In a new interview with Metal Musikast, former IRON MAIDEN singer Blaze Bayley was asked for his opinion of the band’s latest album, “Senjutsu”. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I’ve only listened to it a couple of times; I just haven’t had much time to [check it out in full]. But I’ve liked [what] I’ve heard. I like ‘Death Of The Celts’ and ‘Hell And High Water’, I think is the other one [Editor’s note: presumably referring to ‘Hell On Earth’], and the single [‘The Writing On The Wall’] as well. So, yeah, there’s some great music on there.”
He continued: “I think it’s a deep album, and it’s not something that gives itself easily on the first time through. I think you’ve gotta give it a chance; there’s a lot going on, and there’s a lot of mood changing with the chords that they’ve done and the instrumentals. So it’s an album that I feel you have to go, what is the story? And then when the instrumental part comes, it’s just like an orchestral piece. What are they talking about now? What does this music make me feel? Why has it gone into this dark place? So I don’t think it gives itself up easily, but I think it’s a good album. And the things that I’ve heard so far I really like.”
“Senjutsu”, IRON MAIDEN‘s first album in six years, came out on September 3. It was recorded in 2019 in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by bassist Steve Harris.
“Senjutsu” bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, charting higher than even the band’s early classics like “Powerslave” and “The Number Of The Beast”. Nearly 90 percent of the LP’s 64,000 equivalent album units earned came from pure album sales. The critically acclaimed double album debuted one place higher than 2015’s “The Book Of Souls” and 2010’s “The Final Frontier”, which both peaked at No. 4.
“Senjutsu” was MAIDEN‘s 13th album to top in the Top 40 in the U.S.
MAIDEN‘s first two Paul Di’Anno-era albums, “Iron Maiden” (1980) and “Killers” (1981), as well as with those recorded with Bayley, “The X Factor” (1995) and “Virtual XI” (1998), all failed to dent the Top 40 in the U.S.
The 58-year-old Bayley, who was born in Birmingham, recorded two studio albums with IRON MAIDEN — the aforementioned “The X Factor” and “Virtual XI” — before Bruce Dickinson returned to the group. The MAIDEN albums he appeared on sold considerably less than the band’s prior releases and were their lowest-charting titles in the group’s home country since 1981’s “Killers”.
Since leaving IRON MAIDEN in 1999, Bayley has released a number of albums, including several under the moniker BLAZE and more than a handful under his own name. He also appeared on 2012’s “Wolfsbane Saves The World”, the first album of new material by WOLFSBANE since the group’s self-titled 1994 effort.
Blaze‘s latest solo album, “War Within Me”, came out in April. All songs were written and produced by Blaze and guitarist Christopher Appleton.
