Senjutsu

Senjutsu (戦術, "tactics & strategy") is the seventeenth studio album by Iron Maiden. It was released on September 3, 2021. It is the band's second double album, after 2015's The Book of Souls.

Track Listings

 * 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)

Personnel

 * Bruce Dickinson - vocals
 * Dave Murray - guitar
 * Adrian Smith - guitar
 * Janick Gers – guitar
 * Steve Harris - bass, co-producer
 * Nicko McBrain - drums

Production
The album was recorded in early 2019 at Guillaume Tell Studio, France, Paris. Steve Harris stated that each song of Senjutsu were recorded in the same fashion as The Book of Souls, in that they would: "...Rehearse it and then put it down together straight away while it was all fresh in our minds."

Marketing
During 2020 and 2021, Iron Maiden's members had been hinting that they were working on something "not so secret." Lead singer Bruce Dickinson was seen in an interview wearing a shirt with text such as "Belshazzar's feast" and the acronyms "WOTW." On July 9, 2021, the album was was teased through a video uploaded to the band's YouTube cannel titled "An Invitation". In the teaser, Bruce Dickinson revealed that on the date July 15, 2021, fans should be ready, "rain or shine." On the said date, an animated music video for Iron Maiden's next single, titled "The Writing on the Wall" premiered on their YouTube channel, revealing what the acronyms stood for.

Only four days after the premier on July 19, 2021, the band's seventeenth studio album, Senjutsu, was revealed, alongside its track listing and release date. Pre-orders were set to begin on July 21, 2021 in the following formats:

Standard 2CD Digipak Deluxe 2CD Book Format Deluxe heavyweight 180G Triple Black Vinyl Special Edition Triple Silver & Black Marble Vinyl (from selected retailers) Special Edition Triple Red & Black Marble Vinyl (from selected retailers) Super Deluxe Boxset featuring CD, Blu-Ray and Exclusive Memorabilia Digital album (streaming and download)

Release
Chart wise, Senjutsu is Iron Maiden's most successful album to date, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. Upon release, the album sold 120,000 physical copies and 3.57 million online streams.

Trivia

 * Being released six years after 2015's The Book of Souls, Senjutsu has the record of having the longest gap between two Iron Maiden studio albums, surpassing The Book of Souls ' five years after The Final Frontier.
 * Senjutsu ' s release coincides with the 37th anniversary Powerslave, which was released on the same day in 1984.