Senjutsu - 3rd September 2021

[Belshazzar]

I want to hear Jan's take. I just love listening to the guy talk.

He's so concise and on point, but there's also a determination and passion in the way he talks about music, and particularly about Iron Maiden.

His dulcet tones and relaxed demeanor bely the belief he has in the band, their relevance and their conviction to be current and vital.

 

[Iron Lurker]

W

Meh! Would have preferred Senjutsu in the studio pt 3.

This was not contingent on there being another "studio" short. Different teams. This version I'm sure was done awhile back. Hopefully there's still more to come.

 

[Iron Lurker]

The SFX version is interesting but really detracts from the music.
I'm really enjoying listening to WOTW on repeat. Try to get a couple of days between listens to have a bit of distance but really think it is a great song. Have major high hopes for Senjutsu considering the production sounds better than BOS and Sir Steve has written four songs. Only caveat is that Dave has no writing credits and I usually like his songs but we can't have everything. Majorly stoked

I rather liked the SFX version. It's a way to showcase the "mini-movie" more and have the song be the backdrop.

 

[PhantomOfTheOpera]

Meh! Would have preferred Senjutsu in the studio pt 3.

I want to hear Jan's take. I just love listening to the guy talk.

He's so concise and on point, but there's also a determination and passion in the way he talks about music, and particularly about Iron Maiden.

His dulcet tones and relaxed demeanor bely the belief he has in the band, their relevance and their conviction to be current and vital.

I hope that we will get some more stuff from them before the album is out, Senjutsu In The Studio pt.3 for sure.
Would be good to have Janick to give his comments and views on something regarding the album, but I would also like hear something from Nicko. Atleast he could give us some little lesson on this album and it's status or something like that.

 

[Gk1]

Do you think that the "Dead or alive, man or beast and Live forever" lyrics belong to any of the actual songs on the album??

 

[Moonwalker94]

Do you think that the "Dead or alive, man or beast and Live forever" lyrics belong to any of the actual songs on the album??

I don't think so, perhaps it was meant to refer to the vampire guy in the video to WOTW. If anything else, I believe Bruce said something about "Days of Future Past" being inspired by Constantine, so maybe there is some connection here...

 

[Meliegree]

I long ago stopped caring about what inspired them to write which songs. Mostly because it makes no sense.

 

[Travis The Dragon]

View attachment 16422
Only thing that gives me hope is the wording "includes". This word only makes sense if both songs were released before album release. Or maybe i am reading too much into it

I just find it so hard to believe that's real since no one anywhere knows the original source.

 

[Travis The Dragon]

Kind of an interesting watch.

 

[Melony]

Metal Hammer review seems like fake one to be honest. No memorable melodies and riffs? WotW is still in my head. But again - maybe its a taste thing, maybe reviewer is from Play Classic Nostalgia Group.

No, it is not fake just because this reviewer’s opinion is different.

As I said, there are 4 reviews in the magazine. I translated reviewer 2 (couldn’t translate them all today - sooo much work in the office...), for those who are still interested in reading reviews.

Reviewer 1, 2 or 3 say anything of particular interest that you recall?

Reviewer 2, Metal Hammer Germany:
SENJUTSU is the crucible of all Iron Maiden studio albums since 2000: the epicness of BRAVE NEW WORLD,
the orchestration of DANCE OF DEATH, the progressiveness of A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, the variety of
of THE FINAL FRONTIER and the dimension of THE BOOK OF SOULS. Now, these releases moved in waves in terms of their popularity with fans: great, debatable, thrilling, disruptive, brillant - a bad state of affairs for SENJUTSU, especially since it also contains elements of the less popular albums.
No question: Some songs could have been tightened up ("The Parchment"), some could have done without another
instrumental part, they should have rethought the sequence of the songs, and, yes, such a double album is jangling and demanding. But: This is how Iron Maiden sounds for twenty years now, there will be no 4-minute songs in the masses any more from the seasoned songwriters (also because three guitarists want to get to their solos). What the band procudes in melodies, harmonies, dynamics and stories nobody, nobody copies on this level. That the really big
choruses on SENJUTSU are a rarity, is just as much a weak point of the album as its poor production,
which often fails to put Bruce Dickinson in his true light. That the album nevertheless grows with with every listen (even the unwieldy introduction turns out to be a powerful epic), proves the continuing class of the band and the
songs. Who can recognize this, will be rewarded with one and a half hours of fulfilling music.

