wasn't the music I disliked, but rather the vocals in that there was too much. But again, my opinion changes daily and it also depends upon my mood. I'm not good at giving any type of precise critical review such as those that I have seen posted by others on this thread. Btw, on another website my name was "Megalodon" and your name reminded me of that. Prefer yours for I didn't care for mine after a while. Just chose Bruins1 for this site because I'm a Boston Bruins fan and couldn't think of anything else that appealed to me:)
Click to expand...
No harm mate, just wanted to listen to a different perspective.
 
Bruins1 said:
But again, my opinion changes daily and it also depends upon my mood. I'm not good at giving any type of precise critical review such as those that I have seen posted by others on this thread.
Click to expand...

I think you need to allow some time to pass to form a longer-standing opinion.

The album is dark and moody, it isn't perfect for every time of the day. On TBOS there were some light-hearted, snappy songs that you could listen to in the morning just as nice 'positive' music but on steroids. There are a few of those on every reunion record.

The album is very dramatic, there is not a single song that's light, there's verses of the Time Machine and that's about it.
 
Zare said:
I think you need to allow some time to pass to form a longer-standing opinion.

The album is dark and moody, it isn't perfect for every time of the day. On TBOS there were some light-hearted, snappy songs that you could listen to in the morning just as nice 'positive' music but on steroids. There are a few of those on every reunion record.

The album is very dramatic, there is not a single song that's light, there's verses of the Time Machine and that's about it.
Click to expand...
I agree with you:) It does take a while to 'digest". But then again, all their albums have since Brave New World. I didn't like AMOLAD upon first listening, but within a few years I grew to like it a lot. Still do. The Final Frontier? Verdict is still out on that one:) Liked Book Of Souls though.
 
I've been basically binging on Sentjutsu since it came out nearly a month ago (seriously, holy shit does time fly), and am going to take a break for awhile and then come back. That will really illuminate how I feel about the album as a whole.

After a month of solid listening, I still really like it a lot. It's a lot more varied than some of their most recent work and I actually like the epics the most. The only exception there for me is The Parchment which depending on the day I other love or find completely boring.

Top 3 tracks for me are - Senjutsu, Lost in a Lost World and Hell on Earth with no real duds.

I'm still so grateful that my favorite band has it in them to release 82 minutes of solid music this late in the game. Iron Maiden means a lot to me and I love having 10 new good to great songs to add to the list of an amazing discography.
 
Donner said:
I've been basically binging on Sentjutsu since it came out nearly a month ago (seriously, holy shit does time fly), and am going to take a break for awhile and then come back. That will really illuminate how I feel about the album as a whole.

After a month of solid listening, I still really like it a lot. It's a lot more varied than some of their most recent work and I actually like the epics the most. The only exception there for me is The Parchment which depending on the day I other love or find completely boring.

Top 3 tracks for me are - Senjutsu, Lost in a Lost World and Hell on Earth with no real duds.

I'm still so grateful that my favorite band has it in them to release 82 minutes of solid music this late in the game. Iron Maiden means a lot to me and I love having 10 new good to great songs to add to the list of an amazing discography.
Click to expand...
Your comment about The Parchment is spot on with what I was trying to say in my initial post. The Darkest Hour is perhaps my least fave song for that reason. Going to be listening to the whole album again today at some point. Overall I am liking it,hence my 7/10 rating in my 1st post. Anyway like you, I am glad that they are still putting out "solid music this late in the game":)
 
Zare said:
I think you need to allow some time to pass to form a longer-standing opinion.

The album is dark and moody, it isn't perfect for every time of the day. On TBOS there were some light-hearted, snappy songs that you could listen to in the morning just as nice 'positive' music but on steroids. There are a few of those on every reunion record.

The album is very dramatic, there is not a single song that's light, there's verses of the Time Machine and that's about it.
Click to expand...
I'd have put Stratego as the easiest song to listen to on either record, personally.
 
Okay, I think I've spent enough time with the album to come up with a verdict on the songs (ignoring the clipping/distortion during the solo sections of some of the tracks). I'll post more details in the individual song threads.

Ratings out of 10:

Senjutsu: I love the vocal bits that sound like classic Queensryche, but I'm not keen on the middle-eight and think it's a bit too long (not a problem I usually have with Maiden at all). 7

Stratego: Despite being one of the shorter songs, it has loads of exciting elements like the instrumental bit between the solo and the second chorus. I was delighted to hear some harmony vocals entering the second half of the chorus, which is also very catchy, both of which gives it a welcome Somewhere In Time vibe. 9

The Writing On The Wall: A grower as I was a bit disappointed at first and found the chorus lacklustre. Now I've got it stuck in my head and have come round to acknowledge that it's a great song. The country (or folk as Adrian would have it) influence is unexpected and works well with the main riff, and Adrian's solo is a highlight. 9

