Group history

Battle Hymns (1980-1982)

Manowar formed in April 1980 at a Black Sabbath concert in Newcastle, England, after meeting future guitarist Ross "Boss" Friedman, who played in the opening act for Shakin' Street, and bassist Joey DeMaio (at that time working as a sound engineer and pyrotechnician for Black Sabbath). DiMaio's school friend Eric Adams became the vocalist of the group, and Carl Kennedy became the drummer, after short auditions.

The group took a long time to choose a suitable name and finally settled on "Manowar". On the one hand, in literal translation it means “warrior”, on the other hand, this was the name in English of the largest ship of the sailing fleet, later the same name was often applied to a battleship (from the 16th century to the 19th century, Man-of- War, or Man of War, or Manowar, or Man). In this composition, in 1980, a demo of the group was recorded. Subsequently, it was on the advice of DiMaio that the legendary Metallica album “Kill “Em All” was recorded in the same studio. After recording the demo, Karl Kennedy left the group to join The Rods, and Donny Hamzik, an American of Polish origin, took his place. He was hired by a newspaper ad.
Regular performances on the east coast of the United States allowed the group to interest Kiss manager Bill Ecoin in early 1981, who arranged for Manowar to sign a contract with the not-so-famous record company Liberty Records. In 1982, the band's debut album, Battle Hymns, was recorded and released at the later-famous Criteria Studios in Miami. Revolution, as, for example, "Kill "Em All", the disc in the world and, in particular, in the USA, did not. In sound, it strongly resembled a mixture of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. All the album's compositions were written by Joey himself, the lyrics were rather uncomplicated, and in the recording of the composition "Dark Avenger" the famous Hollywood film director Orson Welles read the text. Sales were low, but the album was well received by critics in Europe and Japan. In the United States, the debut of the album was completely unnoticed. On this album, the style has not yet formed group, but the idea was already clearly formed - the cult of power, the Middle Ages and the Vikings, as well as "death to false metalheads. " The group's logo was also created - the inscription "Manowar" in a special font - which has remained virtually unchanged to this day (a departure from the usual record logo was only made on the cover of the album "Sign of the Hammer" (1984), where the logo was stylized as cuneiform).
After the release of the Battle Hymns album, Donny Hamzik ​​left the band in the summer of 1982. This is usually explained by the fact that he did not understand the music that his band played. Scott Columbus took his place. Scott was one of DiMaio's friends. It is said that the force of his strikes on the kit was so great that the band even had to order a steel drum kit. At the same time, the group was offered to perform at the famous annual rock festival in Reading, but a week before the concert, the owners of Liberty Records terminated the contract with the group, and the performance did not take place. The band continued to play club gigs and eventually secured a deal with Music for Nations in England. On behalf of the group, the contract was signed with the blood of Ross Friedman - as proof that they will never change their once chosen style - heavy metal - and will be true to their promises to the end.

Into Glory Ride (1983)

At this time, the "scandalous" fame of the group began. The participants, at the first opportunity, denounced the many bands that play, in their opinion, "fake metal". They showered such accusations on many groups, since there were enough objects for attacks at that time. In 1983, Manowar released the album "Into Glory Ride" and their first music video (for the song "Gloves of Metal"). This album is seen as proof that their music is real metal. All the songs on this disc are classic heavy metal compositions, but with not quite the usual themes. After the release of the album, the band embarked on a European and Japanese tour. It was at this time that the group gained a large number of fans.

Hail to England, Sign of the Hammer (1984-1986)
In early 1984, the musicians went to Canada to record a new album. This disc, called "Hail to England", was largely dedicated to the English folk legends about King Arthur, which impressed the English public very much. The texts of individual compositions were darkly mystical, reminiscent of the black metal style. The tour of England was a great success. However, in the summer of 1984, Music for Nations announced the termination of the contract with the group under the pretext that they would henceforth work only with English bands.
After that, the musicians signed a contract with 10 Records, marking the deal with the release of a single for the song "All Men Play on 10" ("Real men play on 10"). In the same 1984, the album "Sign of the Hammer" was released on 10 Records. The disc cemented the band's success in the European market.
Until the beginning of 1986, the group was on a world tour. One of the most significant moments of that tour was the joint performances with Motörhead. There were rumors that, upon returning, the group began work on a new album, but when it was already recorded, a fire broke out in the studio the day before the master tape was sent to the factory, and the recording burned down. After this incident, 10 Records allegedly went bankrupt. Subsequently, the musicians (Ross "The Boss", a visit to Moscow) denied these rumors.

