Eventually, Maiden released a new song and music video on an unsuspecting world, “The Writing on the Wall”, and not long after indeed came clean. They had secretly recorded a new album at the time that was suspected by some, and the intention had been to release it after the Legacy of the Beast tour had finished, giving them a break between touring and writing and touring again. Covid had ruined those plans – and goodness knows exactly what they will now do with the tours they had previously announced now that there is a new album out as well – and so Senjutsu was released upon the world.
Iron Maiden is still one of those bands that engenders an anticipation prior to a new album being released. It is not always the case with bands who have been around forever and have released so many albums, but Maiden still does it. It is possible that in the current day it could be because you never really know when their next album will be their last, and the thirst for more material adds to that anticipation.
The album opens with the title track “Senjutsu”, and in many ways sets the tone for the whole album to come. Rather than having an up-tempo and faster paced opening song like so many of Iron Maiden’s albums produce, this is indeed the least of both of those descriptions of almost any Iron Maiden album. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t capture your attention, but it is a different entry into a Maiden album than of most of the discography. The eight minutes of Nicko’s remarkable tom beating throughout the length of the song is the star attraction of this song, allowing Bruce to emote in harmony over the top. It is unlike any Iron Maiden song before this, abandoning a real metal feel of the album and replacing it with the moody and atmospheric sound that still subtly draws you in and arouses your anticipation for what is to come. The first time I put the album on I was surprised and yet comforted by the way the song plays out. Bruce’s vocals also remain in a range that allows him to sing without forcing the issue.
“Stratego” gets about as fast a tempo as we find on the new album and while it is an enjoyable song there are moments when listening to it that you hope for something to jump out and really grab you.
The first single “The Writing on the Wall” is a much different style than Maiden have offered us before as well. The guitar riff to open the song has a country sound to it, which on the first few listens is a bit difficult to fathom, though some interviews with Bruce and Adrian suggest it has more of a Celtic twang about it rather than country. Take your pick, it certainly is drawing from areas not often travelled by Iron Maiden. Once the song is in full swing, and the three guitarists have brought their solo pieces into play the song becomes much more fully formed and less strange to the ear.
“Lost in a Lost World” is almost the stereotypical Steve Harris song now, one where the solo pieces are the saving grace... but I’ll get back to Harry’s writing again shortly.
“Days of Future Past” brings us back to the kind of songs Adrian and Bruce have always been good at, picking up the pace and vibe, a great rhythmic riff from Adrian and Bruce and his vocals motoring along and driving the song in a positive fashion, which is then fleshed out by powerful and anthemic guitar solos by all three men involved. At four minutes in length it is the shortest song here, but also the punchiest, in the tradition that this writing pair have done in the past. Without wanting to sound negative, there should have been more of this kind of song on the album. This is followed by the excellent “The Time Machine”, written by Jannick and Steve, and harks back to the style of songs they have written together over recent albums. While it isn’t as high voltage and brilliant as “The Talisman” from "The Final Frontier” album, it has similarities throughout. It just seems unusual to change and stop within the song like it does rather than just letting it run through naturally, as it would have been much better if it had.
“Darkest Hour”, which opens the second disc, is just far too close to the deplorable “Wasting Love” from the Fear of the Dark album. It has the same tone in the singing, the same sort of weeping guitars, and although the subject matter is different, it is another attempt by our fine song writers to institute a power ballad type song into the Iron Maiden agenda, and that just isn’t doing it for me in any way shape or form. At over seven minutes I think it is exacerbated and drags it out far too long as well.
Something that does remain the same from Maiden songs written by Steve Harris over the past twenty years or so is the way they start and end with the quiet and often acoustic guitars and lyrics. Now, this has been happening for a long time now, and has almost become a trademark of Steve’s songs. But, and I say this with the utmost respect and deference... is it at all necessary? Can these songs survive without those parts being introduced? Yes, all of Steve’s songs tell a story, and a part of those stories is told in those introductions and conclusions, but my problem is that Steve’s songs just become a bit too predictable, not only with the opening and closing, but the lengthy underlying guitar riffs in the middle of the songs where nothing much seems to happen in them. It is absolutely as though all of this is there just to get the songs lengths into double figures, which is very much the way of progressive rock bands especially in the 1970’s, but is that what Steve is trying to achieve? Is he, in the latter years of the band he formed and took to the pinnacle of music, now simply trying to regress to those years of the bands he grew up with and try to out-progress or out-prog them? That may seem like an over-simplification of what is happening here and also on recent Maiden albums, but I could line up a dozen songs from that time and make that argument.
And, is it just me, or is Bruce singing along with the guitar melody guide far more on this album than he ever has? What has often set Bruce and his singing apart has been his ability to find a way to sing the lyrics of a song by not just following the riff, but by having it move in a different pattern to it, which gives each song a much different sound and flavour. Ronnie James Dio was able to do this as well, whereas Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath often just sang the lyrics along the same guide as played by the guitars. Here on Senjutsu, I think Bruce does this a lot, certainly a lot more than he has in the past. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a change in thought processes.
