Iron Maiden, Senjutsu

It’s always a joy to hear Iron Maiden have a new record out. And after six years since the last release, I can say even from the first harmonies of Senjutsu that I really missed their distinctive sound and Bruce Dickinson’s intense singing.

Steve Harris reprises his role as the main songwriter, with Bruce taking a step back and honestly, I’m kind of disappointed because Bruce did a great job on the previous album, with his very own Empire of clouds immediately becoming one of my favourite Maiden songs. But that’s not to say Harris does a poor job, his compositions have carried the band for close to 40 years for a reason. And Senjutsu is a solid record, there’s no discussion about it.

Stratego is fast paced and full of vigour, in true Iron Maiden fashion and the shining star of the first half of Senjutsu. The writing on the wall has an oldschool rock vibe, but it’s part of the “don’t look to the eyes of a stranger” school of over-repeating a phrase, so I got tired of it quickly. Lost in a lost world strives to do the same thing with a riff instead of a verse.

So all in all, the first disc is good, but not very impressive. It presents everything you love (or hate) about Iron Maiden, with their iconic (or overused, depending on what your view on the subject is) instrumentals and Bruce’s high pitched wordy (or strangled screechy) vocals.

Then the spells starts to break and the albatross falls from their neck, as the second part is excellent. With four epics and a few touches of progressive, it saves Senjutsu from mediocrity and reminds me exactly why I love this band.

Darkest hour is steady and emotional (as much as you can expect from Maiden) and to my joy, Bruce delivers more of his lower vocals.

Death of the celts reminds me a bit of The clansman (which is another beloved of mine), calm and settled in the beginning, then slowly picking up the pace and becoming more determined until it breaks out into Iron Maiden’s now famous long and intricated guitar trio.

The parchment is simply epic, melodic and full of a sort of settled power, with wonderful vocals from Bruce and generally awesome and Hell on earth is equally good. I just love their long rhythm-changing story-like tracks, it’s probably my favourite part of Iron Maiden and I’m thrilled to see that lately they’ve embraced that side of them and displayed it in all its glory. I’m sure the oldschool heavy metal fans want their Maiden back, but I’m happy with this new direction (I’ve gone a bit more into detail about it in my Book of souls review).

Personally I’m satisfied with the record and think it has something to offer for each fan, so I don’t really understand all the criticism the album has received online, but I sometimes feel like people can’t enjoy things anymore. Especially on the internet, it’s become a trend to just bash everything and complain all the time. I guess I’m also complaining about complaining. So let’s break the trend and bring in the holiday cheer by savoring Senjutsu. Bottoms up!