Please post reviews and thoughts on Senjutsu here
- Thread starter Travis The Dragon
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MindlessPieces
Educated Fool
For the Senjutsu song there is a 10 second solo that I don't like the sound of.
Is it a keyboard solo or just some electronics effect. It's pretty yuck.
Otherwise I like the song,
Overall the album, the drums sound very nice and clear, I think Harris does some interesting bass lines, not just fast plucking of the same notes over and over.
For Hell on Earth the intro is somewhat interesting and dull at the same time. It creates an atmosphere and the simple guitar melody makes it interesting enough to listen through for now. It's not bad like Satellite 15 or intro to Talisman or The Legacy. But given time, I might need to shave it off. The good thing about these intros is that you can shave them off without destroying the continuity of the song.
My favourite songs so far are Death of the Celt and Hell on Earth.
Death of the Celt is a weird jigg not metal, but enjoyable all the same.
Bruce is too low in the mix in almost all songs
Is it a keyboard solo or just some electronics effect. It's pretty yuck.
Otherwise I like the song,
Overall the album, the drums sound very nice and clear, I think Harris does some interesting bass lines, not just fast plucking of the same notes over and over.
For Hell on Earth the intro is somewhat interesting and dull at the same time. It creates an atmosphere and the simple guitar melody makes it interesting enough to listen through for now. It's not bad like Satellite 15 or intro to Talisman or The Legacy. But given time, I might need to shave it off. The good thing about these intros is that you can shave them off without destroying the continuity of the song.
My favourite songs so far are Death of the Celt and Hell on Earth.
Death of the Celt is a weird jigg not metal, but enjoyable all the same.
Bruce is too low in the mix in almost all songs
Smither
Ancient Mariner
Regarding that, I'm quite curious about what songs will be played live. I don't think it's gonna be the whole album but I'm expecting a good chunk of it, like 7 or even 8 songs. I think Senjutsu, Stratego, TWOTW, DOFP, Time Machine and one 'Arry epic will surely be in (would bet on HOE). Then we still have Darkest Hour that also has a good chance and another 3 'Arry epics. I think 7 is a fair assumption, but wouldn't doubt if they put 8 in it, even more after 3 years of LOTB. This also states to the album strength, I can imagine basically every song translating well to live stages.
Severian
Have a good time, all the time!
I Feel like they're going to choose DotC as the epic for the live tour, which is very dissapointing for me since i see it as being one of the weakest tracks on the album and The Parchment as being one the best since the reunion
Jadukor
Can I play with Agnes
My thoughts on the album after several listens. I expressed some strong sentiments on the negative side so please skip if you don't want that in your head during your first week. The views are my own and might be totally different to the experience of others
Positives
Variety of the songs: I felt each song really brought a unique character, compositional elements to the album. From Senjutsu to TWOTW to Darkest Hour to The Parchment, the songs are very different in style and composition and yet signature maiden.
Bruce and Nico: both sounded amazing on this album. I really liked the singing more than TBOS here. Bruce had breathing space to sing in lower registers and hit the high notes where needed. The backing vocals and reverb effects helped his voice sound better. Nicko just sounded huge from the very first track. Great job with the production of the drums. Kevin Shirley Nailed it in my opinion.
The solos: I thought all 3 brought some great solos to this album compared to TBOS. Loved the aggression from Janick towards the end in the Parchment and the dark solos by Adrian in Senjutsu, TWOTW and Days of Future Past and all the feels Davey brought in The Darkest Hour
Bruce and Nico: both sounded amazing on this album. I really liked the singing more than TBOS here. Bruce had breathing space to sing in lower registers and hit the high notes where needed. The backing vocals and reverb effects helped his voice sound better. Nicko just sounded huge from the very first track. Great job with the production of the drums. Kevin Shirley Nailed it in my opinion.
The solos: I thought all 3 brought some great solos to this album compared to TBOS. Loved the aggression from Janick towards the end in the Parchment and the dark solos by Adrian in Senjutsu, TWOTW and Days of Future Past and all the feels Davey brought in The Darkest Hour
The Negatives
Too much fat: Probably the first time I considered editing out some of these unnecessary intros. Hell on Earth, The Time Machine, Death of the celts in particular could be 7 mins long
Amateurish use of synth: although not too prominent in the mix, the synth sample used reminded me of my guitar-pro software days. There is no techicality to it's use, just comes and goes awkwardly within the song. Could have hired an orchestra or a professional keyboardist.
Recycled Materials: lots and lots and lots of recycled material. Too many to list. The intro to the time machine made me shake my head. Does Janick know any other acoustic chord progression other than the same recycled intro to dream of mirrors, talisman, legacy etc etc?
Overall impression: Better album than TBOS but did not quite reach AMOLAD for me. Standout songs: Senjutsu, Stratego, TWOTW, Days of Future Past, The Time Machine, The Parchment, Hell on Earth. Worst song is Lost in a lost world, this song pretty much captures all the worst Harris elements in one song. I think if Maiden had a producer with balls to tighten the songs, the Harris epics would have hugely benefitted and this album would be right next to BNW for me
Too much fat: Probably the first time I considered editing out some of these unnecessary intros. Hell on Earth, The Time Machine, Death of the celts in particular could be 7 mins long
Amateurish use of synth: although not too prominent in the mix, the synth sample used reminded me of my guitar-pro software days. There is no techicality to it's use, just comes and goes awkwardly within the song. Could have hired an orchestra or a professional keyboardist.
