The X Factor Vs. Senjutsu

Which album is your favourite?

  • Total voters
    54
Siddharth

Siddharth

Long Distance Runner
Well guys, I recently ranked all the 17 Maiden albums (again!), which is definitely a tough job.

1. Somewhere In Time
2. Powerslave
3. The Number Of The Beast
4. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
5. A Matter Of Life And Death
6. Brave New World
7. Piece Of Mind
8. Iron Maiden
9. Killers
10. Dance Of Death
11. Fear Of The Dark
12. The Book Of Souls
13. The X Factor
14. Senjutsu
15. Virtual XI
16. The Final Frontier
17. No Prayer For The Dying

But somehow even after doing it, I felt a sense of dilemma between some couple of albums here and there. So, give me your best shot and this is your time to defend your favourite album right here! And I may consider a change in my list.

(Basically a thread for albums comparison)
 
As much as I love TXF (I like every song), I like SJ even more. Probably a Top 3 album for me. Both are special albums. I just feel SJ's material is overall stronger.

Btw, both albums share similar approaches and vibes.
 
Kalata said:
As much as I love TXF (I like every song), I like SJ even more. Probably a Top 3 album for me. Both are special albums. I just feel SJ's material is overall stronger.

Btw, both albums share similar approaches and vibes.
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Im here. Nostalgia and the most weird and depresive and dark album that iron maiden have ever done and one of my favorites albums since reunion next to BNW and a matter. Ill chose xfactor but i think there is a conection between those 2 albums.
 
malfeitor said:
TXF is one of their best albums. Not sure if I can include it in my top 5 at the moment, but I'd definitely rank it really high. It has its flaws, but it's still a great record.
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3 Really dark songs in a row. I was one of the x factor bashers in 95 i started to love it after blaze
 
It's not an easy album to fall in love with. It's different from what one could expect from Maiden, but at the same time the signature Maiden stuff still can be heard on TXF. But I like that, I really do. TXF is unique, and I appreciate artists who try to refresh their formula. The effects can be better or worse, but a diverse discography is always (well, at least usually) something I respect. After all, even an album like TXF might finally grow on you. In my case, TXF was the definition of a grower. I don't revisit the album too often, but when I do, I'm always satisfied with what I'm hearing.
 
There's no comparison to me - TXF is a terrible album, the worst they've ever done by a significant margin. I don't think that's on Blaze either; I quite like VXI and I enjoy the bits of his solo work I've listened to. Outside of 2-3 tracks, TXF is just flat out boring.
 
X Factor should come with a prescription for Prozac. Just miserable in mood. Even the one song I really like- Judgement of Heaven- is about suicide.

Senjutsu has great rockers on disc 1 and great epics on disc 2 . Hell on Earth is probably my favorite song by any band this century.

For my tastes this is a landslide in favor of Senjutsu.
 
The good songs on X Factor in my opinion -

Sign of the cross, lord of the flies, man on the edge obviously

Then I really really love Judgment of Heaven and Edge of Darkness. Fortunes of war is enjoyable.

Some of the others are decent to pretty good but then there's too many slow moody songs. It needed Judgment Day on it badly instead of one of the morose slow songs on there.

The bass and drum production is awesome. The rest of the production is terrible.

I like most of the album overall though.
 
Not a fan of both of them, but I have to vote for Senjutsu.
My problem with TXF is: Even if it had the nicest melodies, and even if it had the greatest songwriting plus best guitar solos of all Maiden albums - it is simply unlistenable because of the voice. Blaze might be the friendliest guy on the planet, but this doesn't make the album more listenable for me.
 
While I do appreciate the groundwork TXF laid for the reunion era and it's a strong album in its own right (that is undeniably flawed), I think Senjutsu's highs beat out TXF's. Hell on Earth alone smokes anything on TXF, even if Sign is a strong challenger. The Writing on the Wall is probably the best single they've done since The Wicker Man, if not something earlier, and though it too has flaws, Senjutsu edges it out in the end.
 
naranja said:
Some of the others are decent to pretty good but then there's too many slow moody songs. It needed Judgment Day on it badly instead of one of the morose slow songs on there.
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It's understandable. Oddly enough, this isn't an issue for me with the album (and in general) unlike a bit with some Reunion albums in overall listen. Maybe it's because of the songs and the emotions. Or maybe it's because of the nature of the album. I can see Judgement Day/Justice Of The Peace in it.
dickinson1978 said:
Senjutsu sounds good but the xfactor sounds like this album should sound.
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TXF's production is great for the material. SJ sounds solid, but it's probably the Reunion album I wish it is with a modern production (Preist's).
CA Bryers said:
While I do appreciate the groundwork TXF laid for the reunion era and it's a strong album in its own right (that is undeniably flawed), I think Senjutsu's highs beat out TXF's. Hell on Earth alone smokes anything on TXF, even if Sign is a strong challenger.
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Well said. It's hard for me to rank Hell On Earth because of this big missed opportunity to not repeat the awesome chorus. Still it's amazing.
 
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I’m going to pick X Factor, because it pushed Maiden’s sound further forward than any album since then. It’s badly flawed for all the reasons we know, but it is a really important album in Maiden’s musical journey.

Whereas Senjutsu is a fine album indeed, but it’s just another reunion era album to me. It’s the sixth of six, and the formula is starting to wear thin for me by now.
 
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