Fighting the World (1987)
In 1987, Manowar signed a contract with Atlantic Records and released the album "Fighting the World" (and a new video for the song "Blow Your Speakers"), which in terms of sales exceeded all the previous work of the group. The composition "Violence and Bloodshed" was dedicated to the Vietnam War. An old friend of the musicians, Orson Welles, took part in the recording of the album, his voice can be heard in the composition "Defender". The cover of the album shows a special greeting from Manowar fans - hands raised above the head, one hand clenched into a fist, the second wraps around the wrist of the first.
In the same year, the group entered the Guinness Book of Records as the loudest group in the world. The sound volume at their concert was 129.5 decibels. The band used custom-made equipment from John Stilwell. The speakers and amplifiers weighed 10 tons, were 12 meters long and over 6 meters high. Shortly thereafter, the Guinness committee stopped counting such records due to the danger to the health of listeners. The punk band Gallows broke the Manowar record in 2002 with a volume of 132.5 decibels, but the Guinness book no longer took it into account.

Kings of Metal (1988-1991)

Since the release of the album and until September 1988, the group was on continuous tour and was able to start recording a new disc only after they were finished. The new album was called "Kings of Metal". Critics see it as a classic example of heavy metal. It contains both ballads and fast and slow compositions. The composition "The Crown and the Ring (Lament of the Kings)" was recorded at St. Paul's Cathedral in Birmingham using the church choir. This disc took first place in many charts in the world. However, critics reproached [source not specified 83 days] the group for sexism, which can be clearly seen in the composition "Pleasure Slave". This song was only released as a bonus track on the CD. Since this album, all Manowar covers have been drawn by renowned artist Ken Kelly.
After the release of the album, Ross Friedman left the band. There were no personal differences in the group, the reason was the difference in tastes. Ross decided to play a more bluesy version of hard rock, which was impossible within Manowar. The rest of the musicians understood the desire of their comrade and parted with him in the warmest feelings. Friedman's replacement was German guitarist Michael David Schenkel, who had previously played with American rockers from Chicago for some time. He met Manowar while working on Fighting the World and has been in contact with them ever since.
The next two years, the group was engaged exclusively in touring activities. At the end of the tour, they already had quite a few ideas for recording a new album. But at this time, Scott Columbus's son became seriously ill. Scott had to leave the team and deal with family problems. He found a replacement in the face of at that time little-known drummer Kenny Earl Edwards, nicknamed "Rhino" (Eng. Rhino).
Almost immediately after being accepted into the band, Rino burned his old drum kit, and Scott gave him his. At this time, such areas of music as grunge and alternative developed very actively. In this regard, the management of Atlantic Records asked the group to make the album a little quieter.
The Triumph of Steel (1992-1995)
In 1992, the album "The Triumph of Steel" was released, which began with a half-hour composition "Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy" based on Homer's Iliad. After the release of the album, it became clear that the band did not listen to the request of Atlantic Records and made an album in the same style as all the previous ones.
In 1993, Manowar ended their contract with Atlantic Records and switched to Geffen Records, where a 20-minute videobiography of the band was immediately released. In 1994, Geffen Records, worried about declining interest in Manowar, released the first greatest hits collection, The Hell of Steel, without discussion with the band, which included the German-language song "Heart of Steel" as a bonus. Bassist Joey DiMaio commented on this compilation: “The good thing about this compilation is that it gives the listener the opportunity to recognize the whole range of Manowar songs, from the slowest to the fastest. The bad thing about this collection is that it's terrible. To include 'The Warrior's Prayer' in the compilation and not include 'Blood of the Kings' would only be an idiot." (Manowar fan club magazine "Kings of Metal", 1998).
Louder Than Hell (1996-2000)
After the next tour, David Schenkel leaves the group to continue his studies. Currently, he is an authoritative guitar teacher and the founder of his own school. Carl Logan was taken in his place.
Joey DeMaio brought Carl Logan into the band. There are several versions of where they met: according to one version, this happened at a meeting of bikers, according to another, in a Harley-Davidson motorcycle shop and accessories for them. Anyway, Karl Logan mentioned in Hell on Earth Part I that he met Joey DeMaio by nearly hitting him on a motorcycle. Scott Columbus also returned to the band. With this line-up, they released a new album - "Louder Than Hell". The epic composition "Today Is a Good Day to Die" stood out against the background of the entire album. A music video for the song "Return of the Warlord" was also released. The clip was shown several times on MTV, despite the fact that at that time this television channel had already ceased to promote rock music.
After the release of the album, another tour followed. The band decided to start with countries in South America where they had not yet played. After that, the group went on a tour of Europe, called "Hell on Wheels", after which the first double live album in the history of the band was released, named the same as the tour. It is noteworthy that the group did not just record one of the concerts - each song was recorded in a specific city and a specific country. At this time, the Japanese company Teichiku, which managed the release of the group's albums in Japan, published a video collection, which collected all the clips of the group made throughout its career: "Gloves of Metal", "Blow Your Speakers", "Courage" (live version with Hell on Wheels tour), a twenty-minute MTV cut from the 1992 tour and interviews with DiMaio and Adams, Metal Warriors and Return of the Warlord. However, Manowar never performed in Japan.
After the end of the Hell on Wheels tour, the band went on another Hell on Stage tour. They visited England, Scandinavia and first came to Russia. Simultaneously with the tour, the band decided once again to change the record company to the largest metal label of that time, Nuclear Blast, whose main office was in Germany. At the end of the tour, the band released their second live album, titled after the Hell on Stage tour. The reason for this move was that many fans did not hear many of the band's classic compositions on the previous live album and turned to the musicians with requests to release another "live" disc. The album appeared in two editions, as the limited edition included a three-song CD recorded during concerts in Germany. In addition, Manowar came up with the idea to publish a video retrospective of its activities over the past four years (since 1996). This is how the first two-hour part of "Hell on Earth" appeared in the summer of 2000.
In 1999, as part of the Monsters of the Millennium tour, Manowar visited Russia. Three concerts were held on December 2 in St. Petersburg at the Yubilein Palace of Culture, the hall accommodated 5,000 people, and on December 4 and 5 in Moscow at the Gorbunov Palace of Culture, 2,200 people each.

