IRON MAIDEN Senjutsu Album Review | BangerTV 

Maiden's strength in the 80s was that they could write longer songs like Hallowed Be Thy Name, Phantom of the Opera, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Powerslave, and they were filled with so many different riffs, solos and sudden tempo changes that you were thoroughly entertained for the entire duration of the song without feeling its length. Maiden lost the ability to do this. Song length isn's their problem, just purely repetitiveness.

One of Maiden's best albums IMO. I absolutely LOVE Stratego, The Writing on the Wall, Lost in a Lost World, Days of Future Past, Darkest Hour, The Parchment, and Hell on Earth. The opener is also super atmospheric and really gives you a good feel for the tone of the album. It reminded me a lot of Sattelite 15 from the equally wonderful Final Frontier.

New album just means a future tour and a opportunity to see them.

It's been 21.5 months since this album came out. The more I listened to it, the more I understood how great it is! The last 3 tracks are all amazing, and I love the way they flow from one to the next. I constantly have those 3 on when doing work around the house. I think Senjutsu is a really good album made by adults, for adults (this in not adolescent or kid metal). I give it an 8 out of 10.

Regarding Nicko's drumming, it's amazing that he is 69 years old and blowing our minds. He reminds us a double kick and blast beats aren't the only thing that proves you to be a great drummer.

I feel this album is pretty slow and mellow, kind of miss the faster songs they had in The Book of Souls. Not bad but I like the last two albums better.

Ok you heard Martin's thoughts on Senjutsu. Agree? Disagree? Let us know what YOU think!

AMORPHIS! Also: Y'all should do an Iron Maiden albums ranked like you did with Mastodon and Judas Priest. Im curious where BangerTV thinks all the albums stack up

There are only so many ways you can say "the new Maiden album is a piece of shyatt!" And we've been saying it for about two decades.

Brave New World overrated? I disagree. A Matter of Life and Death excellent album? Totally agree with that.

Great review Martin! I really appreciate Maiden still being around and making listenable to great music!

I love Martin. He doesn't hold back to appeal to the fanboys. . Very unbiased review.

Got it today, and i enjoy it. It seems a little derivative in places, but this is Iron Maiden. If they didn’t sound like Iron Maiden, it would be weird…. Worth the purchase.

Was looking forward to the review of Martin! Personally I loved the album. My second favorite since the reunion after BNW, which I totally love. Funny fact my after 2000 ranking is almost the opposite of Martin’s. That’s why I love album rankings :)

The fact that there still around at there age still putting out solid work I’m happy with this album there’s no such thing as bad maiden

Iron Maiden is Iron Maiden, they do what they want. To me this album is a continuation of the past 20 years of them increasing the amount of prog in their work. Personally i love the long songs. And as for the comparisons aka the clansman to death of the celts, its good to see them adding and growing with the years. Kind of like this is how much more experience we have. Also really like the darker brooding feeling of the album. Most Maiden songs are quite heavy topics but this album just hits and sits differently tonally

As someone in their 50s who grew up on Maiden I found myself agreeing with a lot of Popoff's points. That got me thinking, does your viewpoint on Maiden depend on when you first discovered them? Much like the Star Wars movies there seems to be a great divide depending on what your first exposure was. If you started listening in the early 2000s then this fits right in, but if your first memories are Killers, Number of the Beast, Powerslave, etc, then you're looking at new Maiden differently. Regardless though, a new Maiden album is always cause to celebrate.

Hey Martin, thanks for this review. I love Iron Maiden, but things are starting to sound the same with the last 3 albums. Another album that came out yesterday was the new album from The Night Flight Orchestra and people need to start listening to these guys they are awesome!!!

Been waiting for this the whole morning!!!

Appreciate the video. Album is best listened to from start to finish. No songs that really standout (worthy of individual listen), but none that are throw away either. Best thing about it is that their songs are always better live because of the energy they bring to their shows. Looking forward to the tour.

This is Iron Maiden dammit, they've given us great music for decades, the only issue I have with this album is that it ends, now I'm going to buy the shirt and play the hell out of this album because it could be their last

Steve songs don't stand out? I beg to differ sir! 'Hell on Earth' is nothing short of perfection! The long intro and outro are beautiful. As for your Amorphis top... excellent band!

Best album since Dance of Death for me. Hell on Earth and Time Machine has some of Maidens best melodies.

I must say though, it's awesome to see Bruce with long hair again! Talking about Bruce, his solo albums still kick so much ass... I wish they would bring some of that almost thrashy sound into Maiden! It's like Judas Priest... Painkiller was basically thrash, and Rob Halford couldn't get enough of it so he left Judas Priest to create Fight. He came back and inspired the band to incorporate some of what he learned from that. Bruce should encourage Maiden to dare to step outside the zone of this unfortunate formula they've got going, break some boundaries , and dare to be vicious again!

