Iron Maiden have announced a new album, Senjutsu, due out September 3 on Parlophone.
The band's 17th album is their first since 2015's The Book of Souls. It was made in Paris with longtime producer Kevin Shirley, with the band's bassist/songwriter Steve Harris serving as co-producer. It's a triple-LP/double-CD album containing 10 epic-length songs, with the whole thing clocking in at 82 minutes.
The title translates as "tactics and strategy." The album includes the recently released single "The Writing on the Wall."
Harris said in a statement:
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 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!"
The tracklist is below. The recently shared video for "The Writing on the Wall" is below that.
Senjutsu:
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
The band's 17th album is their first since 2015's The Book of Souls. It was made in Paris with longtime producer Kevin Shirley, with the band's bassist/songwriter Steve Harris serving as co-producer. It's a triple-LP/double-CD album containing 10 epic-length songs, with the whole thing clocking in at 82 minutes.
The title translates as "tactics and strategy." The album includes the recently released single "The Writing on the Wall."
Harris said in a statement:
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 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!"
The tracklist is below. The recently shared video for "The Writing on the Wall" is below that.
Senjutsu:
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