Having just released their first new song in six years, “The Writing On The Wall,” Iron Maiden have now announced a new album, Senjutsu, due September 3. Pre-orders launch Wednesday (7/21). Like 2015’s The Book of Souls, it’s a double album. Bassist Steve Harris, who co-produced the album with longtime collaborator Kevin Shirley, said:

We chose to record at Guillaume Tell Studio in France again as the place has such a relaxed vibe. The setup there is perfect for our needs; the building used to be a cinema and has a really high ceiling so there’s a great acoustic sound. 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, but Kevin is great at capturing the essence of the band and I think it was worth the effort! I’m very proud of the result and can’t wait for fans to hear it.

Frontman Bruce Dickinson adds:

We’re all really excited about this album. We recorded it back in early 2019 during a break in the Legacy tour so we could maximize our touring yet still have a long set up period before release to prepare great album art and something special as a video. Of course the pandemic delayed things more – so much for the best laid plans – or should that be ‘strategies’!? The songs are very varied, and some of them are quite long. There’s also one or two songs which sound pretty different to our usual style, and I think Maiden fans will be surprised – in a good way, I hope!

Tracklist and video for “The Writing On The Wall” below.

Tracklist
Senjutsu (8:20) – Smith/Harris
Stratego (4:59) – Gers/Harris
The Writing On The Wall (6:13) – Smith/Dickinson
Lost In A Lost World (9:31) – Harris
Days Of Future Past (4:03) – Smith/Dickinson
The Time Machine (7:09) – Gers/Harris
Darkest Hour (7:20) – Smith/Dickinson
Death Of The Celts (10:20) – Harris
The Parchment (12:39) – Harris
Hell On Earth (11:19) – Harris