Senjutsu - 3rd September 2021

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.
Lesson of the day: Don't take these reviews too seriously. Wait to hear it with our own ears. I do have a gut feeling this will be great though. Don't say this could be the last. Didn't Bruce say they could last as long as the Stones? :D
 
Look like this review wasn’t make by a fan of post reunion albums. And don’t think it’s gonna be a problem for me, I’ll adore it anyway
Yeah like, here's the deal.

Guy: I'm an Iron Maiden superfan!
Me: What's your thoughts on The X Factor?
Guy: It's junk!
Me: You're not an Iron Maiden superfan. Iron Maiden superfans might dislike or even hate TXF, but they have feelings.
 
Oh, as far as some reviews describing Senjutsu as having an industrial/Tool type of sound, remember what Bruce said: "There’s also one or two songs which sound pretty different to our usual style, and I think Maiden fans will be surprised - in a good way, I hope!" So I think there really is a good chance it will sound like that.

@varon Why did you laugh at my post?
 
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 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.
I didnt said that its fake because he has different opinion. I said that it seems fake because he was talking about lack of melodies :) either way - im more and more interested in this album, if this is the last one - so be it.
 
Is it just me or is the music sounding better??

Not sure about better, but it definitely sounds like a different mix to me, more than just adding sfx, I can hear more acoustic in the intro and maybe less of the melody line in the chorus, the higher octave of the melody line between the solos is more prominent etc.

Although that might be all in my head as I'm listening on headphones for the first time in a while too :lol:
 
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For me, even the somewhat negative reviews make me even more exited. Just confirms that this album probably fits my taste of Maiden. And the part that says brilliant storytelling makes me happy as a kid on Christmas :)
 
Not sure about better, but it definitely sounds like a different mix to me, more than just adding sfx, I can hear more acoustic in the intro and maybe less of the melody line in the chorus, the higher octave of the melody line between the solos is more prominent etc.

Although that might be all in my head as I'm listening on headphones for the first time in a while too :lol:
The initial video release had a weirder mixed audio compared to everything else that was released. Compare it to the stand-alone track without video that also was uploaded to their channel.
 
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 think everything was connected to the music video of TWOTW and Belshazzar's feast idea for the poster.

Dunno if that was an inspiration for DOFP (the movie Constantine).
 
I suspect that we would probably find the production of albums that this guy likes to be shit too.
I'm getting really tired and grumpy about the enourmous overuse of the phrase "poor production". 90% of the time it seems to mean "not to my liking" rather than a clinically problematic production output. This is very well produced, period. Obviously not to everybody's taste, but it's very professionally executed and the 500hz oriented tom sound from TBOS is nowhere to be found here, which I think is a very good change.
 
I'm getting really tired and grumpy about the enourmous overuse of the phrase "poor production". 90% of the time it seems to mean "not to my liking" rather than a clinically problematic production output. This is very well produced, period. Obviously not to everybody's taste, but it's very professionally executed and the 500hz oriented tom sound from TBOS is nowhere to be found here, which I think is a very good change.
Agreed, it’s a matter of taste. The drums on TBOS sounds hollow and thin to my ears, maybe they sound brilliant to someone else?
I think this organic and analog sound fits Maiden’s style since they play sort of organic and fluid. The mix on TWOTW is good and certainly the best sound Maiden has had in years (since 2006 really). Sure, there are things that could improve if I had done it, but I haven’t and we maybe should respect the artists choice rather than beating them to a pulp for not doing what I/we would’ve done.
When people and reviews talk about “better production” I tend to think that they mean a modern production like on Dream Theaters latest single Alien, or Triviums new single. I think Maiden would sound absolute crap with that kind of sound, way to clinical and synthetic. Maiden needs a bit of analog warmth and sparkle to fit their sound. Last but not least, Maiden is at best when seen live and their sound engineer they’ve had recent years (the American dude, can’t remember his name) has done an awesome job getting the band to sound epic in a live setting. Sadly, that hasn’t translated well to the live albums on some occasions…
 
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