Totally agree with Martin's comment that Maiden aren't proggy just because they write long songs.

Hell on Earth is the best song they've written in 15 years.

I fully agree with your review and I love that Amorphis shirt you’re wearing!! :)

Had it on repeat all day. Possibly my favourite Maiden album since Brave New World. In relation to the controversy over the production quality - something that really didn't help is that the production quality on Stratego is probably the worst from the entire album. I have to admit I was worried after listening to that track when it first came out but no - the rest of the tracks are much better produced.

This album is a poetic and harmonic masterpiece. The instrumental breakdowns throughout are sensational, and the trio of epics Death of the Celts, The Parchment, and Hell on Earth are crazy good!

This is a pretty much on point review. I honestly really haven't cared much for anything they've done since Fear of the Dark. I'm not sure if it's the lack of Martin Birch to reel them in and focus, too few big riffs, too many extended intros and too many bloated 10 and 12 minute "epics" that could have been trimmed down to 8. I try to give it a chance and end up bored and going back to Powerslave.

Where did they find some of those alternative covers? Specifically the Dance of Death and Book of Souls ones?

Can we all talk about Martin’s Amorphis shirt?

IRON MAIDEN fans are as passionate as TOOL fan are. We love our family and will fight to the death for them. 🤘UP THE IRONS🤘

People complain it's tool long, but for me it was over before I even knew it. "Wait, that was the last track?" Was my genuine reaction. I just miss the riffage; in their later years, they've taken more to composing stacked chord structures that are very rich and big sounding, but there aren't many standout riffs like Number of the Beast or harmonized leads like Aces High. I do love that Bruce lays down more harmonized vocals here tho. Overall, I think this was more enjoyable than Book of Souls; there were definitely some tracks on there that kind of outstayed their welcome and could've been pared down considerably. I can't wait for them to come to California though, I'm absolutely JONESING for a Maiden show lol

super excited to hear it

I love Martin's reviews!! Now you have to update the Iron Maiden Album By Album book... hehehe

I have been a Maiden fan for 40 years and they are by far my favorite band.....listened to this album 3 times so far. Sadly, not impressed. Hoping it will grow on me but I'm not feeling the energy here.

Finally! Someone that doesnt sugarcoat long and boring by claiming its "prog" thank you!

Great Shirt, Martin! The Album arrived today, just a few minutes ago....

Awesome review from mighty martin.!!!!!!!

I think The Parchment is a fabulous tune.

The Solo's, drumming are fantastic on this album. Very solid album.

Great review, love ur RUSH trilogy as well man!!

I am a die hard Maiden fan, I love songs from pretty much all their albums. I was patiently waiting for Senjutsu to come out. It's not too bad overall, I am not really surprised but it's also not totally what I was expecting is well. Before the album came out, I did like the song Stratego. I feel like the album is not as good as Books of Souls but I am still not sure, sometimes it takes a awhile for the songs to grow on me. For me it happens a lot with Iron Maiden. I might hear a song and not really think much of it, but when I listen to the song again later, I really dig it. Death of the Celts is my favorite song on the album. Pretty good album overall, I enjoyed it, but I kind of wish some songs were a bit heavier, but that's just me. Bruce's vocals are in really good shape, a great job by him. Like you said, musicianship is amazing as well, Nicko's drumming is spot on and the guitar work is great, Steve's bass has its signature sound is well. I will give the album 75% out of 100.

Love it. It’s been playing steady here since it arrived .

For me this is one of those albums that You need to listen 2 or 3 times before You can apreciate it

Classic shirt! Loved that tour.

The parchment could have been 10 minutes longer and I would not have complained. It is such an amazing song.

Personally I think it’s brilliant! I’ve been a big fan since the 80’s and I’m just grateful to have new music. I’m not going to knock it, I really like it.

Great review Martin! I really like this album, and also love The Book of Souls. I'm a pretty big fan of the long songs on the album, especially The Parchment and Hell on Earth. I definitely agree Death of The Celts sounds a lot like The Clansman.

This review is just ad what I thought. You're a detailed reviewer.

There is a "deluxe version" sold with only one CD. Does anyone know how is it a full album with just one disc?

I have to go back and listen a few more times but I'm not blown away, honestly., I just miss the harmonized guitar leads of much of the 80s stuff. Moreover, I don't find the guitar solos to be all that memorable, well-orchestrated or well placed. They're mostly shredding. The best solo on the album is Adrian's from TWOTW.

It all started to slip after Seventh Son...

