I'm only a casual on-off Maiden fan. In fact, I pretty much disliked their previous 2 albums (Final Frontier and Book of Souls), both of which I found slick but bland, generic and tired sounding.

But their latest album, (which I wasn't expecting to like but listened to after liking the Stratego single). has impressed me more than I expected. Bruce's vocals and melodies sound more... open and emotional than I've ever heard him.

I especially thought the album's closing ballad "hell on earth" was a powerful song than anything I ever expected to hear from Maiden.

I'd love to read John giving Senjitsu a chance and see if it can convince him of Maiden's potential the way it has for me...no matter how unlikely that is...