Album Review: Iron Maiden - Senjutsu

It's been 6 years since Iron Maiden released their 16th studio album The Book of Souls. So for me, it's been just about 6 years of longing for something new from my all time favourite band. 

If you've been reading any of my work on this blog for a little while, then you may be aware about just how much I adore these wonderful bastards. I even gave my thoughts on all 16 studio albums with a ranking of each one (starting from the link here!). 

To say my anticipation is high would be an understatement, but I'll be as unbiased as I possibly can be. 

Now it's been considered for many years that the 1980s was Maiden's golden period with 7 fantastic studio albums and an all-time classic live album in 1985's Live After Death. For years, the period starting from 2000's brilliant comeback album Brave New World up to 2015's The Book of Souls has continued to grow on me and has aged like a fine wine. 

I'm now at the point now where I'm near desperate to claim the 21st Century as Maiden's new golden age (the less said about the 90s the better). With 7 studio albums versus 5, the 1980s still had slightly more to offer, but now has this all been changed with the release of Senjutsu? Let's find out. 

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I'll admit that out of all the tracks on this album, the opening title track 'Senjutsu' was the one that took me the longest to really 'get'. But after multiple listens I'm definitely into it. It kicks off with the sounds of war drums before a nasty guitar riff hits and it feels like a battle of mythic proportions is about to take place. 

It's a slower track than I'm used to with Maiden, and I was expecting it to speed up at some point but it never did. However, this still works as a nice atmospheric track to let you know what you're in for. 

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'Stratego' was the second single released for the album and one that continues to grow and stay in my head after each listen. This one's more in line with the shorter, galloping tracks you'd expect early on in most modern Maiden albums like 'Speed of Light', 'El Dorado' or 'Rainmaker'. The chorus here is just something else, and I've been reading the lyric sheet constantly to try and learn all of it for when the band plays it live for the first time and I wanna lose my voice singing along. 

With that being said, there's quite a bit of heavy subject matter here as the song describes a soldier going insane after taking so many lives and being unable to go back to a normal life. Pretty much the perfect choice for following up a slower intro track, then. 

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The first single released for the album was the much teased and anticipated 'The Writing on the Wall'. My god, I can't tell you how much I love this one. And it's not even my favourite track on the album! It's so different to anything the band has ever put out before, as there is a bit of a country tinge that was definitely inspired by guitarist Adrian Smith's love for all things Stevie Ray Vaughan. 

Not to sound repetitive from the last track, but this one has another killer chorus just begging to be played live in front of a crowd and it has a couple of killer guitar solos to go with it. An album highlight for sure. 

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'Lost in a Lost World' is the first of many Steve Harris penned epics and, let me tell you, the boy is in fine form on this album. Whilst this is a great track overall, I absolutely adore the intro and outro sections as its Maiden at their melodic best. The more 'metal' sections in between are still a lot of fun, and this track would not go amiss on 2000's Brave New World (one of my personal favourite Maiden albums). Even the chorus feels like a bit of a call-back to 'The Wicker Man' from that album without sounding exactly like it. More heavy subject matter here as well with our protagonist seemingly having depressive thoughts to begin with. 

The song does ends on a more hopeful note though, as they eventually find joy in living. Another heavy hitter here, and it's a good sign that a 9 minute track only feels like 5 minutes by the end.

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'Days of the Future Past'- as well as being a great X-Men movie- is the shortest track on the album at a modest four minutes and three seconds. It falls in similar fashion with 'Stratego', acting as another short banger that seems destined for a future live set place. This is a song that's more likely than others in their current discography to start a mosh pit, as it's one of the heavier tracks they've come out with in recent years. 

It's just a fun rocker of a track that doesn't let up for its short run time, featuring another massive chorus whilst also keeping the trending theme of war going through its description of a soldier facing judgement for his sins committed. 

Can I just say that this album is already fantastic and we're not even halfway through!

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Like the title track, 'The Time Machine' was another song that took me a few goes to fully appreciate. This was a bit strange to me since this is the song that seemed to be everyone's favourite as the album was released. After having a few re-listens to really get the gist though, I think I may have struggled with it mostly because it's right in the middle of a pretty long album. 

