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

andreljbernardo said:
"Why the hell the chorus of this last track is not repeated like the one of The Angel And The Gambler?!"
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I wish I could go back
I wish I could go back
I wish I could go back
I wish I could go back
I wish I could go back
I wish I could go back
I wish I could go back
I wish I could go back
I wish I could go back
I wish I could go back

[Bruce finally takes a breath]

I wish I could go back
I wish I could go back...
 
Huh, I dunno what to say, nothing stood out to me but I'll definitely have to listen to it again to see if it'll click like with the last one.
 
I bought “Powerslave” on the day of its release and have done the same with every Maiden album since (except for the two Blaze albums). Not once did a new Maiden album make its greatness immediately apparent to me. So, I never expect immediacy from a new Maiden release.

But Senjutsu was the first where the greatness was practically revealed upon first listen.
So, to answer the question, it was “hmmmm, this is stronger than usual”.
 
Wow, Writing on the wall is the coolest song from Maiden in quite a while, but the effects on Bruce’s vocals on Lost in a lost world and The darkest hour ruin the songs
 
Hell on Earth, as a closing track, was very impactful. It probably made, and maybe still makes, the album seem a bit smoother ride than it actually is, which honestly underlines its brilliance as a closing track!

So uhm. Initial thought after the first listen, in one sentence... I remember it was something like this:

"...a bit bloated and underproduced, but I love it."
 
Edington said:
This thread's making me feel I'm the only one who likes Darkest Hour.
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I actually like it too! I'm quite fond of the chorus and the overall vibe of the song, despite the lyrics being a bit... ehh... well it's not one of Bruce's best texts. I think the chorus works fairly well anyway.

While I like the song and its somewhat solo-Brucey vibe and his singing there, it also admittedly is bit of a Coming Home II or something. Like, musically and structurally, they're very similar. Wasting Love, Out of the Shadows and some of Bruce's solo tracks can also be added to the list; not to say it's a bad thing that there's some reminiscence, but just to underline that it's no wonder it doesn't exactly stand out either.
 
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Their best work since AMOLAD despite having some clear production setbacks, a couple of mid songs and overall bloat (which is par for the course for a modern Maiden album).
 
The instrumental parts of Darkest Hour are okay, the solo section in particular even if the solos themselves should've honestly been cut in half - they're overlong and meandering and grind the song to a halt - but the lyrics are such dogshit that I can't stand the song. A fucking power ballad about Churchill, good grief. I don't think the actual vocal melodies are particularly memorable either for that matter.

Funny thing is, I wasn't this harsh on it before but with time it's dropped way down in my rankings as has the whole album honestly.
 
Ruflux said:
the solo section in particular even if the solos themselves should've honestly been cut in half - they're overlong and meandering
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Dave's too? I honestly think his is fine length-wise, it's not exactly imaginative, but that's been Dave all over for the past few albums sadly. It's still pretty good. I don't mind that Adrian's is on the long side, I just wish he stuck the landing and ended it better. There's some really cool and unique phrases in the first two thirds, then in the last section he just seems to get a bit lost. With a stronger ending I think he'd have beaten his own in The Writing on the Wall.
 
Ruflux said:
The instrumental parts of Darkest Hour are okay, the solo section in particular even if the solos themselves should've honestly been cut in half - they're overlong and meandering and grind the song to a halt - but the lyrics are such dogshit that I can't stand the song. A fucking power ballad about Churchill, good grief. I don't think the actual vocal melodies are particularly memorable either for that matter.
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Vomit inducing indeed! :puke:
 
Edington said:
Dave's too? I honestly think his is fine length-wise, it's not exactly imaginative, but that's been Dave all over for the past few albums sadly. It's still pretty good. I don't mind that Adrian's is on the long side, I just wish he stuck the landing and ended it better. There's some really cool and unique phrases in the first two thirds, then in the last section he just seems to get a bit lost. With a stronger ending I think he'd have beaten his own in The Writing on the Wall.
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But that's just it, two solos that kind of wander around like lost puppies with no purpose or clear end. If they had been structured solos with a good melody, a clear start and finish and a unique angle on the song itself, that'd be one thing. Instead they're just collections of cool licks that blend together and feel like they go on for way too long considering both the song's structure and how little content they have to offer.
 
Ruflux said:
But that's just it, two solos that kind of wander around like lost puppies with no purpose or clear end. If they had been structured solos with a good melody, a clear start and finish and a unique angle on the song itself, that'd be one thing. Instead they're just collections of cool licks that blend together and feel like they go on for way too long considering both the song's structure and how little content they have to offer.
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And Dave uses a lick from his Coming Home solo. I thought that was a bit odd when I first heard it.
 
Something like this:
"Yeah! It's quite good! No fillers, Melodic and a handful of truly engaging tunes (Stratego, TWOTW, LIALW, DOTC, HOE). They still could repeat some sections a bit less and some tracks have some melody recycling syndrome, but I can get pass it. Those one-string melodies copying the vocal line (or vice versa) wreck my nerves, thoughh! Yet, it's a really cool album. It's no masterpiece, but still far beyond relevant."
 
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