Senjutsu - 20 Months Later

It's great to know that bands like Maiden will never fall into the "Spotify composing" trap that can tempt you to start with something catchy, maybe even the chorus, so people don't impatiently stop streaming too soon. Even though you completely realize that wouldn't make any sense musically.

“The Parchment” makes sense; how the intro sets the atmosphere and then it slowly builds up with the goal of hypnotizing you to then get to the climaxes in the second half.
 
Old thread resurrection time.

I managed to snag a bargain the other day. I have an Amazon wish list of Maidens stuff that I dump items in that I think would be nice to add to the collection. The other day I managed to get the deluxe Senjutsu box for £12!

What a bargain! I paid nearly £100 for the same item back when it was released. Massively overpriced if you ask me.
 
And I thought I'd gotten it as a bargain for 76 Euros....
 
I would not say The Book of Souls was awesome, but I think it is definitely miles better than Senjutsu.
Senjutsu is miles behind TBOS in arrangement department IMO. They both have great song ideas, but the arrangements of Senjutsu are just... Lazy. That makes the difference in my opinion.

Hell On Earth, with some arrangement adjustments, would be one of the top 10 reunion songs. As it is, it isn't. For example, The Book Of Souls, the track, has a great arrangement.
 
Senjutsu is miles behind TBOS in arrangement department IMO. They both have great song ideas, but the arrangements of Senjutsu are just... Lazy. That makes the difference in my opinion.
arrangements....... i like the album because the songs,choruses melodies
 
arrangements....... i like the album because the songs,choruses melodies
If you like the melody, it doesn't need to repeat 1822 times. If you want to hear the vocal expression of one of your favourite vocalists, you want them up-front and not behind a scratchy high pitch Janick guitar. If you want to jump from a quiet part into a blasting one, you just don't do that suddenly (Hell On Earth).

Majority of Senjutsu songs has great ideas, but are executed poorly.

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, for example is a music arrangement masterclass.
 
Senjutsu is miles behind TBOS in arrangement department IMO. They both have great song ideas, but the arrangements of Senjutsu are just... Lazy.
I don't think there are much differences in the arrangements of Emprie, Red And Black, Book, Eternity and Hell On Earth, Parchment, Celts, Lost World - especially the repeats of the melodies and choruses. Book Of Souls and Hell On Earth are with the best imo.
If you like the melody, it doesn't need to repeat 1822 times. If you want to hear the vocal expression of one of your favourite vocalists, you want them up-front and not behind a scratchy high pitch Janick guitar. If you want to jump from a quiet part into a blasting one, you just don't do that suddenly (Hell On Earth).

Majority of Senjutsu songs has great ideas, but are executed poorly.

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, for example is a music arrangement masterclass.
The guitar following the vocal line is one of the most distinctive features of Senjutsu. I personally like it. The production should have been better to come out better. I also like the sudden drum part in Hell On Earth, a unique and brilliant feature. Isn't it the same in Parchment after the intro?

Executed poorly? I don't agree.

I agree about Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son.
 
The guitar following the vocal line is one of the most distinctive features of Senjutsu. I personally like it.
And I don't like it. I agree to disagree.

Why I don't like it? Because it's INCREDIBLY tough to keep a voice and a guitar perfectly in tune. Especially with Janick's not always perfect pitch and Bruce not always bang on the note. And Bruce is sometimes a tad flat, while Janick is sometimes a tad sharp. And that creates tuning discrepancies, which annoy me. Especially when those 2 things happen together. Spending a lot of time in studio in the last few years didn't help me in that regard. Another thing is, that post cancer, Bruce's diction of fast paced lyrics got worse. Pairing those fast paced lines with a guitar playing melody makes it worse.

Live, those things become even more evident. If Bruce has a cold or something, it sounds horrible. I personally think Maiden as a collective should start thinking about Bruce's voice more when they write. He is near retirement age and can't sing lines like "Cantunderstandwhatishappeningtome" at that pace cleanly anymore. Writing with the singer's current capabilities in mind is neccessary. At least in my experience. Steve on Senjutsu went completely the other way in a lot of cases and Bruce in his stubbornes went with it.

Bruce, in his current state, is struggling on some new Maiden tracks, while he can perfectly breeze through Deep Purple.
 
Another thing is, that post cancer, Bruce's diction of fast paced lyrics got worse. Pairing those fast paced lines with a guitar playing melody makes it worse.

What fast paced lines on Senjutsu are you talking about? Most recent song I can think of with fast-paced lyrics is The Red and the Black. Maybe parts of Lost In A Lost World, but they're far less tongue-twisting than TRATB.
 
What fast paced lines on Senjutsu are you talking about? Most recent song I can think of with fast-paced lyrics is The Red and the Black. Maybe parts of Lost In A Lost World, but they're far less tongue-twisting than TRATB.
I need to find examples, because, I have no specific parts in my memory right now. And something that wasn't fast paced for 2010 Bruce might be fast paced for him now. I look at it from a performance point.

Also, it can be done. A good example is Senjutsu, where H and Jan play a loose version of the vocal melody opposing to other cases, where the guitar and vocal melodies are as same as possible. Guitars can be playing a completely different lead line in the background and it works better. A good example is the 2nd part of The Legacy. Those are some great innovative guitar arrangements without getting in the way of vocals. Possibly one of the last great examples by Maiden how to use 3 guitars and a voice on top.

The Parchment for example, could have easily been an instrumental. And nothing would've been lost. The song would still have Bruce is completely overrun by both lead guitars during most of the song and is easily dispensible. The vocal line does nothing the guitars don't do. With the exception of MEET MEE THEREEEEE.
 
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And I don't like it. I agree to disagree.

Why I don't like it? Because it's INCREDIBLY tough to keep a voice and a guitar perfectly in tune. Especially with Janick's not always perfect pitch and Bruce not always bang on the note. And Bruce is sometimes a tad flat, while Janick is sometimes a tad sharp. And that creates tuning discrepancies, which annoy me. Especially when those 2 things happen together. Spending a lot of time in studio in the last few years didn't help me in that regard. Another thing is, that post cancer, Bruce's diction of fast paced lyrics got worse. Pairing those fast paced lines with a guitar playing melody makes it worse.

Live, those things become even more evident. If Bruce has a cold or something, it sounds horrible. I personally think Maiden as a collective should start thinking about Bruce's voice more when they write. He is near retirement age and can't sing lines like "Cantunderstandwhatishappeningtome" at that pace cleanly anymore. Writing with the singer's current capabilities in mind is neccessary. At least in my experience. Steve on Senjutsu went completely the other way in a lot of cases and Bruce in his stubbornes went with it.

Bruce, in his current state, is struggling on some new Maiden tracks, while he can perfectly breeze through Deep Purple.

Hear, hear!

I find the bits where Bruce is singing the same melody that Janick is playing a tad irritating. A very lazy approach.
 
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