Lost In A Lost World: First I was enchanted by the vocals of the magnificent intro and outro, which again bring something new to the table, but slightly disappointed that the rest of the song didn't fully live up to them. I still think the intro and outro are the best parts, but the rest has grown on me: Bruce sounds enthusiastic during the verses, and the pre-chorus is great (I also love that its melody is reprised in the outro). It's just the repetitive chorus (unusual on this album and more in line with the albums from 1995 to 2000) that's the weakest link. 9

Days Of Future Past: This is a great rocker with another catchy chorus melody. The second riff reminds me of "2 Minutes To Midnight", and like in "Stratego" there's a surprise instrumental section. 9

The Time Machine: This was my instant favourite on first listen, mainly because of the energetic and bouncy vocal delivery in the verses. I had read reviews praising the chorus as one of Maiden's best in advance, so when I first heard it I thought it sounded like a pre-chorus, leaving me a bit disappointed when I realised that it actually was the proper chorus. That said, it's great and I love the acoustic (or is it 12-string?) guitar that accompanies it. 10

Darkest Hour: Although this is effective as a power ballad, I don't really care for it as I don't like these kinds of songs. It's similar to "Coming Home" in that I don't like the chorus at all, sounding too pompous and schmaltzy for its own good. Not a fan of the lyrics either. 4

Death Of The Celts: It's okay but my least favourite of the epics here. The lyrics feel very uninspired and run-of-the-mill to me. Also, I can't stand another "I've got God on my side and it's great to die in battle and become immortal" type of song. While it's nice to hear Bruce in mid-range, I can't help but wish for a more exciting chorus that takes things up a notch. It has some nice folky riffs, though, and Steve's bass sounds great. 6

The Parchment: I can't unhear the comment about the first chords sounding like The Proclaimers, which is probably not what Steve had envisioned. However, the track soon manages to get a great Eastern sounding vibe in the tradition of "To Tame A Land" (with a similar riff to boot) and "Powerslave". Some of the sections are just OK to me and leave me slightly bored, others are brilliant and hypnotic. The transition to the fast part at the end doesn't feel earned somehow, but all in all it's an enjoyable song. 8

Hell On Earth: Apart from the lovely intro and outro which put me in a trance, I was surprised to find that this song has very little repetition compared to other epics. The fantastic chorus is previewed instrumentally but only delivered vocally once, and the breathtakingly beautiful guitar melody that follows it seems to be repeated but comes to a sudden halt and only returns twice at the very end. It's probably my favourite melody on the entire album and I wouldn't have minded listening to it for two minutes on repeat. At least the excellent "love in anger" section is repeated enough. Maybe Steve decided to leave us wanting more for a change. It certainly works for me as I immediately want to listen to the song again. 10

All in all, based on these scores, my average for Senjutsu is 8.1, which earns it a spot in the upper half of Maiden albums and top 3 post-reunion albums. I'll post a list of my album rankings in the appropriate thread, so you can see where it sits exactly.
 
Last edited:
Even after a month of listening, I am not sure where the album sits in my overall rankings. My gut tells me that the album is stronger than BOS and TFF but I’m still not sold on the overall album just yet. I can’t get into Time Machine or Darkest Hour but I love WOTW, The Parchment and Hell on Earth.
 
This album is fucking amazing. I love it. First week I only listened to the album, and then I took a break. Went back and kinda only went to the 80's albums for a week. Then I started to mix it up, make some playlists and some fantasy setlists and stuff to see how Senjutsu sounded with everything else.
But now im back to Senjutsu. And its just so great. So mature, bold and filled with greatness. And it works so great now when the weather is shit and everything is gray outside and its just raining every fucking day.

And its kinda strange, the album isent that catchy or easy to listen to. And its not filled with repetitive hooks. But still it sticks so with me. I almost always have some parts of the album on my mind. It might be the chorus to Senjutsu, lyrics from Darkest Hour, the middle part from Lost in a Lost world. So many special and great moments
 
The time has come for me to express my own opinion on Senjutsu as well. Well, I must admit that I had high expectations for the band's new album. Almost a month has passed since the premiere, I have almost 50 auditions of the new album behind me, time for a verdict. The first thing I could notice was the terrible sound of the album. I do not know what is wrong, whether the fault lies in the mix or in the production itself, but the Iron Maiden album sounding so bad has not been for a long time !!! Dickinson is jammed at times, clean treble - withdrawn and bass dominates everything. 82 minutes with this album is a challenge that is not enough. Another problem is Dickinson's vocal form, and in fact its clear discount. After all, the compositions, for the most part, are pathetic, pretentious and devoid of any hits. It looks as if the musicians were creating art for the sake of art or gluing compositions from random fragments. Of course, Senjutsu has a few moments like Stratego, Darkest Hour, Hell on Earth or the title track, but that's not enough. Generally, after the interviews in which Dickinson praised the album, everyone probably expected something much better. We got a fancy album that can only please unrefined fans, it has nothing to do with the greatest works of the group. The graphics seem to be the most successful element this time, but it is not enough. The fans had already decided because, compared to the previous albums, Senjutsu did not sell so well, the orders were much lower and that with a wide selection of formats. That says a lot. RATING: 5/10
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top