Janick continues to bring forth some of Maiden’s best material. That was a Harris/Gers track too, but with added help from Dickinson. This reminds me a lot of “Ghost of the Navigator” the way they play around with the pre-chorus/chorus/post-chorus bits. I love the chorus teaser - the concussive blasts have you convinced Bruce’s voice is gonna spread its wings… but it’s cut off quick and back to the gallop we go for another couple rounds and some drawn out chords and, finally, that big chorus payoff. There’s some sort of vocal effect here and, actually, it works quite well with Janick’s lead tone. There’s no mistaking it - this is a Gers co-write, evidenced by him playing the vocal melody on guitar underneath Bruce. This has a dark, cloaked rider kind of feel (ironically, this visual dominated the video for “The Writing on the Wall”).
"STRATEGO" (4:59)Īnd, finally, all that tension has been erased! A yearning lead and a steady gallop helps make things feel more familiar. The leadoff spot on an Iron Maiden album is a sacred thing and without even hearing the rest of the album, this spot feels just right for the title track. The drumming makes the comparison easy, but that’s about the extent of that nation. But dynasties must be protected, even in the face of imminent defeat.Ī lot of people will probably say this sounds a lot like Tool.
It’s not the only subtle nod to their past on this album.īattle! And lots of it! With enemies to the north, south, east and west, it explains the disorienting nature of “Senjutsu” and the extremely dismal atmosphere. These two also wrote the intro on The Final Frontier, and it sounds like they really expanded on those opening drum sounds they played with over a decade ago now. “Senjutsu” highlights each of their strengths. The Steve Harris/Adrian Smith co-writes are always enticing - the guy who writes all the long songs and the one who still has a knack for the quicker ones. There’s a sort of despondency here that is uncomfortable, mainly from that marauding groove. This groove is relentless, there’s multiple vocal tracks and some shrill bits of keyboard orchestration. Here’s Bruce! He sounds like a wise, experienced wizard, which helps explain that silvery mane he’s got now. Wherever we are, it’s unlike anywhere else we’ve been - and we’re only 45 seconds in. Up the irons! IRON MAIDEN'S SENJUTSU - A SUPERFAN'S TRACK-BY-TRACK GUIDE + REVIEWĪ solitary drum - THUD! - two more - THUD! THUD! - some noises that sound like that chattling of the silver screen’s alien villain Predator creep in… where are we?Ī muscular chord now fills out the speakers, some descending chords come in and Nicko McBrain is still behind it all, an architect of disorienting, pounding, tumbling tom-kick patterns. Four songs over nine minutes long, each composed solely by Steve Harris is enough to flood the imagination of every Maiden fan with limitless possibilities.Īlthough the release of Senjutsu is still weeks away (pre-order your copy here), I have some food for thought - some Piece of Mind, if you will - to prepare you for the journey that lies ahead. The track listing and its respective writing credits alone have fueled countless conversations and debates, all of which have been purely wild speculation. Weeks, months even, are spent in a gleeful agony, waiting for anything new to come through the Maiden funnel. Then came the 'Belshazzar's Feast' teaser campaign that sent fans racing to every corner of the internet to piece together clues and their ultimate significance in advance of the release of the animated music video for the lead single, "The Writing on the Wall."Īs an obsessive Iron Maiden fan for over half my life, I've been where many of you are - scouring message boards and forums, eager to participate in and and all discussions and unfounded projections with the rest of the band's unparalleled global fanbase.
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