Iron Maiden's 17th studio album Senjutsu comes out on September 3. Rumour was that the London lifers were working on the long-awaited follow-up to The Book Of Souls during lockdown, but it turns out they've been sat on it since 2019! And now, finally, it's almost time to hear one of the most anticipated metal releases of 2021.

Senjutsu is a Japanese term that loosely translates as "tactics and strategy," but can also refer to skill, technique, trick, resources and — most interestingly — magic. The 10 tracks on Senjutsu clock in at just under 82 minutes, about 10 minutes shorter than their previous album, The Book Of Souls. It's their second-ever double album.

Says frontman Bruce Dickinson, ?"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 maximise 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!"