After they made their triumphant return last week with huge single ‘The Writing On The Wall’, Iron Maiden have cemented their return with the announcement of their new record, Senjutsu. Coming on September 3rd, the release represents the seventeenth (!) studio album from the iconic metal band, who appear to be just as excited about what’s coming as we are.
Frontman Bruce Dickinson shares: “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 follow-up to 2015’s The Book of Souls, the album was produced by Steve Harris and Kevin Shirley. Speaking on the process, Harris adds: “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.”
Luckily, fans won’t have to wait very long until they can get their hands on the album. Pre-orders will go live later this week, with Senjutsu set to be available in digital, CD, vinyl, and deluxe boxset formats.
