Senjutsu Review

Band	Iron Maiden
Album	Senjutsu
Type	Album (Studio full-length)
Released	September 3, 2021
Genres	Heavy Metal
Labels	Parlophone
Length	1:21:55
Ranked	#58 for 2021 , #2,802 all-time

Reviewer :  Rin         Rating :  50 / 100

Ok so I will approach this album by listing how I felt about individual songs. I adore Iron Maiden's classic albums, but it has been a while since I heard anything other than middling LPs from them. Which is a huge bummer.

Also sorry for lack of any cohesion beforehand, because I'm writing this to curb my urge to do anything and everything. If you have problems, please fill my med bottle. Thanks.

Album cover - so, Apple Music says "Eddie, in full samurai regalia was immediately appealing". Bollocks. It is just a poorly rendered 3D model of Eddie. As someone else said, this is some boomer wapanese shit.

1. Senjutsu - There are guitar melodies which are payoffs without any setup. From 5 minute mark and onward they are decent, but before that, those solos are real doozy. You cannot just slap a good melody on a song and call it a day, you know?

Also, this cut features boring drums and questionable guitar mix. Both of them are certainly signs of things to come.

2. Stratego - Starts off good, a galloping riff is ear-catching. However, the band's method to complement Bruce's less-than-stellar vocal is questionable at best, and asinine at worst. Silly, and poorly mixed guitar melodies. Insipid, and equally poorly mixed synth. Is it really hard to give additional flavor to synth?

3. The Writing on the Wall - Why Bruce's vocal is mixed like it is wrapped in layers of paper foil? I listened to this song with higher volume once more, but seems like it is indeed poorly mixed. His vocal isn't even that bad to the point where hiding it behind instrumentals is justified. This is something I should've pointed out in former songs, but it just stands out so much more in this kind of Iron Maiden style epic song. Guitar solo is really good, though.

4. Lost in a Lost World - Why is the acoustic guitar in intro part so poorly mixed? Seems like the only thing I'm bitching about is mixing, but it really is bad. For Pete's sake, I can hear clippings! It shouldn't be this audible. Drums are also ear-piercing. Guitar melodies really don't complement his vocals. A band of Iron Maiden's caliber should know that vocal and guitar playing the same note doesn't count as harmony, so it can sound jarring when used this frequently, right? Why are you guys doing this over and over again? Also the solo really reminds me of Dance of Death. Outro also reminds me of Dance of Death. I want to listen to Dance of Death. Or Lost in the World by Kanye West, because that one has a similar name to this. Also Bon Iver sample on that one really gives me life.

5. Days of Future Past - Maybe the best song on this album. Other than rather uninspired vocal melody in chorus or a rather janky segue into the final chorus, this is a whole banger and a half. The solo should've been longer.

6. The Time Machine - Why are those dull acoustic intro on almost every song? Cut the loss, start off the song with a strong riff. Iron Maiden is suffering from Metallica Syndrome. Also, another song that reminds me of Dance of Death. I'm drifting out of my attention.

7. Darkest Hour - Intro could've been impressive if guitars are mixed well. Guitars really sound like they're cramped into one Pringles box. It sounds like it could've been a real hitter if it is mixed to sound ethereal. Which is an argument that goes for a lot of guitar segments in this album. Also, this song too is a victim of poorly written chorus melody.

8. Death of the Celts - It's almost like every song on this wretched album has an interlude, a bad one at that. Does this kind of interlude adds anything to the context of a song? It's not really about my short attention span, I can listen to one 2 hour album in one sitting and go 'damn this is a masterpiece'. It is that those interludes lacks any material to grab my attention. Also the instrumental break is appealing at first, but it overstays its welcome and meanders too long before guitar solos come in. Songs up to this point do not give me any emotions which are comparable to my experience with Dance of Death.

I think I know where Iron Maiden is going with all those epic songs, but when the album consists of just epic songs wall-to-wall, it's just boring. And for the last time, those songs aren't even that good. I want to listen to Rime of the Ancient Mariner or Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

9. The Parchment - A nice intro driven by bass (and bass is stronger than any other instrumentals on this album, mind you). Compositions, including relatively well-mixed synths and thunderous outro, are better than any other epic songs on this album. Also guitar solo acutally hits like a truck. Guitar & vocal melody going together actually works well on this song! Doesn't really justify this kind of length, though. Would've been a classic if it was around 7 minutes long. Certainly up there with Days of the Future Past.

10. Hell on Earth - Would've been much better if this was a short outro. Reflective vibe of the intro is nice, but again, it massively overstays its welcome. And again, the riff that opens up the song, in combination with galloping bass lines, is too reminiscent of Dance of Death. Furthermore, the sudden change of tempo and the instrumentation which connects the song into the instrumental break is awkward. Outro should've started way more explosive with the courtesy of better vocal takes, and given that this is an official outro for the entirety of the album, it should've been much more carefully written. Not just another generic calming instrumental.

Best: The Parchment, Days of the Future Past
Worst: Lost in a Lost World, Darkest Hour
2/10 - If Iron Maiden cannot write songs that are as compelling as they were in their prime, they should have at least kept their songs short, so that it at least sounds fresher and diverse.