After releasing “The Writing on The Wall” the first single of their upcoming album, Iron Maiden announced the name and tracklist of their 17th record that will be called “Senjutsu”. To be released next September 3rd. the cover of the wall shows Eddie, the band’s mascot, dressed as a Samurai, like it was portraited in the video of the first single.
According to Bruce Dickinson the album was recorded back in 2019, but the Pandemic delayed the release. Senjutsu is a Japanese term that loosely translates as ‘tactics and strategy’, but can also refer to skill, technique, trick, resources and magic.
Iron Maiden “Senjutsu” tracklist:
1. Senjutsu
2. Stratego
3. The Writing On The Wall
4. Lost In A Lost World
5. Days Of Future Past
6. The Time Machine
7. Darkest Hour
8. Death Of The Celts
9. The Parchment
10. Hell On Earth
Bassist Steve Harris and singer Bruce Dickinson talked about the new album, saying:
Steve Harris: “We chose to record at Guillaume Tell Studio in France again as the place has such a relaxed vibe. 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. 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.”
Bruce Dickinson chimed in:
“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!“