Senjutsu - 3rd September 2021

Well, it's good night from me, and it's good night from me.

Join us next time when contestants will be playing for £8250 in the Pointless Jackpot.
 
If anyone is interested, here are the Japanese titles from the back cover of the booklet:
  1. 戦術 senjutsu, we all know this one
  2. 戦略家 with furigana ストラテゴ sutoratego, the kanji basically mean "strategist"
  3. 不吉な予感 fukitsuna yokan, literally "ominous premonition"
  4. 失われた世界でさまよう ushinawareta sekai de samayou, "(to) wander in lost world"
  5. 過ぎ去った未来の日々 sugisatta mirai no hibi, this one is a bit weird "days of passed future"
  6. タイムマシーン taimumashīn, self-explanatory
  7. 漆黒の時 shikkoku no toki, literally "jet black time/hour"
  8. ケルト人の死 kerutojin no shi, "death of the Celts"
  9. 羊皮紙 yōhishi, "parchment"
  10. この世の地獄 kono yo no jigoku, literally "hell of this world"
 
Welp, there it is: new album title, cover, release date! Thoughts?

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We are thrilled to announce the release of IRON MAIDEN’s 17th studio album Senjutsu on September 3rd through Parlophone Records (BMG in the USA). It was recorded in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by Steve Harris.

For Senjutsu – loosely translated as ‘tactics & strategy’, the band once again enlisted the services of Mark Wilkinson to create the spectacular Samurai themed cover artwork, based on an idea by Steve Harris. And with a running time of a little under 82 minutes, Senjutsu, like their previous record The Book Of Souls, will be a double CD album/triple vinyl album.

Steve says "We chose to record at Guillaume Tell Studio in France again as the place has such a relaxed vibe. The setup there is perfect for our needs; the building used to be a cinema and has a really high ceiling so there’s a great acoustic sound. We recorded this album in the same way we did The Book Of Souls in that we’d write a song, rehearse it and then put it down together straight away while it was all fresh in our minds. There’s some very complex songs on this album which took a lot of hard work to get them exactly as we wanted them to sound, so the process was at times very challenging, but Kevin is great at capturing the essence of the band and I think it was worth the effort! I’m very proud of the result and can’t wait for fans to hear it."

Bruce Dickinson continues, "We’re all really excited about this album. We recorded it back in early 2019 during a break in the Legacy tour so we could maximize our touring yet still have a long set up period before release to prepare great album art and something special as a video. Of course the pandemic delayed things more - so much for the best laid plans – or should that be ‘strategies’!? The songs are very varied, and some of them are quite long. 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!"

The full tracklisting is:

1. Senjutsu (Smith/Harris) 8:20
2. Stratego (Gers/Harris) 4:59
3. The Writing On The Wall (Smith/Dickinson) 6:13
4. Lost In A Lost World (Harris) 9:31
5. Days Of Future Past (Smith/Dickinson) 4:03
6. The Time Machine (Gers/Harris) 7:09
7. Darkest Hour (Smith/Dickinson) 7:20
8. Death Of The Celts (Harris) 10:20
9. The Parchment (Harris) 12:39
10. Hell On Earth (Harris) 11:19

Senjutsu will be released on the following formats and available to pre-order from all good music retailers starting Wednesday July 21st

Standard 2CD Digipak
Deluxe 2CD Book Format
Deluxe heavyweight 180G Triple Black Vinyl
Special Edition Triple Silver & Black Marble Vinyl (from selected retailers)
Special Edition Triple Red & Black Marble Vinyl (from selected retailers)
Super Deluxe Boxset featuring CD, Blu-Ray and Exclusive Memorabilia
Digital album (streaming and download)
I like it! Better than BoS in my opinion.
 
I'm sure this has been talked about here, but was it necessary to make this a 3LP album? I mean just by switching Death of the Celts and The Parchment around everything would have fit very well with each side between 19-22 minutes, which is the perfect amount of music for a side of a record. Yes, 3LP albums look impressive at first glance, but they are a task getting through when you're flipping records every 10 minutes plus they are a pita to carefully open, though very lovely artwork inside there of course (would have still been lovely and much easier to enjoy on just a gatefold 2LP album).
 
I'm sure this has been talked about here, but was it necessary to make this a 3LP album? I mean just by switching Death of the Celts and The Parchment around everything would have fit very well with each side between 19-22 minutes, which is the perfect amount of music for a side of a record. Yes, 3LP albums look impressive at first glance, but they are a task getting through when you're flipping records every 10 minutes plus they are a pita to carefully open, though very lovely artwork inside there of course (would have still been lovely and much easier to enjoy on just a gatefold 2LP album).

More Circles = More Value! lol

I think its ridiculous they couldn't fit it on 1 CD for Starters....and then 2 LP's ofcourse.

More Maiden = More Money for them, I rekon thats all it is! ::)
 
Why did you have to record an album with such a hurry, Harry, like you were on a time schedule?
Why did you have to have a sound likem that, like you are a garage punk band?
Why did you have to scream your lungs out and be off key in places?
Why did you have to expand the songs just to believe that you play prog rock/metal?
Why did have to record these songs feeling like they were not really rehearsed?
Sounds like a verse from one of Maiden's songs. Can't remember at the moment.
 
So for me to write the above about Death of the Celts, it takes a lot. Don't underestimate how it makes me feel to write what I've written.

For me, writing that is a big fucking deal. A BIG fucking deal.
I think it's only a very natural reaction. Your relationship with Maiden resembles that of a family and disappointment towards someone you rely on hits harder. The dynamic is strange however, because in this relationship, there's only givers (the band) and takers (fans) and the band can't put pressure on you as a fan and start demanding things. So the allegory of the family ends here.

I've been in this relationship for 37 years and I "know" these family members like my real family. However, they don't even know I exist. Hope you know where I'm going with this. Not only are you entitled to an opinion, you have every right to feel the way you feel.

Anyway, the rest of the record bangs!
 
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