The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[Mladen]

Second listen to Senjutsu:  This album is REALLY good.  Thus far, I might put it at #2 for 2021 just behind A View From the Top of the World (but I haven't listened to Innocence and Danger yet).  Solid effort.  This early, the "new car smell" isn't even close to wearing off, so I am cautious about being overly enthusiastic, but at this early stage, I am thinking this could be up in the discussion with my Maiden top 3 of The Final Frontier, Somewhere in Time, and Piece of Mind.  It kinda feels like the quality is up there with those 3, and even if it doesn't clearly surpass them, it does on quantity.  And I get why I was told that, being a fan of TFF, I would probably like this one.  Sonically, and in terms of writing, I hear a lot of similarity, which is great.  I think any time someone can say, "You know your favorite album from this band?  The new one sounds a lot like it, but it is even longer!" that is a surefire win.

EDIT:  Man, the RIFFS on this album!!! 

It's been a month and the new car smell is still as strong for me.

I used to stream it for ten days straight after it came out and then decided to put it away for a while. Now that the CD arrived in the mail, I am coming back to it every other day. Talk about staying power.

[bosk1]

Depending on where they end up playing, price of tickets, etc., this may be the tour where I get to scratch a "bucket list band" off the list.

I've seen them 3×,  in the last 10 years,  you won't be disappointed...

I saw them 3 times just on the last tour, but you are right.  No disappointments will be had.  But in all seriousness, the guys are getting old.  Go see them before the time runs out if you have the chance.  That definitely ran through my mind when I saw them the 3rd time, who knows if that ends up being the last?  (luckily with the pandemic not being as bad and the new album being released, it seems likely that won't be the last time, but you never know)

Yeah, I know.  REALLY wanted to see them on the Legacy of the Beast tour, but price and schedule were prohibitive. 

[TAC]

Bosk, knowing you're a big TFF guy, I'm not surprised you're liking Senjutsu. I find the albums quite similar, both in layout and quality.

[wolfking]

Bosk, knowing you're a big TFF guy, I'm not surprised you're liking Senjutsu. I find the albums quite similar, both in layout and quality.

Hmmm...I can see that in the layout.

[bosk1]

I mean, it doesn't have an El Dorado.  But that aside, it still manages to be really good.

[cramx3]

Bosk, knowing you're a big TFF guy, I'm not surprised you're liking Senjutsu. I find the albums quite similar, both in layout and quality.

I find them very similar too, but Senjutsu is much better than TFF to my liking.  I recall when the track listing came out, that I felt it might be very similar to TFF.

[MirrorMask]

TFF has actually the "same" tracklist as Matter, if you play around with it a little bit, it had the same type of songs if you discard the Satellite 15 intro and rearrange the order:

Different World / Final Frontier = energetic opener
Colors don't Run / Eldorado = single-ish rocker
Brighter than a 1000 Suns / Mother of Mercy = brooding song about war (ok, this is the weakest comparison)
Pilgrim / Alchemist = short, punchy rocker
Longest Day / Avalon = epic with a long buildup
Out of the Shadows / Coming Home = "ballad"
Benny Breeg / Man who would be king = "bluesish" epic (ok, the long songs are all interchangeable)
Greater Good of God / Wind Blows = Harris solo epic and longest song of the album
Lord of Light / Starblind = the oddball song
Legacy / Talisman = another epic with a long intro


Of course this doesn't "prove" anything and you can play around with the comparisons as much as you want, but the template is definitively there....

[DoctorAction]

The drums sound awesome on Senjutsu. The snare is ... crisp and tasty. Reminded me a little of when the snare comes in on Stairway to Heaven a couple of times today.

[425]

TFF has actually the "same" tracklist as Matter, if you play around with it a little bit, it had the same type of songs if you discard the Satellite 15 intro and rearrange the order:

Different World / Final Frontier = energetic opener
Colors don't Run / Eldorado = single-ish rocker
Brighter than a 1000 Suns / Mother of Mercy = brooding song about war (ok, this is the weakest comparison)
Pilgrim / Alchemist = short, punchy rocker
Longest Day / Avalon = epic with a long buildup
Out of the Shadows / Coming Home = "ballad"
Benny Breeg / Man who would be king = "bluesish" epic (ok, the long songs are all interchangeable)
Greater Good of God / Wind Blows = Harris solo epic and longest song of the album
Lord of Light / Starblind = the oddball song
Legacy / Talisman = another epic with a long intro


Of course this doesn't "prove" anything and you can play around with the comparisons as much as you want, but the template is definitively there....

