Coming on September 3rd is Iron Maiden‘s 17th studio set, the double-CD, triple-LP, Senjutsu. The record, which marks the band’s first in six years, was recorded in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by Steve Harris.
The news comes following the release of the animated video for the album’s lead single, “The Writing On The Wall,” made by BlinkInk based on a concept by lead singer Bruce Dickinson with two former Pixar executives.
Lead singer Bruce Dickinson said of the album in the press release for Senjutsu, “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’!?”
He went on to say, “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!”
For Senjutsu – loosely translated as ‘tactics & strategy’, the band once again enlisted the services of Mark Wilkinson to create the spectacular Samurai themed cover artwork, based on an idea by Steve Harris. With a running time of a little under 82 minutes, Senjutsu, like their previous record The Book Of Souls, will be a double CD/Triple vinyl album.
The full tracklisting is
- Senjutsu (8:20) Smith/Harris
- Stratego (4:59) Gers/Harris
- The Writing On The Wall (6:13) Smith/Dickinson
- Lost In A Lost World (9:31) Harris
- Days Of Future Past (4:03) Smith/Dickinson
- The Time Machine (7:09) Gers/Harris
- Darkest Hour (7:20) Smith/Dickinson
- Death Of The Celts (10:20) Harris
- The Parchment (12:39) Harris
- Hell On Earth (11:19) Harris
Senjutsu will be released on the following formats and available to pre-order from Wednesday July 21st:
- Standard 2CD Digipak
- Deluxe 2CD Book Format
- Deluxe heavyweight 180G Triple Black Vinyl
- Special Edition Triple Silver And Black Marble Vinyl (Selected Retailers)
- Special Edition Triple Red and Black Marble Vinyl (Selected Retailers)
- Super Deluxe Boxset featuring CD, Blu Ray and Exclusive Memorabilia
- Digital album [streaming and download]
