Iron Maiden new album, "Senjutsu" - release date September 3, 2021*

I think this record gave me narcolepsy. Someone needs to tell Steve to cool it with the acoustic intros and tighten up his writing. Mercyful Fate have more riffs in a 5 minute song than Maiden do in an 18 minute one.

Also, get a new producer. How did a mix this muddy get approved for one of the biggest metal bands in the world?

 

I can confirm the slight distortion on CD and Spotify (don't have the vinyl), but two of the Harris epics are fine ("Lost In A Lost World" and luckily "Hell On Earth"). It's on the other two, though, and on "The Time Machine" (thankfully only very slightly there from 4:37 to 5:23). Generally, it's only during some of the louder solo sections (but not all the way through), particularly on "Death Of The Celts" from 7:22 to 8:03. On "The Parchment" it's from 5:02 to 5:59 and from 11:57 to 12:02.

It's very unprofessional and a bit of a shame. Despite its faults, I'm usually not complaining about the production and mastering from Shirley and Harris. It's not as good as the classics from Birch, but I'm not letting that get in the way of the songs. That said, I've never noticed any distortion like that before. It's also unusual that Bruce's vocal is slightly lower in the mix for the middle-eight from "Senjutsu" and the first verse from "Stratego".

 

Shut your Trap!! The cheapness is easy , never question , obey and joyfully accept the mediocrity.

 

As you imply, I think that would be unreasonable to expext. Not many artists top their initial peak period. Less will do just fine.

 

I've just finished my first listen and I have to admit, this isn't grabbing me at all. It's a shame - the presentation is as excellent as you'd expect and the red/black vinyl looks stunning, but man this is a bland album. Yes the mix is poor, but it almost doesn't matter when the songs are so forgettable.

I'm a big Maiden fan and am one of those strange folks who loved 'Book of Souls', but I'm really disappointed by this record. It's just one listen though and I've been wrong before, so I'll give it another go later in the week. Not surprised to see that it is dividing opinion here however.

 

Does anyone else think the cd sounds good?

 

It's sounds great on my system but I seem to be in the minority.

 

1. I think the cds sounded good last night through a bottlehead crack and sennheiser 650 headphones. I did pick up some crackling between tracks 4 and 5 and a couple other spots. Waiting for some comparisons of the vinyl variants before buying a copy(probably black)
   
   love the music tho

 

No crackling on mine, does it state where the CD's were manafactured? I thought new vinyl was bad for quality control, hope cd's are not heading the same way.

 

I thought the exact same after my first listen, all I took from it was similarities to Dance Of Death, Nomad, When The Wild Wind Blows, but it’s starting to get a lot better for me with repeated listens, The Parchment is the most impressive track, aside from the first two tracks released which I really liked.

 

I haven't yet listened to the full album from my deluxe book yet, but the couple tracks I've heard did sound good (if not even great) on my system.
I've just been spinning the few lp-editions here but soon I will listen to the cd in full. Absolutely great album!

 

New interview with Nicko:

Talk Is Jericho: Nicko McBrain – Tactics, Stratego & Senjutsu

 

I’ve taken to buying cds or hi res on release day and waiting a while to buy vinyl editions for that very reason. Rarely pre order vinyl anymore, esp the super limiteds. They almost never offer anything in the sound department that beats a standard black

 

The Parchment was a real standout for me and I liked the two released tracks as well, so this gives me hope that it's a grower! I have the day off work on Wednesday, so will try and find an hour to sit down and listen to it properly, without any other distractions. Even 'Final Frontier' grew on me eventually, so I won't write this one off yet.

 

Beyond the incredibly amateur mix, the global absence of riffs is the most puzzling about this album. Senjutsucks is a more appropriate title.

 

Don't give up hope yet! I love The Book Of Souls, too (and The Final Frontier even more). It took me a few listens to get into the new album, but I really enjoy most of it now. When I first heard "The Writing On The Wall" I was disappointed and thought the chorus was weak. It was only a week ago that it finally clicked (and I love the chorus now). At the moment, my favourite album tracks are "The Time Machine" and "Hell On Earth". "The Parchment" has grown on me, too, but overall I prefer the first disc, because I'm not that keen on "Darkest Hour" and "Death Of The Celts".

 

Love the intro to Lost In A Lost World, and the verses in The Time Machine.

 

Yes, "Lost In A Lost World" has one of the best intros (and outros) of Maiden's whole catalogue, and "The Time Machine" has one of the best verses.

 

The one thing this album doesn't seem to have...song title choruses that repeat 12x.

 

That's very good thing and also the whole album is so easy to listen to, 82 minutes go so fast and again have start from the beginning.

 

I can't decide if it's Loose or Lazy...some feels relaxed and mature and other parts feel like they stuck a random change in then tacked on another solo and part of a verse then outro pt. 1 followed by slower outro pt. 2 then a fade out. This easily could've been a single CD with a tiny bit of trimming.

 

I have no problems with the album, songs or performances or it's lenght as I've praised it already here, but maybe it could have been trimmed down couple minutes.
But I can take it as it, so no need to trim down at all. The whole album is so great, no wasted moments, fillers or weaker songs. Everything works for me.
Every and each time I've now listened to this (over 10+ times already) when "Hell On Earth" outro goes to fade..I always wish that the song would last little longer.

 

Just watching this on YouTube right now. Looks bloody good, I have to say!!

 

Ditto for me. No complaints at all.

And have given both CDs five listens so far in about 3 days. Liked everything on first listen but loving 'em more on repeated listens. CD2 is stronger than CD1 IMO but on the whole for me this is a very satisfying Maiden album.

 

Yeah somehow that criticism must have filtered through to Arry and the boys because it seems like they went out of their way to not do that this time.