I would just pair Breeg with Mother of Mercy and Brighter Than a Thousand Suns with The Man Who Would Be King.

I've noticed those similarities since very early on in my experience of the albums, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it (part of why the whole IAW/ADTOE things seems silly to me). The songs each have their own identity (and I'd take TFF in 8/10 matchups).

[wolfking]

I mean, it doesn't have an El Dorado.  But that aside, it still manages to be really good.

   Thank fuck it doesn't.

[NoseofNicko]

I mean, it doesn't have an El Dorado.  But that aside, it still manages to be really good.

   Thank fuck it doesn't.

+1

[darkshade]

Anyone else bored with the new album? Obviously not everyone..

Like, it's a good Maiden album. There's a few surprises in there, just like every other IM album, and I'm sure I'd enjoy it a lot if I was on an IM kick, but they really don't bring much new to the table that hasn't been done before on the previous 5 albums, much less the last 16 albums. I've felt the same way about TFF and TBOS. At least the first few reunion albums had more of a feeling of freshness to it, with the proggy elements increased by AMOLAD.

The last few albums have felt like they're just recreating the success of those first 3 reunion albums, and maybe they succeeded, but they all just sound the same. Like they're all part of the same triple album, or the 6 reunion albums feel like a giant sextuple album. In a bubble, the new album is great. In the context of their discography, it's just more of the same, which isn't bad, but nothing that is making me want to come back to this album on any regular basis.

[gazinwales]

Not bored at all, been listening everyday, sometimes twice a day during my daily walks.
Discovering new things on every listen.
Can't remember the last time I listened to something so much and haven't heard so much Maiden in 25 years.

[wolfking]

Agree.  I seriously can't remember an album having this much impact.  A few come to mind over the last couple of years, but this easily rivals them all.  I still can't get over how amazing this album is.

[darkshade]

I agree this is their best album in a long time. I did say it's a good album, but they're all good. Maybe my feelings will change next time I'm on a Maiden kick.
But I guess I'm just tired of the reunion era sound they've been repeating since BNW (and really, since TXF)

[TAC]

I agree this is their best album in a long time. I did say it's a good album, but they're all good. Maybe my feelings will change next time I'm on a Maiden kick.
But I guess I'm just tired of the reunion era sound they've been repeating since BNW (and really, since TXF)

For me, the thing about the Reunion albums in general is that they tend to be growers. They are not necessarily immediate, in general. Maybe it will take a Maiden kick. That's OK.

There's a lot to chew on on these albums. Sometimes if you break it off in chunks, familiarize yourself with a song or a handful of songs, before trying to digest the thing as a whole, it may help.

[wolfking]

The Parchment is back to being my favourite.  Holy shit, this song is a masterpiece.

[NoseofNicko]

It’s a tie between The Parchment and Hell on Earth for me.

[wolfking]

It’s a tie between The Parchment and Hell on Earth for me.

Those two have been at the front of the back neck and neck for a while for me too.

[wolfking]

Surprised we haven't done song rankings yet.  I've been thinking about it and besides my top 4, finding it difficult to rank the other 6.

[TAC]

Before I rank them, I must say that the intro totally hurts The Time Machine IMO. This song would be better trimmed down without the intro, and even the short outro for that matter.

[gazinwales]

TBH I love them all, they all have their own individual charms.

BTW I discovered that there's a DVD-Audio version of Death Of Death,  which I had no idea about.
Found a decent copy of discogs and hopefully will arrive soon from Europe.

My only gripe about Senjutsu is the mastering, the EQ is a little off in places and some slight clipping.
But we can't can't blame KS for that as he wasn't the mastering engineer.

[Anguyen92]

On that thought of seeing Iron Maiden now, I would say, yes, go see them within the next few years if you are able to by any means (if they are nearby, if you have to travel to another state to see them, if you want to go see them in Europe, etc.).  Do it, because you never know on the what ifs.  I was really glad I was able to see them in 2019 for the first time where they were in a good position in their careers.  I couldn't do the same for Rush in 2015 and I wasn't going to miss that window seeing Metallica in San Fran. in December.  If the window of opportunity to see Iron Maiden comes nears you, best not to miss that window, because you never know when it can open again.

[wolfking]

Before I rank them, I must say that the intro totally hurts The Time Machine IMO. This song would be better trimmed down without the intro, and even the short outro for that matter.

I'm pretty impartial to it.  I don't mind it's there but if it was cut I wouldn't complain.