 

[FS87]

Thanks, Melony!

 

[shadowpants]

Kind of an interesting watch.

I like these guys. At least some speculation content to keep us buzzin while waiting for Senjutsu scraps from IM camp

 

[Gk1]

No, it is not fake just because this reviewer’s opinion is different.

As I said, there are 4 reviews in the magazine. I translated reviewer 2 (couldn’t translate them all today - sooo much work in the office...), for those who are still interested in reading reviews.


Reviewer 2, Metal Hammer Germany:
SENJUTSU is the crucible of all Iron Maiden studio albums since 2000: the epicness of BRAVE NEW WORLD,
the orchestration of DANCE OF DEATH, the progressiveness of A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, the variety of
of THE FINAL FRONTIER and the dimension of THE BOOK OF SOULS. Now, these releases moved in waves in terms of their popularity with fans: great, debatable, thrilling, disruptive, brillant - a bad state of affairs for SENJUTSU, especially since it also contains elements of the less popular albums.
No question: Some songs could have been tightened up ("The Parchment"), some could have done without another
instrumental part, they should have rethought the sequence of the songs, and, yes, such a double album is jangling and demanding. But: This is how Iron Maiden sounds for twenty years now, there will be no 4-minute songs in the masses any more from the seasoned songwriters (also because three guitarists want to get to their solos). What the band procudes in melodies, harmonies, dynamics and stories nobody, nobody copies on this level. That the really big
choruses on SENJUTSU are a rarity, is alsois just as much a weak point of the album as its poor production,
which often fails to put Bruce Dickinson in his true light. Tha the album nevertheless grows with with every listen (even the unwieldy introduction turns out to be a powerful epic), proves the continuing class of the band and the
songs. Who can recognize this, will be rewarded with one and a half hours of fulfilling music.

That really makes a lot of sense! Thanx!

 

[Travis The Dragon]

a bad state of affairs for SENJUTSU, especially since it also contains elements of the less popular albums.

That worries me.

 

[LooseCannon]

Just loving how people are taking one interview and explaining how it makes things bad, and deciding in advance they won't like the album. That's real clever. This is probably the last time we get to have an album release, maybe just chill out and enjoy it.

 

[The Mid-Distance Runner]

Thanks Melony, your boss should give you a pay rise for your outstanding work today!

I’m liking the description of the opener…

the album nevertheless grows with with every listen (even the unwieldy introduction turns out to be a powerful epic), proves the continuing class of the band and the songs. Who can recognize this, will be rewarded with one and a half hours of fulfilling music.

 

[GhostofCain]

That worries me.

Understandably. That being said, I’ll wait until I get the album so I can form my own opinion.

 

[Russ Dobbs]

Even good friends can agree to disagree. Although, it's fun to read reviews and sharing opinions, we all have our own preferences, so in the end we don't know, if we are in for a treat or not. I tend to look for comments and hints between the lines, kinda searching for fans who think like myself. And I try to draw parallels to other songs which I like or dislike, but I guess, everybody does.

 

[DJMayes]

Reviewer 2, Metal Hammer Germany:
SENJUTSU is the crucible of all Iron Maiden studio albums since 2000: the epicness of BRAVE NEW WORLD,
the orchestration of DANCE OF DEATH, the progressiveness of A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, the variety of
of THE FINAL FRONTIER and the dimension of THE BOOK OF SOULS.

Anyone else know what the reviewer actually means by the "dimension" of TBOS? I've no idea!

That the really big choruses on SENJUTSU are a rarity,

This is the straw that broke the camels back. If there isn't a chorus at least as big as TAATG I might as well cancel my preorder now.

 

[Iron Lurker]

Interesting comment about the poor production, since I like the sound of TWOTW so much.