Iron Maiden's Senjutsu, #CosoMusic peeps.
It got lauded by a lot of professional critics and soundly panned by a lot of fans. Me included at the beginning. I have to tell you that over time it's really grown on me. I started to "get" it.
It's like a retrospective but with new songs. A return to their influences like Jethro Tull and Thin Lizzy. I'm not sure you can *really* appreciate this album without listening to Aqualung and Black Rose. The folk-rock elements are front and centre.
cont.
Now and then there's a nod to their 90s offerings. Big singalong choruses a la "Fear of the Dark", while also treating us to glimpses of the classic Maiden "gallop" of old.
Lyrically, you can tell this is mostly Bruce's project. The total obsession with war and the history of war remains a main theme, but there are moments of introspective gentleness scattered into the mix too.
In conclusion
Senjutsu is a *fan* album. It requires several listens and a knowledge of past work.
8/10