Senjutsu is the seventeenth studio album by Iron Maiden, released on September 3, 2021. Senjutsu was their first album in six years, it was a critical and commercial success, praised for its ambitious epic scope. Two singles, were released to promote the album “The Writing on the Wall” and “Stratego”,
Senjutsu marks the second use of the band’s original logotype (with the extended letters R, M and N) on a studio album cover since 1995’s The X Factor, the previous one being for 2015’s The Book of Souls. The album cover by Mark Wilkinson presents Eddie dressed up as a samurai and holding a katana.
Senjutsu is the band’s first studio album in nearly six years (although having been put on hold for well over two years), following 2015’s The Book of Souls, marking the longest gap between two Iron Maiden studio albums. This is also their second studio double album, and their first studio album since 1984’s Powerslave to have no songwriting contributions from guitarist Dave Murray in any way, as well as the first since 1998’s Virtual XI to feature multiple songs written by bassist Steve Harris alone.
The name of the album is rendered on the right side of the cover art by the actual vertical Japanese spelling of “senjutsu” (戦術), and on the left side by a font reminiscent of Japanese characters.
Released on September 3, 2021, it received a positive response from most fans and music critics, eventually reaching the top of the bestseller lists of 27 countries.
In the comparison of sales of physical albums in the UK, the double-disc release took the first position, also noted on the European Album Chart Top 200. The album was ranked second on the world music charts. 17th studio effort also gave the band its highest chart position in the US debuting at number three on Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart and number one on Billboard’s Physical Albums Chart.
Senjutsu was also in the Top 3 bestsellers in the USA (the highest in the group’s history so far), Australia, Ireland, Great Britain (first on the lists in Wales and Scotland).
In South America and Africa, the album went on sale only one week after the official release date.
In total, the group’s seventeenth album reached the top three bestsellers in 55 countries around the world and the Top 5 bestsellers in 63 countries. Senjutsu turned out to be a tremendous achievement, strengthening the group’s brand on the global music market.
Tracklist:
SIDE A
- Senjutsu (Adrian Smith, Steve Harris)
- Stratego (Janick Gers, Harris)
- The Writing on the Wall (Smith, Bruce Dickinson)
SIDE B
- Lost in a Lost World (Harris)
- Days of Future Past
SIDE C
- The Time Machine (Gers, Harris)
- Darkest Hour (Smith, Dickinson)
SIDE D
- Death of the Celts (Harris)
SIDE E
- The Parchment (Harris)
SIDE F
- Hell on Earth (Harris)
Iron Maiden
Bruce Dickinson: vocals
Dave Murray: guitars
Adrian Smith: guitars
Janick Gers: guitars
Steve Harris: bass, keyboards
Nicko McBrain: drums
Technical personnel
Kevin “Caveman” Shirley: production, mixing
Steve Harris: co-production, art direction, design
Denis Caribaux: engineering
Ade Emsley: mastering
Stuart Crouch Creative: art direction, design
Mark “The Tinkerer” Wilkinson, Michael Knowland: illustrations
Ruth Rowland: calligraphy
Moe Iwata: Japanese translations
