According to Billboard, Iron Maiden‘s latest album, Senjutsu, has entered the Billboard 200 chart at position number three, making it the band’s highest-charting LP ever. The band previously peaked at number four with their last two studio releases: 2015’s The Book Of Souls and 2010’s The Final Frontier.
Of Senjutsu‘s 64,000 equivalent album units, album sales comprise 61,000, making it the top-selling recording of the week.
The album was released on September 3rd through BMG, and is the first new CD in six years. It was recorded in early 2019 in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by [bassist] Steve Harris. It was preceded in July by a highly acclaimed animated video for the first single The Writing On The Wall, which can be viewed here. Then, on August 20th, the band streamed their next single, Stratego, which can be heard by going here.
15 Responses
Not surprising , maiden has a very loyal fan base
I did my part…I bought the standard CD, the deluxe CD book, and the super deluxe box set.
I bought the cd book and triple vinyl.
I listened last night to the album… it’s almost like a film series soundtrack ,very theatrical, at least to me .. It didn’t grab me , I’m a fan for sure , but even though this had some great parts the songs just didn’t do it for me , maybe because of the long length of alot of the tunes ~
Robert, I agree with you about the length of the tunes impacting the enjoyment of the music. Maiden has gotten very proggy ever since Dickinson returned to the band with “Brave New World”, which I think is an excellent album. But while I think Maiden can take the listener on great musical journeys with their long, progressive songs, those long songs can lose the listener’s interest after a while. Also, those long songs seem to be cut from the same pattern….slow, long bass driven intros and slow, long bass driven outros….
I may be an exception to the rule here, but I am NOT a fan of prog rock or theatrical rock (P U)-LOL!!
Yes, this applies to Priest’s Nostradamus, as well. Concepts albums are tough, I think the only one I “like” is Operation Mindcrime.
Agree with your observations Rob & Rattle. I listened to the whole album twice on Amazon & then ordered the cd from them.
It is a long piece, but for me just seems to flow better than Book of Souls even though it is only about ten minutes shorter than that album.
Honestly, I haven’t been too much into the more recent Maiden and Book of Souls was the first album I bought from them in a few years, but I still find it overkill.
Don’t know why this one appeals to me more when my first impression of the Writing on the Wall video was lukewarm. Just think there’s more varied soundscapes over the usual gallop bass and guitar here, plus no twenty minute track to close out the other ten to fifteen minute tracks.
@Robert Davenport – They are very prog now more than ever. My wife and I saw them on The Legacy Of The Beast tour in Pittsburgh in 2019. One of the best shows I’ve seen. But the keyword you nailed is theatrical. The show was very theatrical and the albums now are very coordinated with a specific theme and indeed comes across as theatrical and similar to some sort of soundtrack.
Ahem, Dana. You seem to have overlooked only the greatest concept album of all time…THE ELDER!
Who can forget the anticipatory “fanfare” (notice the lower case ‘f’ signifying pomp, yet subtlety) or the operatic “Just A Boy.” Thirty years later, do we not all wonder if “Mr. Blackwell” who, incidentally, wasn’t well is now, after all these years…well?
I sometimes sit and wish all subsequent KISS albums were sequels to The Elder…Creatures of The Elder, Lick the Elder, Elder-ize, Elders’ Asylum, Crazy Elder, Elders in the Shade, Revenge of the Elder, Carnival of Elders, Elders Unplugged (uh-oh!), Psycho Elders, Elder Boom, Elder Monster…and maybe one day, Elder Abuse (Oh, wait. That’s the alternate title to Alive XXIII.).
So, yes….The Elder. A concept album for the ages.
RTunes,
Too funny-LOL!!!!
Dang, RPS, how’d you get your wife to join you at Maiden? I wish my wife would have joined me when my cousin and I saw the Maiden Legacy tour in Los Angeles.
My wife (girlfriend at the time) once attended a Metallica show with me. She witnessed the greatness of Cliff Burton. When I tell her how privileged she was to see Cliff Burton perform, her response is “Who?”.
Rattle,
Love that story-LOL! I saw Metallica just after Burton died and I cannot recall who filled in for him on that Master of Puppets tour?