Warriors of the World (2001-2003)

In the spring of 2002, the single "Warriors of the World United" was released. And then in 2002 Manowar released a new album - Warriors of the World. The album, in addition to the group's songs, included covers of the opera aria Nessun dorma from the opera "Turandot" and An American Trilogy from Elvis Presley's repertoire. In support of the album, the band went on another world tour called "Gods of War".
The band then released the single "The Dawn of Battle" on November 18, 2003, containing three songs: "The Dawn of Battle", "I Believe" and "Call to Arms".
Gods of War (2004-2008)

In 2004, the band parted ways with Nuclear Blast. Joey DeMaio founded his own record label, Magic Circle Music, on which Manowar began releasing their CDs. The same label was soon followed by their tour partners Rhapsody.
On July 25, 2005, the single "King of Kings" was released, containing the songs "The Ascension" and "King of Kings", which would later appear on the Gods of War album.
On February 27, 2006, the band released the single "The Sons of Odin", which contains "The Sons of Odin" and "King of Kings".
The recording of the new album was delayed due to the fact that during the recording sessions, the band's guitarist Carl Logan had an accident on his motorcycle and injured his elbow. The injuries were so severe that they could lead to nerve damage; this would mean the end of his musical career. However, after months of painful rehabilitation, the guitarist recovered and now claims he has never played so well before.
Album cover of Gods of War
On February 23, 2007, the band's new album, the concept album Gods of War, was released on Magic Circle Music. The lyrics of the album, supposed to be the first in a series of concept albums, are dedicated to the gods of Scandinavian mythology, mainly to Odin. On "Gods of War" the band showed a noticeable influence of symphonic metal, of its 16 tracks, instrumental and textual interludes, performed using choirs, keyboards and an orchestra, make up a significant part of its 16 tracks. This experiment was not approved by all fans, some of them stated [source not specified 83 days] that the group changed their style. However, the album was successful in sales.
Immediately after the release of the album, the group went on tour "Demons, Dragons and Warriors" (Demons, Dragons and Warriors), together with the bands Rhapsody and Holy Hell. As part of this tour, the group visited 13 cities. In April 2007 Manowar performed in Moscow at the Luzhniki Sports Palace.
On July 6 and 7, 2007, the Magic Circle Festival was held, organized by Manowar's own label Magic Circle Music. Manowar performances at the festival took place both days. In addition to Manowar, Gamma Ray, Majesty, Holyhell, Stormwarrior, Messiah's Kiss, David Shankle Group, Lion's share, Heavenly performed at the festival.
On November 23, 2007, the band played a free performance in Hamburg dedicated to the release of the dvd Magic Circle Festival Volume I. The performance was short and contained only 9 songs. The place of the drummer at this concert was taken by Rhyno, since Scott Columbus could not fly from the USA.
On July 5, 2008 in the city of Kavarna Manowar set a new record for the duration of a heavy metal concert. The performance lasted five hours and one minute. The record was recorded by representatives of the Guinness Book of Records.
For the 20th anniversary of the release of Kings of Metal, the band held The Kings Of Metal 20th Anniversary Event, which took place at the Magic Circle Festival 2008. Manowar's performance lasted 2 days (out of the four that the festival lasted), during which the band performed all of their first 6 albums entirely. Also at this festival on July 12, Manowar set a new record for the loudest sound at a concert. Before the concert, the audience was warned about the health hazards and offered to buy earplugs. During the sound check, a sound level of 139dB was recorded.

