Metal legends Iron Maiden have announced the release of their 17th studio album, Senjutsu. The 10-song effort will arrive September 3rd, and is preceded by the first single, “The Writing on the Wall.”
Senjutsu marks Iron Maiden’s first album in six years, following 2015’s The Book of Souls. Only three songs on the new album’s tracklist clock in at under seven minutes, with the 10 tracks adding up to just under 82 minutes. As such, Senjutsu will be available physically as a triple vinyl or double CD release.
The theme of Senjutsu is inspired by Eastern culture, with the title translating from Japanese as “tactics and strategy.” Furthermore, Iron Maiden’s famous mascot Eddie has taken on a samurai persona, as seen on the album cover and in the animated video for “The Writing on the Wall.”
The album was co-produced in Paris by Kevin Shirley and founding Maiden bassist Steve Harris. “We chose to record at Guillaume Tell Studio in France again as the place has such a relaxed vibe,” stated Harris. “The setup there is perfect for our needs; the building used to be a cinema and has a really high ceiling so there’s a great acoustic sound.”
The bassist continued, “We recorded this album in the same way we did The Book of Souls in that we’d write a song, rehearse it and then put it down together straight away while it was all fresh in our minds.There’s some very complex songs on this album which took a lot of hard work to get them exactly as we wanted them to sound, so the process was at times very challenging, but Kevin is great at capturing the essence of the band and I think it was worth the effort! I’m very proud of the result and can’t wait for fans to hear it.”
Singer Bruce Dickinson added, “We’re all really excited about this album. We recorded it back in early 2019 during a break in the Legacy tour so we could maximize our touring yet still have a long set up period before release to prepare great album art and something special as a video. Of course the pandemic delayed things more – so much for the best laid plans – or should that be ‘strategies’!? The songs are very varied, and some of them are quite long. There’s also one or two songs which sound pretty different to our usual style, and I think Maiden fans will be surprised – in a good way, I hope!“
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The album will be available in the following formats: standard 2CD digipak; deluxe 2CD book format; deluxe heavyweight 180G triple black vinyl; special edition triple silver and black marble vinyl; special edition triple red and black marble vinyl; super deluxe box set including CD, Blu-ray and exclusive memorabilia; and digitally. Preorders begin this Wednesday (July 21st) via Iron Maiden’s website and online retailers.
See the Senjutsu album artwork and tracklist, as well as the recently released video for “The Writing on the Wall,” below.
Senjutsu Artwork:
Senjutsu Tracklist:
01. Senjutsu
02. Stratego
03. The Writing on the Wall
04. Lost in a Lost World
05. Days of Future Past
06. The Time Machine
07. Darkest Hour
08. Death of the Celts
09. The Parchment
10. Hell on Earth
