Senjutsu - 3rd September 2021

So far, in these two songs, I think that Nicko's drum sound is the best since the reunion era. The kick and the snare sound great. Can't say the same for the guitars which still sound a little buried.
Basically, the rhythm section is louder in the mix.
 
If any of You have read comments on YT, there's a lot of people, saying that Stratego is great, but mix is bad. I'm waiting for album to decide myself.

Listening Stratego alongside TWOTW (and older MB produced stuff) I can't help thinking something is amiss with Stratego. On 80s albums, Bruce is also quite low in the mix, but crispy clear. TWOTW has very different mastering (frequency-response wise), but everything is crispy clear as well, while on Stratego the vocals become kind of blurred when guitars become busy (chorus). I'll definitely wait for the album to make the final judgement, these streaming platforms suck
 
Man, what happened to the good old days of actually doing to the record store and being excited to get home (no way was your mom going to let that crap play in the car). These days everybody wants to click a few buttons and get it for free. smh.
Exactly, I wanna hold on to this feeling as long as possible. You can't beat the excitement of going to the store.

I'll never ever forget the day, when I went to the record store after a long week's work and found Photo-Finish by Rory Gallagher on vinyl. It was long before it came out on CD, and I had been searching it for years. Suddenly, it was in front of me. I couldn't believe my eyes. Couldn't believe my luck. I was excited on the whole buss ride back home. Listening to it gave me more satisfaction than having sex. It was that good. Ordering it on the internet would never have given me that feeling.
 
Listening Stratego alongside TWOTW (and older MB produced stuff) I can't help thinking something is amiss with Stratego. On 80s albums, Bruce is also quite low in the mix, but crispy clear. TWOTW has very different mastering (frequency-response wise), but everything is crispy clear as well, while on Stratego the vocals become kind of blurred when guitars become busy (chorus). I'll definitely wait for the album to make the final judgement, these streaming platforms suck
What slightly worries me is that some of album reviews complained about the same thing in parts of the whole of the album. However, i believe the strength of the songs will overcome any issues with sound just like Stratego overcomes this as a song. We will probably have to tweak our sound systems to get the best out of this album.

"and problems with the mixing and Bruce's vocals, which sound pressed in the highs instead of powerful, are noticeable in places."

"Grumblers point out (not unjustly) the usual musty production of Kevin “Caveman" Shirley"
 
Yeah, vocal clarity ha been pointed out plenty by a number of people here, on FB and Insta and I agree. He sounds a bit buried in the mix at times and it’s hard to hear the lyrics. Let’s see if the actual album gets any better, but I think this is what we get. The vinyl might sound a tad better as did TBOS.
 
Keeping in mind Maiden would never release their best stuff prior to the release of the album
I think this is (sort of) true for the reunion albums, but not before that. I said ''sort of'' because some of the reunion era singles are certainly one of the best songs in their respective albums -> The Wicker Man, OOTSP, Rainmaker... Stratego too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Oca
I think this is (sort of) true for the reunion albums, but not before that. I said ''sort of'' because some of the reunion era singles are certainly one of the best songs in their respective albums -> The Wicker Man, OOTSP, Rainmaker... Stratego too.
That is why i said that it could be on par with BNW. Rainmaker i think came after album was released
 
I had a feeling about this album, even long before the actual release of TWOTW, that it would be totally amazing and their best of the reunion era and even one of their best albums ever. After listening to both TWOTW and especially Stratego this hunch grows even bigger. This might be a massive one, peepz.
 
I also am not listening to the singles any more. When listening to the album I don’t want them to be the ‘singles’ in my mind- I want them to fit into the context of the album.
Not much longer!!!
 
My plan is to not get burnt out on stratego and twotw by limiting how many times i listen to it. Even though I only played the songs once in the last 24 hours, I have been playing the Stratego riff on the guitar all day long. Damn it! :facepalm:
 
Can't understand people who about to listen to album in random song order.
Imo order is important to understand general idea of album's producer.

I mentioned this before- but I don’t use playlists or anything. Anytime I listen to an album I put it on and hit play. First track to last without skipping.

I’m prolly exceedingly old school in this regard, but I really like the ‘album’ experience and hate the idea of just a collection of songs.
I know people have written about this change once things went digital but I to me it’s (almost) like reading a book out of order or something. Granted the narrative aspect of the analogy doesn’t translate to a non concept album- but I’m guessing you get what I mean.
 
People have the right to listen to an album they bought however they like. If somebody asked for my opinion, I would say don't second guess the artist and just follow the order of the album. Otherwise, to each his own and all I have to say is cheers and enjoy Senjutsu!
 
My plan is to not get burnt out on stratego and twotw by limiting how many times i listen to it. Even though I only played the songs once in the last 24 hours, I have been playing the Stratego riff on the guitar all day long. Damn it! :facepalm:
I did the same with writing on the wall :-(
 
I mentioned this before- but I don’t use playlists or anything. Anytime I listen to an album I put it on and hit play. First track to last without skipping.

I’m prolly exceedingly old school in this regard, but I really like the ‘album’ experience and hate the idea of just a collection of songs.
I know people have written about this change once things went digital but I to me it’s (almost) like reading a book out of order or something. Granted the narrative aspect of the analogy doesn’t translate to a non concept album- but I’m guessing you get what I mean.
This. Totally this.
 
I mentioned this before- but I don’t use playlists or anything. Anytime I listen to an album I put it on and hit play. First track to last without skipping.

I’m prolly exceedingly old school in this regard, but I really like the ‘album’ experience and hate the idea of just a collection of songs.
I know people have written about this change once things went digital but I to me it’s (almost) like reading a book out of order or something. Granted the narrative aspect of the analogy doesn’t translate to a non concept album- but I’m guessing you get what I mean.
This is my approach as well, and for very much the same reasons you outlined.
 
Back
Top