All of this seems more noticeable in the final three songs of the album, all written solely by Steve and harbouring all of these things I have just spoken about.
Is “Death of the Celts” just an attempt to create another “The Clansman” which Maiden did on the Virtual XI album? If it is, they made a bit of an error of judgement. This lacks the energy and heartfelt vocals of that song, though having said that, the three part guitar solos in the back third of the song are just superb, the absolute highlight of the song in my opinion. This is followed by “The Parchment”, the longest song on the album, and one that reminds me so much of Deep Purple it isn’t funny. Bruce’s singing is very much like latter day Ian Gillan, while Jannick Gers’ guitaring is a dead ringer for Ritchie Blackmore in places, though Jannick has always had a bit of that about him. For me, “The Parchment” is a bit of a plodder, jutting along with the same drumbeat and rhythm line and not really changing its expression throughout. And finally the album is concluded with “Hell on Earth” where Bruce hits the heights once again through the middle of the song and the guitars again do their party trick of three different men offering three different solos that all bind together pleasingly well. What interests me about these three songs is that, with every person I have spoken to over recent weeks who are fans of Iron Maiden, and in all of the reviews I have read published about this album, everyone seems to have a different opinion on which of the three songs is the best and highlights everything great about Maiden, and which song is overblown and a bit weak. I don’t know of anyone who absolutely loves all three songs nor anyone who doesn’t enjoy any of those final three tracks. As you can probably guess from what I have said here, for me it is “The Parchment” that feels a bit average in the long run.
One of the things I have noticed with all of Maiden’s album from A Matter of Life and Death onwards is that I have enjoyed them immensely more on the second round of listening. By that, I mean I give the album its usual time span in my playlist, anything up to 3-4 months, and then the album goes back to the shelf and I move on to the next set of albums – and then sometime over the next 6 months I pull it out again, and find a greater and deeper understanding and enjoyment of it having given it a rest for awhile. I have done that without fail for the three albums that preceded this album, with an initial overall disappointment apart from a few songs replaced by a better complete enjoyment of each album as a whole when I rediscovered them the second time. My guess is that “Senjutsu” won’t be any different from those albums for me. All four of those albums are very similar in the way the songs are written and the way they are set out on the album. Many won’t agree with me, but that similarity is what makes getting into these albums a more time consuming concept than the electrifying albums of the 1980’s was.
On The Final Frontier the immediate standout songs were “The Final Frontier”, “El Dorado” and “The Talisman”. The rest I thought were fine until that second run through later on, at which point I began to love them all and the album as a whole. On The Book of Souls the immediate standout songs were “If Eternity Should Fail”, “Death or Glory” and “Empire of the Clouds”, before the second run through brought to me the glory of songs like “The Red and the Black” and “The Book of Souls” and “Tears of A Clown”, and the joy that album now brings. I have the same feeling about this album, and my guess is the same story will occur. For me, the immediate standouts here are “Senjutsu”, “Days of Future Past” and “The Writing on the Wall”. There are others competing for spots the more I listen to the album, but my guess is that they won’t come to fruition until I get to that second run sometime next year.
The band sounds terrific as always, which is the most gratifying part of the exercise. As I’ve mentioned, each of the guitarists plays their part superbly, especially in each solo break where their styles are individual but combine to create the perfect sequence. Steve’s bass is as always sublime, and Bruce has controlled his vocals superbly to match the nuance of every song in his own inimitable style. For me though the MVP of this album is Nicko McBrain, who at 69 years of age is still producing amazing performances both live and in the studio. I’ve already mentioned how his performance on the opening track makes that song what it is, and again throughout the album he is a dominating force.
In concluding my thoughts on this album, I will again utilise something I have said over the past few Iron Maiden albums, which I believe is still completely true.
If you are going to try and compare this album with the work that this band did through the 1980's then you are never going to accept the wonderful things on offer on Senjutsu. It is a false facade in doing so. Try comparing Black Sabbath's “13” to “Paranoid”. Try comparing Scorpions “Return to Forever” with “Love at First Sting”. Try comparing Judas Priest’s “Firepower” to “Painkiller”. Try comparing anything Metallica release in the next couple of years to anything from that same 1980's era. Any album not from a band's 'great era' will rarely stand up against them, and that is the way it should be, and always will be. These are different men from 35 years ago. They are older, and they have seen and experienced the world since then. For lack of a better word, the music on this album shows a maturity that comes with age and a comfortableness in their lives and with themselves as songwriters. For the most part, the ferociousness may not be as prevalent in their music anymore, but their style and formula is still there to hear. Perhaps you won't jump around and headbang as much to this album as you do some others, but I'm 35 years older too, and I can appreciate what the band has written and recorded here.
This is Iron Maiden. Rejoice in the past. Accept the present. It is more than worth it.
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