Senjutsu - 3rd September 2021

I think that the Senjutsu banners on top of the stained glass windows/camouflage drapes is something we might actually see on the upcoming tour. So putting them to the sides was actually somewhat good of a prediction.
 
Let's move this thread a little with rankings for Senjutsu:

Top 5 Songs:
1.Hell On Earth
2.Stratego
3.Senjutsu
4.The Parchment
5.Death Of The Celts

Top 5 Solos:
1.Darkest Hour (Adrian)
2.The Parchment (Dave)
3.The Parchment (Janick's 3rd solo)
4.Senjutsu (Adrian's 2nd solo)
5.The Writing On The Wall (Adrian)

Top 5 Lines:
1.''We walk in to the flames but dance for rain.'' (Lost In A Lost World)
2.''Arrows falling - Dark oblivion - Live in spirit - Live to tell our sons.'' (Senjutsu)
3.''Turn the ploughshares into swords, you sons of Albion awake defend this sacred land.'' (Darkest Hour)
4.''Open your heart and I'll open your soul.'' (The Time Machine)
5.''The prodigal has returned, give us our own revenge, with the power he learned, we will burn the same again.'' (The Parchment)

bonus: ''Beat the warning the sound of the drums, set the beacons afire for them all.'' (Senjutsu) / ''Eye of the storm is here again, been there before you were ever born.'' (Stratego)

Top 5 Bruce Moments:
1."Meet me there." (The Parchment)
2.''Love in anger, life in danger.'' (Hell On Earth)
3.Chorus (Hell On Earth)
4.Pre-Chorus/Chorus (Stratego)
5.Outro (Lost In A Lost World)

bonus: Chorus (Days Of Future Past) / ''Hear them coming...'' (Senjutsu)
 
My quick take: Top 5 songs:
  1. Hell on Earth
  2. Death of the Celts
  3. The Parchment
  4. The Time Machine
  5. I go back and forth daily between the singles: Stratego and Writing on the Wall. Today it is Writing on the Wall
Favorite Lines - chorus from Hell on Earth:
And when I leave this world
I hope to see you all again
On the other side of hell on earth

Upon the eyes of good
I'm following the light again
In between the dark of hell on earth

On the other side, I'll see again heaven
So far away from this hell on earth
 
wandy said:
Do we think that some of the songs on this album are too long. Can't Maiden say everything they want to say in 6mins or less.
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When I first heard Senjutsu I was disappointed. Nothing jumped out except Senjutsu. Didn't play it again for a few weeks then I had a listen on Apple Music, still no good. Then I remembered that back in the 70's most progressive rock albums took time to 'get into'. Listening again and again until the songs become familiar then boom! The album became (mostly) a beautiful thing. With Senjutsu being such a complex, Progressive Metal album I decided to listen again and again and sure enough it clicked and I love the album. Sometimes you need to give it time.

I need to do that with Seventh Son of a Seventh Son because I can't understand the love for it - some people say it's their best! Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, Powerslave, Brave New World, A Matter of Life and Death and Senjutsu are all much better than SSoaSS. Just my opinion of course.
 
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Half a year down the line, it's a really good record, brought down a bit by The Darkest Hour and Death of the Celts. There are a few 10 pointers in there though, TWOTW, The Parchment, Hell on Earth and the rest of it is very good. It sits in the comfortable middle tier of Maiden albums to me, which by no means is a expression of lack of quality - The only bad record to me is NPFTD and it still has a couple of good tunes.
 
I agree with all of the above except Darkest Hour. It's a pet Bruce project that's been Maidenised - with some very nice Adrian in there - but defo doesn't drag for me. Celts I get weary with.
 
It's a record that I keep coming back to a lot. Maybe it's the new factor, but I could see this being in the upper tier of Maiden albums for me. "Darkest Hour" is the weakest song and it's still good. All the others are pretty fucking great.
 
After absolutely overdoing it last year I have come back to it recently. I still love the album, the big songs still sound amazing and it lands mid-table for the reunion albums for me.

The only bits I am really not a fan off are;
Chorus of LIALW
The random clean section before the last chorus in DOFP, ruins the flow and really sounds like a solo or something should be there
The major riff in the mid-section of DOTC
 
It still hasn’t quite settled for me on the rankings just yet. I would probably regard it as the weakest album since Virtual XI. However some of the weaker songs are growing on me.

Excellent songs
  • Stratego
  • The Writing of the Wall
  • Days of Future Past
  • The Parchment
  • Hell on Earth
Good songs
  • Death of the Celts
  • Lost in a Lost World
Meh songs
  • Senjutsu (killer chorus and verses but it doesn’t go anywhere)
  • Darkest Hour
  • Time Machine (I still don’t get it)
 
runsilentrundeep said:
The major riff in the mid-section of DOTC
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The riff that goes along with the bass guitar? That's the backbone of the instrumental section and of the whole song, really. For me all songs in the album are great/excellent anyway, but I don't understand why DOTC is not higher in the rankings of the fans. Some people complain that the instrumental section is repetitive (like most instrumental sections!), but as I said I think the whole song was build around that part and is great, this means you have to repeat it at least twice in a long song. Plus the song has a lot of tempo changes, so it shouldn't be a problem.
I always wanted Maiden to do a song that focuses on Celtic melodies not only in the guitar melodies, but in the vocals, in the rhythm and in the solos too. And the song is consequential. I love the intro, the instumental part, Bruce's vocals, all the melodies, the tempo changes and the solos really fit the vibe of the song, they're not going through the motions with them. Not to mention the great drumming and bass playing. The melodic ''nature'' of Maiden really shines in this song. Killer stuff. Classic Maiden epic.

I also like the lyrics - the one in the chorus are really impactful. ''Beyond the light, darkness will fall'' is a line I should have included in my post in the previous page. You can ''feel'' the setting by the words of the narrator (like in the title track). Brilliant.
Diesel 11 said:
At the same time though it’s probably my second favorite on the album after “The Parchment”.
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It was my least favorite song from the album at first, but now I like it a lot and listen to it quite often. One should never doubt Janick. :)
 
Its still not an album that makes we keep wanting to go back to it. By this time after TBOS release id listened to it an awful lot more. It and ok album but nothing more. Good tracks: Senjutsu, TWOTW, Time Machine and Hell on Earth Poor songs: The Parchment, DOTC
 
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