At 7:53 I love that you subbed out the terrible Dance of Death cover with the same art I use for my Spotify DoD mix, a much more appropriate cover.

I definitely agree about the complaints about the songs not being proggy, just long, but this was actually the one album where it worked for me and I wasn't bored, it felt more patient and organic rather than flat out repetitious

I liked really liked Writing on the Wall and Death if the Celts, and some of the soloing on the album was pretty cool. The problem though is that Iron Maiden only knows 3 chord progressions, and so a lot of their songs sound the same. The early albums are amazing, but I can only hear the C D E and the E C G D chord progressions so many time before they become stale.

Martin was spot on. The long songs are long and repetitive, not proggy!! Funny, but it only took a few seconds on Rime of The Ancient Mariner to Bruce start singing. Remember when Maiden long songs were 7 minute long? Those were the days...

Eddie in full samurai armor with a katana, I was expecting the songs to be a little more exciting.

...i'm trying to get into it... i've listened to it 3 times now... i share some of the complaints addressed in this video, but i figure if i listen to it a month straight it will probably grown on me more.

I love this record, start to finish. I’m not here to argue or compare it to previous records. It’s fantastic the whole way through.

Yes a bit too long indeed, but Iron Maiden has done long but fast paced songs in the past: Caught Somewhere in Time, Heaven Can Wait, 22 Acacia Avenue, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Fear Of The Dark... all of them past the mark of 6-7 minutes. The difference to me in the last 20 years is that they don't use fast rythms as often as they used to, and that makes their long songs pretty much have the same composition and make them really challenging to keep up, even for long time fans (27 years out of my 37 in my case). Anyway I think is the fresher stuff they had release since Brave New World.

Great reviewer!

As a big fan of 60's and 70's progressive rock, as well as a big fan of metal, I find very little "progressive" about Iron Maiden. Even during the "Somewhere in Time" and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" eras, they were AT MOST flirting with progressive instrumentation, arrangement and composition. I think Steve Harris really fancies himself a progressive musician, but I just don't hear it. Song length, conceptual lyrics, LOTS of repetition and the occasional tendency to reprise do not a prog band make.

I see Martin prefers the "alternative" artwork for Dance of Death, haha.

Put me to sleep. Forgot what I just heard minutes after hearing it. Did Nico fall asleep during recording? Not their finest hour.

I used to be a big fan, but I’ve not bought an Iron Maiden album since 1990’s No Prayer for the Dying. However, I must admit I got caught up in the hype on this one and ended up buying the triple vinyl set. I have to say I absolutely love it, I think it’s a terrific album. Anyone recommend 2 or 3 recent albums of theirs I should also check out?

It's like hearing my exact toughts. I agree w everything said

Was anyone else disappointed by the lack of harmony guitars and big hooks and choruses? I love maiden to death but it seems like they missed some of the key components that make so much of their other albums great. There was an excess of build up with the prog elements but not enough reward with catchy hooks and soaring leads. With that said "Hell On Earth" has some of the best melodies I ever heard but the structure of it didn't allow proper repetition of it. As always though Up The Irons!

I really enjoyed this album when listening to it for the first time. Actually kind of surprised how good it sounds and it kept me interested the entire time. A+

Never heard a new Iron Maiden album since Dance of Death. From what I've heard about those albums I don't know if I want to , but the tribal drums song must be worth checking out

Thank you for discussing the long songs situation. I have been an Iron Maiden fan for more than 30 years. However, they have become obsessed with extremely long songs. Book of Souls had Empire of the Clouds which was 18 minutes long! This album is no different with their average song being 7 minutes or longer. Yes, back in the old days there was Rime of the Ancient Mariner which was 13 minutes long, but it is a very entertaining and cool song. The new ones, not that much.

I’m afraid to listen to this record. The first track that I had heard…boring. I might be too old school. Their first five records are gold and then they got pretty monotonous to me.

I'm probably one of only a handful watching this whose favorite Maiden era is the Paul Di'Anno era. I love the 80s Dickinson era (especially his first three albums with the band), but I don't think they've ever surpassed those first two records.

I agree 100% about the long songs. They made a couple reaeaeally good before the 2000s, but their strength was in normal length, simple and fast heavy metal. Killers and No Prayers of the Dying are my all time favorites. Killers is even very punk-related to me (we all now Di’Anno was a punk😀). I was a bit disappointed in Book of Souls, the post-2000 album i bought. Speed of light is a great song though, would even call it a Maiden-classic. But all the post-2000 albums never really convinced me....great review! Very honest!

I agree AMOLAD, has been my top one as well. Although I feel it's to early to compare the new album at this time. Thanks for your review dude.

