After releasing their new song, “The Writing on the Wall,” along with an animated mini-movie, Iron Maiden has now unveiled details of their new studio album.
Called Senjutsu, the 17th album from the metal legends will arrive September 3. Their first album in six years, it’s a double-CD collection, the title of which loosely translates from Japanese to “tactics and strategy.” The cover art, created by Mark Wilkinson based on an idea by Maiden bassist Steve Harris, features the band’s beloved mascot Eddie in full samurai gear.
Frontman Bruce Dickinson says Senjutsu was recorded in 2019 during a break in the band’s Legacy tour so they could continue on the road and still have plenty time to set up the project. Of course, as he says, “The pandemic delayed things more — so much for the best-laid plans — or should that be ‘strategies!?'”
Harris says of the new project, “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,” Harris adds, noting, “I’m very proud of the result and can’t wait for fans to hear it.”
Senjutsu is available for pre-order July 21 at IronMaiden.com in a variety of formats, including a few different colors of vinyl and a super deluxe box set.
Here’s the track listing for Senjutsu:
“Senjutsu”
“Stratego”
“The Writing on the Wall”
“Lost in a Lost World”
“Days of Future Past”
“The Time Machine”
“Darkest Hour”
“Death of the Celts “
“The Parchment”
“Hell on Earth”
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