Recycled Materials: lots and lots and lots of recycled material. Too many to list. The intro to the time machine made me shake my head. Does Janick know any other acoustic chord progression other than the same recycled intro to dream of mirrors, talisman, legacy etc etc?
Overall impression: Better album than TBOS but did not quite reach AMOLAD for me. Standout songs: Senjutsu, Stratego, TWOTW, Days of Future Past, The Time Machine, The Parchment, Hell on Earth. Worst song is Lost in a lost world, this song pretty much captures all the worst Harris elements in one song. I think if Maiden had a producer with balls to tighten the songs, the Harris epics would have hugely benefitted and this album would be right next to BNW for me
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Gk1
Here I sit in a serenade of glory!
Well, it is one of the many cases of self plagiarism...
Gk1
Here I sit in a serenade of glory!
One can never be too careful
LongDistanceRunner1981
Tailgunner
I'm one of those who find hard to enjoy what Maiden have been doing for the las 20 years. I really love 4 songs out on BNW, but don't care about the rest. DoD I can't even listen to. I've started to enjoy AMOLAD in recent years and think it's their strongest (I really like 4 songs on there and enjoy listening to a couple or three more). TFF I can't listen to (I've tried several times). TBoS could have been good... but there isn't one song that stand outs for me, apart from If Eternity Should Fail, which is almost good enough to go on Powerslave (if the production was better).
Who cares, right?
Well, I've just listened to the new album. I couldn't wait. My mind is blown. There is one song that I thought was dull. A couple that are ok, but nothing to write home about, including Stratego. A couple more that I need to listen to again, but that sound promising. And four outstanding songs! This to me is their best album since the reunion. I don't mind the self plagiarism either. It's welcome if done well. I will have to listen to it again, but I have to say that the last 4 tracks - despite some repetition - are really really good. So good! I'm happy!
Who cares, right?
Well, I've just listened to the new album. I couldn't wait. My mind is blown. There is one song that I thought was dull. A couple that are ok, but nothing to write home about, including Stratego. A couple more that I need to listen to again, but that sound promising. And four outstanding songs! This to me is their best album since the reunion. I don't mind the self plagiarism either. It's welcome if done well. I will have to listen to it again, but I have to say that the last 4 tracks - despite some repetition - are really really good. So good! I'm happy!
Evil_Men_Do
Prowler
I love basically all of Senjutsu. LIALW is just awful and I'll never listen to it again but it's extremely rare that I only delete one track from an entire album. I don't want to sound crazy but when I first heard the last 3 minutes of The Parchment I almost teared up because it hit me so hard. The one thing that drove me nuts was the uselessness of the soft intros/outros of DOTC, Parchment and HOE. I don't mind them as much on something like The Time Machine because there are vocals and I feel like the song is moving along but with the last three I found them completely unnecessary. Thanks to the magic of audio editing apps I trimmed the last three songs down a few minutes and there was a big difference in my enjoyment of them. Overall the band sounds great and I love how they are trying new things and doing what they want without giving a fuck what others think.
Gk1
Here I sit in a serenade of glory!
LIALW is not only copying like 4-5 older -post reunion songs- it is also stealing from
D
Deleted member 7164
Guest
People I think it would be better to short out "Hell on Earth" to Hell than abbreviate it as HOE
Evil_Men_Do
Prowler
What are we five years old?
Flaming Blimp Crash
Ancient Mariner
I know it was touched on on the last page, but I too am genuinely curious as to what they'll play on the proper Senjutsu tour.
On that note, title track I think would be a bad concert opener. While S15/TFF and IESF had their atmospheric bits before launching into the main body of the song, I feel Senjutsu just stays in that atmospheric gear the whole way through.
On that note, title track I think would be a bad concert opener. While S15/TFF and IESF had their atmospheric bits before launching into the main body of the song, I feel Senjutsu just stays in that atmospheric gear the whole way through.
mirtilo
Educated Fool
Lost in a Lost World: First impressions
I am not a big fan of long acoustic intros, but in this one I liked a lot. Very different of what Maiden are used to do. There is a "Roger Waters" vibe in here. The ending of the song is very interesting as well, the same mood of the intro but not exactly the same thing.
Talking about the filling of Lost In a Lost World, the riffs of this track, as said before, are very "The X-Factor" as well as the chorus. The melodies on the pre-chorus very beautiful, but with annoying keyboards on it (as in most part of the song). Perfect guitar works done here.
Already a grower.
I am not a big fan of long acoustic intros, but in this one I liked a lot. Very different of what Maiden are used to do. There is a "Roger Waters" vibe in here. The ending of the song is very interesting as well, the same mood of the intro but not exactly the same thing.
Talking about the filling of Lost In a Lost World, the riffs of this track, as said before, are very "The X-Factor" as well as the chorus. The melodies on the pre-chorus very beautiful, but with annoying keyboards on it (as in most part of the song). Perfect guitar works done here.
Already a grower.
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