The Asgard Saga (2008-2009)
At the 2008 Magic Circle Festival, Joey DiMaio announced that the band's new album would premiere at the festival next year. The album will be sold together with a fantasy book written especially for this album. The book will be written by the German writer Wolfgang Holbein. There are also plans to make a film based on this book and create a video game. At the same festival, 20,000 Manowar Die With Honor singles were given away for free.
For participation in concerts in 2009, former drummer Donny Hamzik ​​joined the group, who came to replace Rhyno, who had been replacing Scott Columbus at concerts for two years. However, it has not been officially announced that Scott Columbus is no longer a member of the band.
In April 2009, it was announced that the band's new project would be called The Asgard Saga. It will not be just an album, but a media project that includes books, a film, a series of concerts with performances and role-playing games, and an interactive website. The premiere and release of the first book is scheduled for July 18, at the third Magic Circle festival. On June 13, within the framework of this project, the band's EP Thunder In The Sky was released. The song "Father" has been recorded in 16 languages. A full-length album titled "Hammer Of The Gods" is scheduled for release at the end of 2009.
Performances at summer festivals in 2009 were combined into a tour called "Death To The Infidels" and within the framework of this tour Manowar visited Russia for the third time. The day before the concert, Eric Adams attended the A-One TV talk show Star Chat, where he answered questions from viewers. During this program, he made a statement that the song Father will be recorded in three more languages, one of which will be Russian.

Influence and style
Manowar's music is usually classified as heavy metal, and the band members themselves have repeatedly stated that their music is real heavy metal. However, both in terms of sound and themes, the group is somewhat different from many other representatives of this genre (such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead). Some critics (in particular, Metal Hammer magazine) believe that Manowar based their own musical style (true metal) on the basis of heavy speed and power metal.
Despite their American origins, the Manowar band indirectly really strongly influenced the birth of the Scandinavian Viking metal scene, a style characterized by a solemnly epic sound with elements of classics and a textual component based on Scandinavian mythology. The late Quorthon, who said in an interview that “only Manowar and Bathory can create a barbaric atmosphere in music”, the leader of Immortal “Abbot” says that he was a fan of the album Into Glory Ride .
The group's primary music and lyricist, Joey DiMaio, says he started playing under the influence of bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple. It can be assumed that these groups had a great influence on the formation of DiMaio's musical preferences. Currently he claims to like the bands Nightwish, Hammerfall, Candlemass. He really likes classical music, especially Wagner, church music, and also early Metallica. DiMaio also calls himself a big fan of the American psycho-hard rockers Blue Ouster Cult, the band "who created heavy metal in America", "we didn't have Black Sabbath, we didn't have Deep Purple but we had Blue Ouster Cult", but no influence this group cannot be traced in the music of Manowar themselves. But Ross "Boss" after leaving Manowar became a member of the same group with the former drummer Blue Ouster Cult.