The track appears to depict a time traveller who warns that seeing and knowing everything isn't everything it's cracked up to be. His knowledge gained over time begins to haunt him and he wants people to know that he's no preacher and only a man. With a nice seven minute duration, this is another fun track that doesn't outstay its welcome. 

Some of the best guitar work on the entire album is also on this song, and it manages to sound surprisingly upbeat given the subject matter and lyrics. Another winner for sure. 

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'Darkest Hour' was one of my standout tracks on my initial album listen and it's probably even more of a highlight now with further listens. The song is Maiden's first real 'ballad' in quite a while (since 'Journeyman' in 2003 maybe?) and it takes me back a bit to 'Wasting Love' from 1992's Fear of the Dark. This song is actually way better though and the tone a lot darker due to the World War 2 subject matter. 

Whilst the album mixing isn't always in Bruce Dickinson's favour at certain points, he really has a chance to shine in this song and show why he's still one of the top vocalists in all of music. His vocal chords definitely get a workout in this song; especially with the hugely epic chorus. The ballad nature of the track also helps the album feel more varied after the last few songs. Add this one to the highlight list. 

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At this point, Senjutsu could already be considered an absolute belter of an album, but the last three Harris-penned tracks are about to take things to a whole other level. 

'Death of the Celts' is a song which seems to be receiving mixed reactions already, as some absolutely adore it, but others just see it as a copy of 1998's 'The Clansman' from the album Virtual XI. Personally, I think it stands on its own two feet quite easily. I've always loved 'The Clansman', and for a good while I've looked for Maiden to write something in similar fashion since it is such a unique track in itself. 

This song just feels like a natural progression from this, and it also tackles somewhat similar subject matter as can be seen by the title of the track. It doesn't have the crowd participation moments that 'The Clansman' does, but it really doesn't need them. The ten minutes of the song are used wisely, with some of the excellent instrumental sections you would expect of Maiden at this point telling an interesting story worth going back to again and again. 

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'The Parchment' is the longest track on the album at just over twelve minutes long, and is my favourite kind of modern day Maiden track. In the vein of my favourite Book of Souls track 'The Red and the Black', it's mainly designed to show off their guitar skills and I'm absolutely fine with that. I can see myself just chilling out with this track playing in the background whilst finding new things to enjoy about it every time. Again, it really doesn't feel as long as its run time suggests and feels closer to eight minutes than it does to twelve. 

It begins in a similar fashion to the title track, with a slower intro before speeding up towards the end. It's pretty much the definition of an epic Maiden track, with the fantastic guitar work you'd expect and some absolute powerhouse vocals from Bruce.

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At this point we've already been through so much as we reach the final track: 'Hell on Earth'. For as much as I already love the rest of this album, this is easily my favourite track on here. For a track that's just over eleven minutes long to be on my "Most listened to" playlist on Spotify, you know it has to be something special. 

It's hard to describe exactly why, but it just has me almost emotional on each listen. Something about those last 2 minutes just hits me. I don't know if its just my love of the band or the subject matter of the world being fucked that does it, but it's been a long time since music has gave me feelings like this, so I can only count it as a good thing. As soon as Bruce screams "Love in anger", I feel transported. As for the track itself, it just feels like a satisfying conclusion to everything we've heard so far. 

Just a brilliant track that builds and builds as it goes on before hitting a huge crescendo. They NEED to play this one live. I'll die happy if I get to hear it. 

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So overall thoughts on the album? Of course I love it. 

It's one of Maiden's most varied albums they've ever released and it only seems to get better and better with each listen as I discover more that I love about it. In that vein, it's much like with the outstanding Book of Souls in 2015, although this one might just even be a bit better! There's not a single turkey on here and not even a single track I could describe as filler or skippable material. Every track has a purpose, and the epic feel that the final three tracks bring cannot be overstated. 

I don't really give out ratings but this is an easy five star classic in my mind, and up there with modern classics Brave New World, A Matter of Life and Death, and Book of Souls.

Only time will tell where it ends up on the overall rankings. The 80s may have finally been overtaken as Maiden's golden period. Album of the year for me, no doubt.  

Tracks to check out: 'Writing on the Wall', 'Stratego', 'Death of the Celts', 'Hell on Earth'