Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain talked about the band’s newest album ‘Senjutsu’ in an interview with Classic Rock and praised everyone involved in the making. He also spoke about the process of creating these songs, which he referred to as their ‘best work’ so far.
As you may know, Iron Maiden was formed in 1975, and they have been active to this day, having released 16 studio albums. Their last record, ‘The Book of Souls,’ was released in 2015, and six years later, ‘Senjutsu’ finally delighted the fans on September 2, 2021. The album grabbed attention with its unique signature metal sound and powerful lyrics.
Nicko claimed this album is their best one among the 16 previous records and explained why he thinks so. According to the drummer, the album’s making was more unique than before, and all the band members worked so hard that they exceeded their talents. He stated that the thing he loved the most about this album is that each song is different from the other.
Nicko described the album’s sound by saying:
“Whether our fans, the grumblers, the up-and-coming studio engineers, all the people that think that they know what sonically takes place in the studio, these experts: Okay, you can work it all out for yourself, but Kevin and Steve, I think, have surpassed themselves.
They put an awful lot of work into getting the sonics of this album working. Each track is different. This is what I love about this album. In some of the earlier albums, we got the drum sound up, and we just went with it on each track. Maybe a little bit of reverb on the snare and a bit more of the room, but it was basically the same kind of sound. And they’ve found different sounds with all the instruments on this album. Steve’s bass is a couple of different tones, and I love that. That took a lot of time, and they did a fantastic job.”
He continued to praise the album and his bandmate Bruce Dickinson:
“And of course, don’t get me started on the performances. Bruce’s vocals, I mean, he’s tracking harmonies that are just out of this world, off the charts. The guitar solos — I mean, just take the two guitar solos on ‘The Writing on the Wall.’ You get Dave Murray coming up with these real bluesy, licky, Paul Kossoff kind of guitar lines and his beautiful, melodic solo that only Davey plays like that. Janick’s similar, but David Murray’s got a certain feel. And then, of course, you get blown away with Adrian’s solo. And then, of course, it opens up the rest of the album. My favourite track, ‘The Parchment,’ look at the solos. All of my bandmates are just off the charts.“
He didn’t forget to mention that his favorite song from the album is ‘The Parchment.’ The secret of making a good album with unique sounds seems to be hard work and talent, as stated by the drummer.
