Iron Maiden – Senjutsu

The last time Iron Maiden released an album (The Book of Souls), I vividly remember going to see Jack Russell’s Great White later that evening. Almost six years to the day, Iron Maiden have released their long awaited follow up, Senjutsu, and who am I going to see later tonight? You guessed it. Jack Russell’s Great White. It’s funny how some things come full circle. As Rush once sang, “The more that things change, the more they stay the same.” However, one thing that has changed in those six years is yours truly and his attitude towards this English metal staple. When The Book of Souls dropped, I was an eager 16 year old who bowed down at the altar of all things Maiden, even going so far as to walk two miles from my high school to the nearest Barnes & Noble to buy the album on vinyl. Now I’m a 22 year old self made online metal journalist, and although I still hold Maiden in the utmost regard, I now tend to view their catalog in a more critical sense.

Let me start this review by saying anyone who expected this album to be a throwback to the NWOBHM or *insert classic 80s album here* part 2 or “the old Maiden” is a moron. I swear, metalheads say “I miss the old Maiden.” the same way hip hop heads say “I miss the old Kanye.” Such a deep seeded yearning for nostalgia is unhealthy. Granted, there are some exceptions (it’d be amazing to see what a bag of blow could do to Aerosmith these days), but in the case of Maiden, Steve Harris has embraced his grandiose vision of his band being the world’s premiere progressive metal juggernaut. Acts like Yes, Genesis, and Jethro Tull were just as pivotal to Iron Maiden’s sound as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Deep Purple, and it shows on essentially every release since Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, with hints going as far back as Piece of Mind.

Senjutsu carries on the grand tradition of every Maiden album since Brave New World: prog metal godfathers in a post-prog metal world. Some of these albums have been creative triumphs (BNW, A Matter of Life and Death, The Book of Souls). Others have fallen short, wading in a pool of “okay-ness” (Dance of Death, The Final Frontier). Where does Senjutsu fall between these two categories? Somewhere in between, creating its own third category of “I want to enjoy this from beginning to end, but don’t know if I’m capable of doing so.”

The album opens with a tribal, rhythmic title track, topped with an anthemic Maiden chorus. While this buildup of an opener is one of the stronger cuts, it falls victim to the often muddy and compressed production of Kevin Shirley. The same can be said for the excellent “Stratego”, which sounds like a cross between the Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son eras. Fortunately, the mix becomes clearer as the album goes on, but such amateurish blunders makes one wonder why Maiden continues to work with Shirley. This has been an issue on multiple modern Maiden albums, even the excellent ones, but I digress.

As we all know by now, “The Writing on the Wall” was released as the album’s first single. Upon first listen, I wasn’t too impressed with this pseudo-folk metal epic. A month and a half later and I’m still not completely sold, but it fits better within the mold of this album than as a standalone single. It makes more sense as the album goes on and we hear cuts like “The Time Machine” and “Death of the Celts”. Maybe I need to revisit some recent Maiden albums, but Senjutsu appears to be the first Maiden album to display a significant folk metal influence within its riffs, melodies, and arrangement. The incorporation of acoustic guitars on many songs only does more to add to this. For reference, think the rural folksiness of Skyclad as opposed to the drunken buffoonery of every other folk metal band.

The remainder of Senjutsu falls into the post-BNW category of prog metal done Maiden style. Despite some aesthetical differences, what all these songs have in common are the forceful vocals of Bruce Dickinson, the triple guitar attack of Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Janick Gers, the melodic bass of Steve Harris, and the leading drums of Nicko McBrain. “Lost in a Lost World” showcases all of these traits with the ever famous “jump up and down” groove similar to “The Wicker Man”. “Darkest Hour” is a passionate and powerful prog ballad with equally moving fantastical war themed lyrics. “The Parchment” boasts the most gripping riffs and solos of the album: a six string showcase if there ever was one. And of course, the one non-prog song happens to be the shortest and most energetic, “Days of Future Passed”. At a little over 4 minutes, this is just old school, fist pumping, headbanging fun.

As Senjutsu closed with the 11+ minutes “Hell on Earth”, I came to the conclusion that this is a good album of good ideas that tends to get lost in a sea of over ambitiousness. Many of these ideas were executed with better result on A Matter of Life and Death and The Book of Souls. Perhaps in the weeks, months, and years to come, Senjutsu will grow on me as a “lost classic”. Until then, I’ll continue to root for the mighty Maiden, because somebody needs to keep upping the irons.

6 out of 10

Label: Parlophone

Genre: Heavy Metal

For fans of: Judas Priest, Queensrÿche, Arena