Criticism
After the release of the album "Kings of Metal", the band was often criticized for calling themselves the "Kings of Metal" unreasonably. In the second track of this album, which has the same name as the album itself, the band contrasts itself with other bands, and also calls itself: "We, the Kings of Metal, enter the city" (We're the Kings of Metal comin" to town).
There is also criticism towards the lyrics of the song from this album (Pleasure Slave) for the band's pronounced sexism. The song begins with the lines: "She is waiting to kiss my hand, but she will wait for my command." In the chorus, the line occurs more than once: “Woman, be my slave” (Woman, be my slave). The song also contains the lyrics: "Woman, come here, remove your garments, kneel before me, please me".
Before the release of the band's last two albums ("Warriors of the World" and "Gods of War"), there was a rumor [source not specified 83 days] about the "hungry" voice of vocalist Eric Adams. However, after the release of the albums, the rumors were not confirmed.
Also, Manowar's frenzied activity in promoting all kinds of reissues of old material and its own merchandise, which allows detractors to accuse the team of betraying ideals and wanting to cash in on fans, causes private criticism and ridicule.

Group members

* Eric Adams - vocals (since 1980),
* Joey DeMaio - bass guitar (since 1980),
* Karl Logan (Karl Logan) - guitar (since 1994),
* Scott Columbus - drums (1983-1992 and since 1995).
o Since autumn 2007 Raino has been replacing Scott at concerts due to Scott's personal problems.
o Since 2009, former band member Donny Hamzik ​​has taken over as drummer. The replacement has been announced for live performance only.

Former band members

* Ross "The Boss" Friedman - guitar (1980-1989),
* Michael David Schenkel (David Shankle) - guitar (1989-1993),
* Karl Kennedy - drums (1980),
* Donny Hamzik ​​- drums (1981-1983 and since 2009 live performances, recording EP Thunder In The Sky),
* Kenny "Rhino" Earl Edwards (Kenny "Rhino" Earl Edwards) - drums (1992-1995 and from 2007-2009 only live performances).

Studio albums:

*Battle Hymns (1982)
* Into Glory Ride (1983)
* Hail to England (1984)
* Sign of the Hammer (1984)
* Fighting the World (1987)
*Kings of Metal (1988)
* The Triumph of Steel (1992)
* Louder Than Hell (1996)
* Warriors of the World (2002)
*Gods of War (2007)

The name Manowar was explained by Joey Di Maio as the unification of war (WAR), because life is war, from his point of view, and human essence (MAN).

A little bit from the life of the band members:

Joey Di Maio (born in Auburn, New York) started out as the bass player for the Thunders. During the "Heaven and Hell" tour, he part-time played the role of a roadie pyrotechnician in Black Sabbath, where he also lent some of the equipment for Terry Butler. In the future, this acquaintance served as the creation of the Manowar group. Now he mostly writes music and lyrics.

Eric Adams (born in Auburn, New York) Joey's high school friend. Started singing from an early age (when he was 9), before Joey started playing his bass guitar. Being from the same city - never played in the same band (even at school) until Manowar came to life. Has been in charge of the group's finances since joining Manowar.

Ross Friedman (born in Australia) moved to New York and played guitar with The Dictators starting in 1975. Released 3 albums with them. Later he went to France (worked for 1 year in "Shaking Street"). During the Black Sabbath "Heaven and Hell" tour, he met DeMaio. Left Manowar in 1988.

Donnie Hamzik ​​(born in Poland), like Karl Kennedy before him, was found through a newspaper ad. Simply put, Manowar had been looking for the right "heart dark enough" drummer for 2 years until a friend of DeMaio's happened to recommend him.

Scott Columbus - worked in a plumbing store in a small town in upstate New York. He made his debut on the second release of INTO GLORY RIDE. The standard set of drums was simply smashed to pieces under its intimidating onslaught - there was a need for custom-made impeccably strong drums with a steel frame.