Listened to this 4 times and it might be my fault, not to understand more complex music, but somehow I miss here almost everything which makes No of the beast, Powerslave, or 7th son, so easy to digest, so energetic and powerful. Somewhere I read about Writing on the wall, that it sounds much better with 1,25 speed played on youtube. I tried, and hell yeah, it is true. So maybe after giving a few more trials I will get more used to this album, but unfortunately this is for me not even in the top 5 Maiden albums. Fans however will be most probably satisfied with it…

My 2000s Maiden albums ranked 1. A Matter of Life and Death 2. Brave New World 3. Dance of Death 4. Senjutsu 5. The Book of Souls 6. The Final Frontier

So far, I love the album, but I haven't heard all of it yet. I like Maiden because they write long songs. Due to the high asking prices of CDs, I want as much music as possible. I want bang for my buck. I hope Martin does a video with Pete from Sea Of Tranquility about the album as well.

I honestly haven't cared about a new Iron Maiden album in a long time but I'll always listen to Martin opine on music.

RANT ! Life is unfair - Maiden fans and media alike will force themselves to suffocation to like this album and the band’s entire latter half of their career, and Iron Maiden will always be the winners in a way, because they are Iron Maiden. Regardless of the fact that they haven’t done anything, literally anything memorable since “The mercenary” from Brave new world which came out how many ? Yes, 20 f*cking years ago !! I am done with this band. Nothing to hear besides overly long and repetitive songs and bragging about how much of an Iron Maiden are we. On the other hand Helloween, released a nuclear power plant of an album that shoots hit after hit, without a single filler and yet they got criticized for making it too long …and it is 20 mintutes shorter than Senjitsu. In comparison to Iron Maiden that have been making questionable music for quite some time now, Helloween get criticized for every new album they release for “not being a Keeper”. And without a weak album since Andi Deris joined if you think about it. But that’s another story. Fuck maiden, the most overrated band for the past 30 years with the most toxic fan base in the world that rivals only the Pantera and slayer fans in toxicity. If you want to really have a good ol’ British metal with more quality and less pretentious attitude try the more recent outputs by Saxon and Judas Priest.

I rarley check a rating on a maiden album because i am a big fan of them ,but interestingly i am amazed that you chose a matter of life and death as your number one 2000s album it is my choise too 😊

Hey i have the same marshall amp the MS4 :) keep on rocking bro. !!! up the iron's !!!

It's like every album since 2000. Some absolute works of art,some meh. The last two tracks are incredible

Yep, I'm one of those weirdos that likes Final Frontier as well. The repetitive musical themes on Senjutsu make it tough to get through at times.

finally we agree with something martin! spot on review!

I just saw you on SOT. Martin Popoff = the The Flash of heavy metal

Well, being a teenager in the 80's I owned every Maiden album on vinyl, but they've lost me after A Brave New World. Listening to their albums that came after is a real drag. And that can't be said about Judas Priest. Firepower is a killer. Maybe Maiden should try a new producer instead of Kevin Shirley, just saying.

Yeah if this record came out in 1980 as their debut... Im certain they wouldn't have lasted a decade let alone till 2021

Perfect review

As usual with post-2000 Maiden, my favourite songs on this album are the shorter ones where they get to the point. Days of Future Past has this really cool riff after the intro and I love how they keep the tempo and energy up in the song. A lot better than any of their other uptempo songs from the last 2 albums. Darkest Hour is pretty great, even if it is a bit of a re-hash of Wasting Love. Honestly I'm at that point where the Harris epics now bore me instead of get me excited. The Parchment was pretty interesting and had great solos, but the other two are just tedious. It's not a bad album, but it's certainly not up to par with their best albums. At least we get some good songs out of it.

I'm a huge advocate for the sequencing of this record, I think that having the more energetic songs at the beginning makes the three longer songs at the end seem not so long. Like Final Frontier's sequencing but better.

I will continue to listen to Powerslave and what came before it... ;)

It's fantastic to listen while driving

It's not a bad album and hear alot of x factor and a matter of life and death on senjutsu. I just wish there were a couple of faster songs on here like aces high or be quick or be dead on this album.

I liked Maiden in the 80s when they were a metal band and had good solid rhythms.

Totally agree.... Its an ok album, that's it really.

I agree 100% on what you said about "Lost In A Lost World". It does sound like "Afraid To Shoot Strangers" and it would be better if it weren't a very long song!

Could this album be an power Ballard album slow and good like the song by Judas Priest’s beyond the realms of death

On the 1st run we like Senjutsu, Lost in a Lost World, Days of Future Past. The rest of the songs take too long to get going or some guitar parts sound like past albums I heard before, like on the song Time Machine. The album did not sound fresh.