Put your initial thought after your first listen to the Senjutsu album to one sentence please.

I found Writing on the Wall really cool and interesting and was hoping the rest of the album would also explore new sonic territory but the other tracks were all pretty standard recent Maiden fare. Good, but not super interesting.
 
Ascendingthethrone said:
Is Senjutsu their most divisive album?
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No, I don't think so. Maybe something like Dance Of Death or The Final Frontier from the post-reunion era?
Brave New World is beloved and gets the bonus for being the first reunion project.
AMOLAD gets criticisms and there are certainly enough people who dislike that album or don't rank it that highly, but overall it's one of the consistently highest rated albums.
The Book Of Souls is often seen as being bloated, but it gets the bonus of being the album during Bruce's cancer treatment and its tour the first post-treatment.

Dance Of Death is a great album and songs like the title track or Paschendale are beloved. Yet, the consensus seems to be that it's not as focused as BNW was.
TFF on the other hand is the post-reunion album that gets the most criticism from what I've seen. I'm obviously biased, since it's one of my least favorite albums overall, despite the post-reunion era being one of my favorites. Despite that, this is the album that get's criticized for Bruce straining a ton and the vocal production being noticeably worse. It's the first album after Bruce's "golden age", its second half is a lot more proggy while some would say unfocused, messy and in the case of The Man Who Would Be King blatantly unfinished and cobbled together.

As for Senjutsu, many were happy with that album, a lot thought it was too long and bloated (a common criticism for the recent albums) and while there were certainly folks who were disappointed, I haven't seen a lot of outright hate for it.

Didn't really go into detail with the 90s albums, since while each of them have their champions (@Dick Brucinson for NPFTD, me for VXI and I'm sure there are people who have FOTD or TXF as their favorite), the majority ranks them consistently lower than the 80s or post-reunion albums. I feel, for them to be seen as divisive, there'd have to be more people found on each extreme.
 
harrisdevot said:
My thoughts, then and now : why the hell Steve let H and Bruce put their songs on that record ? No provocation there, just a genuine feeling.
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Um, there will be songs written by Adrian and Bruce - and because 2 of them have a slightly different feel for Maiden (like the title track)? The other one is a classic Reunion era Maiden rocker with a soaring chorus, though it feels unfinished. Also a strong and interesting single. I think all of them are very good-to-great. Actually, only Darkest Hour is a surprising overall song. Improvements? Maybe the chorus. The music is like of Children Of The Damned. Writing On The Wall's riffs can somewhat be heard in Speed Of Light's melodies. I think all 3 songs are quality, perfect for the album and bring a good and needed contrast with the rest of the album very well.
 
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harrisdevot said:
My thoughts, then and now : why the hell Steve let H and Bruce put their songs on that record ? No provocation there, just a genuine feeling.
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Well, Writing On The Wall is a top tier track for me, but I agree that the other two could have been improved. While I really like Days of Future Past as a whole, mostly due to the chorus, parts of it is somewhat underwhelming, but certainly a quality song. Darkest Hour however, shouldn't have made its way past the demo stage.
 
Brigantium said:
Darkest Hour would have worked as Bruce solo material with a hint of Adrian.

The thing that pulls Senjutsu down for me was insisting on three Steveepics in a row. The positioning of them detracted from all three.
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Sure, but would still be an anchor. And I don't refer to anchor in the sense that it keeps the boat from drifting, but as something that sinks down into the ocean and drags whatever on it with it. :D
 
riff said:
Underwritten and underproduced just like the previous two albums.
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Sorry, but what do you mean by underwritten?
Brigantium said:
Darkest Hour would have worked as Bruce solo material with a hint of Adrian.
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It and Days.
Brigantium said:
The thing that pulls Senjutsu down for me was insisting on three Steveepics in a row. The positioning of them detracted from all three.
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Normally I would agree, but they work for me (like AMOLAD's last 3 songs, btw). Although one shorter song would have been a perfect fit in between. Dave' song, I assume. I also feel that 3 epics in a row, in this case special and big highlights, make the album unique and contributes to the listening experience. I really think so. 3 different songs. We don't have a ballad or just not lively songs in a row (TMP). The longer parts are always there. More effective than the closing sequence of the previous two albums imo, despite the shorter and a bit faster material. Not that mid-tempo, to say.
 
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