David Shankl played Chicago for a short time before being selected from 150 guitarists to replace Friedman. Eric and Joey met him while recording Kings of Metal in Chicago.

Karl Logan once said in an interview: "Our fans constantly notice that one second we can blow the air with speakers, and the next moment we play soulfully and beautifully. We enjoy ourselves, because we are musicians first and foremost and we consider it We're mastering the tools, not just carrying them around. We really want to create a mood that encourages creativity."

What is "Fake Metal"? - according to DeMaio, this is any group that does not justify the hopes of its fans, thereby betraying them.

"We have amazing fans all over the world," drummer Scott Columbus testified. "They have been supporting us for a long time. They get everything to believe that together we are champions and followers of the religion of heavy metal. That's why we keep playing. That's why we didn't break up and hit the commerce. Our fans follow our every step by step. Here is our path from the very beginning."

DeMaio mentioned more than once that he was proud to have grown up in the 70s. There was amazing music back then, he said, I mean Ozzy, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple are the most prominent examples.

"We don't profess evil or stupidity. We just want to perpetuate this incredible power of heavy metal. For us, music is not within the framework of politics or social ills; it is above that ... Listening to our records, watching us at concerts - it's all the same, what to put your fingers in the socket - you are charged with energy. We gain energy by creating such music, playing it and improvising. We and our fans live the same life." - According to Joey Di Maio.

Hobbies in Manowar: Joey practices martial arts and has long been known as the "karate kid" among metalheads. All members of the group are known as bodybuilders who like to pump up their muscles, and then demonstrate impressive muscles at concerts.

This traditionalist US heavy metal quartet (whose motto is "Death to False Metal") was formed in 1981 by bassist Joe Demaio (formerly of Black Sabbath staff) and ex-Shakin' Street and Dictators guitarist Ross. Boss "Funicello. Having recruited vocalist Eric Adams and drummer Donny Hamzik ​​to their team, they settled on an approach that was to be the complete antithesis of melodic AOR. Dressed in animal skins, they presented to the audience a brutal series of riffs, accompanied by " with Adam's barbaric vocals and Demaio's tight bass work. "Manowar" debuted in 1982 with "Battle Hymns", a landmark metal album. Black Sabbath.

The album became famous thanks to the composition "William Tell Overture" with a bass solo, as well as the vocals of actor Orson Welles in the song "Dark Avenger". However, the disc did not sell well, and in 1982 the band was expelled from Liberty Records. The guys signed the next contract with "Megaforce" with their own blood, opening their veins with a ceremonial dagger. During the recording of the album "Into Glory Ride", Scott Columbus took the place behind the drum kit.

"Manowar" became a cult group in narrow circles. Their UK tours in 1983-84 attracted only desperate fans. True, in Europe the team had a little more success. The "Sign Of The Hammer" CD, released in 1985, featured some superb guitar work by "Boss" Ross and contained some of the more accessible tracks like "All Men Play On 10". Having once again suffered a commercial failure and rethinking what was happening, the group returned two years later with "Fighting The World" (having hit the Guinness Book of Records by that time for 160 decibels issued at concerts). On this album, the band borrowed some styling from "Kiss" and "Judas Priest", but that didn't help them attract a large fan following either. The same fate befell the next year's album "Kings Of Metal".

Disappointed in his deeds in 1988, Ross "Boss" left the group, and two years later Scott Columbus left the "Manowar" lineup. They were replaced by, respectively, Det Dealer aka Dave Shankel, and Reno. But the problems didn't end there. The era of grunge and alternatives has come, and the public has already paid less attention to heavy metal.

However, "Manowar" remained absolutely true to their style, and the new album, called "Triumph Of Steel", was sustained in their usual manner. True, now the group began to be reproached for a commercial raid in music. In mid-1993, the team was expelled from Atlantic records. The resilient "manovarovtsy" after some time signed to the label "Geffen Records", which undertook to re-release all the group's discs. After spending two years on tour, Manowar began recording a new album. By that time, Schenkel had decided to leave the team. He was replaced by guitarist Karl Logan, and at the same time Scott Columbus returned. With this line-up "Manowar" released "Triumph Of Steel". At the end of the European tour "Hell On Wheels" was released the first double live album in the history of the band, which received the same name. It is noteworthy here that the group did not just record one of the concerts, but vice versa - each song was recorded in a specific city and a specific country.

