Iron Maiden Unleash ‘Senjutsu’: English Metal Gods Return with a Thunderous New Album (Listen)

Welcome back, Iron Maiden.

Senjutsu, the English heavy metal gods‘ 17th studio album and first since 2015’s The Book of Souls, is best experienced with the volume turned up. But you probably already knew or expected that, given the dynamic explosivity of Maiden’s catalog over the years.

Today's the day!!!! Senjutsu is finally released and available for you to stream, download or hold in your hands (c'mon mister postman) 😄

ENJOY! https://t.co/BR7xbOoCwl#IronMaiden #Senjutsu #Album #ReleaseDay pic.twitter.com/LTL0XHFtup

— Iron Maiden (@IronMaiden) September 3, 2021

The album is out today, Sept. 3, after months of anticipation that grew as the days went by — as previewed first with “The Writing on the Wall,” an introduction to the record:

And then by “Stratego,” the second and final pre-release track:

Click here to pick up Senjutsu on 2-CD from our Rock Cellar Store
Click here to pick up Senjutsu on Deluxe 2-CD from our Rock Cellar Store
Click here to pick up Senjutsu on 3-LP from our Rock Cellar Store
Click here to pick up Senjutsu on Super Deluxe Box Set from our Rock Cellar Store

The album features 10 tracks, with the shortest spanning four minutes and the longest stretching out to more than 12 and a half minutes … so yeah, it’s an epic listen:

1. Senjutsu (8:20)
2. Stratego (4:59)
3. The Writing On The Wall (6:13)
4. Lost In A Lost World (9:31)
5. Days Of Future Past (4:03)
6. The Time Machine (7:09)
7. Darkest Hour (7:20)
8. Death Of The Celts (10:20)
9. The Parchment (12:39)
10. Hell On Earth (11:19)

In celebration of the release, Rock Cellar is offering up one free copy of the Deluxe 2-CD Mediabook edition of Senjutsu! One lucky winner will be picked at random and mailed a copy. Enter below (entries have closed. thank you!)

**Note: Entering this giveaway signs you up to receive our Get Up to S.P.E.E.D. email newsletter. You may unsubscribe at any time.**

More on the album, per a news release:

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.

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.”

Lead singer Bruce Dickinson: “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! “

Dive into the Senjutsu experience below.