[darkshade]

I agree this is their best album in a long time. I did say it's a good album, but they're all good. Maybe my feelings will change next time I'm on a Maiden kick.
But I guess I'm just tired of the reunion era sound they've been repeating since BNW (and really, since TXF)

For me, the thing about the Reunion albums in general is that they tend to be growers. They are not necessarily immediate, in general. Maybe it will take a Maiden kick. That's OK.

No doubt about that, AMOLAD took me a long time to appreciate. I think it's one of their best since the 80s, along with BNW and DoD.
but TFF and TBOS have been out for quite a few years now, and I still think they're just good-average Maiden albums. Given them plenty of listens.

[425]

Agree.  I seriously can't remember an album having this much impact.  A few come to mind over the last couple of years, but this easily rivals them all.  I still can't get over how amazing this album is.

I think the only new releases that have had this sort of impact for me in the last few years are the last two NMB albums.

Surprised we haven't done song rankings yet.  I've been thinking about it and besides my top 4, finding it difficult to rank the other 6.

I'll step up to the plate. This was incredibly hard, though. I really like all of these songs. The Time Machine has sort of been the song I've been assuming was my least favorite since pretty early on, but listening to it tonight... there is so much good there. So much.

1. The Parchment
2. Hell on Earth
3. Darkest Hour
4. Death of the Celts
5. Lost in a Lost World
6. The Writing on the Wall
7. Stratego
8. Senjutsu
9. Days of Future Past
10. The Time Machine

Death of the Celts is one that snuck up on me a little bit. It started out as "the weak one on disc 2." Turns out... that's still true but disc 2 is massive and it's no exception.

Lost in a Lost World, to me, actually has the weakest chorus on the album, which brings it down a bit. But it also has some of the best moments again (that vocal melody... you know the one).

Looking at this list... I don't know guys, I've been trying to stay cautious, especially after y'all gave me a hard time about my initial reaction, but... it's hard for me to say that this is not a top 3 Maiden album.

[wolfking]

it's hard for me to say that this is not a top 3 Maiden album.

I think I'm leaning this way too.

[wolfking]

Alright, I put it out there, so I'll have a crack;

1. The Parchment
2. Hell on Earth
3. Darkest Hour
4. Lost in A Lost World
5. Death of the Celts
6. Days of Future Past
7. Stratego
8. The Writing on the Wall
9. Senjutsu
10. The Time Machine

Top 5 were pretty clear cut, bottom 5 not so much.

[425]

I felt the same way about the top five versus the bottom five (except that Writing was definitely #6). And our top fives were almost exactly identical! Death of the Celts vs. Lost in a Lost World is a close call. Lost has better moments, while Celts is a more complete, consistent song, IMO.

[wolfking]

I felt the same way about the top five versus the bottom five (except that Writing was definitely #6). And our top fives were almost exactly identical! Death of the Celts vs. Lost in a Lost World is a close call. Lost has better moments, while Celts is a more complete, consistent song, IMO.

To be honest, my bottom 5 could be in any order and I'd be fine with it.

[425]

Yeah, I think I'd say the same thing about my bottom four.

[Architeuthis]

I liked this album from the first spin on,  now it's easily in my top three Maiden albums of all time. I honestly cannot tell you which is my favorite song on Senjutsu,  it can change from day to day. They released this album at the perfect time which gives us something great to listen to while we're waiting for the new DT album to drop.  If AVFTTOTW is as good as this album, I'll be pretty stoked! 

[Zydar]

I liked this album from the first spin on,  now it's easily in my top three Maiden albums of all time. I honestly cannot tell you which is my favorite song on Senjutsu,  it can change from day to day. They released this album at the perfect time which gives us something great to listen to while we're waiting for the new DT album to drop.  If AVFTTOTW is as good as this album, I'll be pretty stoked! 

bosk said yesterday that he'd put Senjutsu as #2 of the year behind AVFTTOTW, so that says something about the new DT album if everyone's raving over this one.

[Mladen]

I will take a stab with the ranking.

1. Darkest hour
2. Hell on earth
3. Stratego
4. Lost in a lost world
5. Senjutsu
6. Death of the Celts
7. The Time machine
8. Days of future past
9. The Parchment
10. The Writing on the wall

Even the ones at the bottom are good, though. It's such a consistent album.

[IDontNotDoThings]

#1. Hell On Earth
#2. Death Of The Celts
#3. The Writing On The Wall
#4. The Time Machine
#5. Darkest Hour
#6. Senjutsu
#7. Stratego
#8. Days Of Future Past
#9. The Parchment
10. Lost In A Lost World