After the next "Hell On Stage" tour, the band decided to change labels once again, and the new live album was released on "Nuclear Blast".

Reviews from metallibrary.ru

Continuing their crusade, the immortal Vikings Manowar released their third LP "Hail To England" in early 1984, dedicated to English fans, which is reflected in the title of the disc. The spirit of victory, glory, valor, honor and, most importantly, immortal HEAVY METAL runs through the entire album. Eric Adams' clear and beautiful vocals, Joey De Mayo's juicy bass, Ross The Boss' guitar parts flying like "black arrows", Scott Columbus' drum march - all this is merged into one indescribable power and works perfectly. Even after listening to this record a dozen times, I don't see any flaws in it. The opening "Blood Of My Enemies" from the first chords sets you in the right mood, you have a picture of a great army that has gathered for war.

In the second track "Each Dawn I Die" the tempo picks up, the atmosphere heats up and the march of the "army of the immortals" continues. "Kill With Power" - the battle has already begun here, the power and speed of this composition fully corresponds to its text and title. Bravo, Manowar! After the battle came the hour of victory, and the fourth title track "Hail To England" proves it. This anthem-like composition praises England, her greatness and beauty. "Army Of The Immortals" - plague! The traditional Viking thing about metal, power and fans found its place in this album.

Stunning melodic guitar parts and a powerful percussive rhythm are the main components of this song. Undoubtedly, this is not only the best thing on the record, but also one of the most outstanding compositions of Manowar in general. This is followed by a lyrical digression in the form of Ross' guitar solo "Black Arrows". And finally, the amazing epic "Bridge Of Death" crowns the album. The composition lasts almost 9 minutes, but does not have time to get bored. The gloomy atmosphere and the power of metal merged into one in this masterpiece. Eric's vocals are definitively and irrevocably impressive (...reaching for my SOUL!!!). The voice of the bass player De Mayo in the middle of the song, which is addressed to the dark lord, looks interesting (in the sense of listening).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My God, who are they? For six long years of silence, everyone somehow lost the habit of considering Manowar a functioning and efficient team. Meanwhile, they are on the alert and decided to show the whole world who is the boss in the house. For this purpose, apparently, this CD was released under the name so common for the group with eleven things on board. But don't relax! Of the 11 songs, two are instrumentals, and two more are obscure covers, the copyrights for which date back to 1971 and 1926 (!!!) years. All this rubbish dilutes the remaining seven songs. Only seven. But damn it, they are worth it!

Actually, one should write a separate review for each of the seven things, these numbers are so magnificent and majestic. It has everything that Manowar is valuable for, great vocals by Adams, a lot of interesting melodies, a real metal drive and pressure mixed with romantic acoustics. Manowar's music can be compared to a medieval knight in shining armor. Gallant and courteous, even romantic with ladies, cruel and merciless to the enemy, faithful to his friends and traditions. Disputes about what metal is, lose all their relevance. Listen to the new CD of the Kings of Metal and understand what real metal music is. It's not the screech of guitars at all, it's not growling growling, it's the spirit, the spirit of real music. And it was his group that conveyed the best.

The album starts with two songs that are a bit unusual for Manowar: "Call To Arms" and "The Fight For Freedom". They are unusual in that they are a bit soft for the team. But it only makes them look better. Gorgeous melodies of mid-tempo things, the mouth just opens itself to sing along to Adams, the beauty is mesmerizing.

Next comes without question the best track of the album - "Swords In The Wind". It seems that the great Scandinavian heroes come to life and again go to battle for a place in Valhalla to the sounds of this majestic ballad and the slightly hoarse voice of the vocalist. It seems even Thor stopped waving his hammer for a minute to listen to a song about the heroes of the harsh northern lands. It seems that the frosty wind of the north is blowing out of the speaker along with the sound. A thing worthy of standing next to "Heart Of Steel".

Well, after a pause with another instrumental and a cover, the classic, hard and heavy Manowar comes to life. First up is "Warriors Of The World United", a classic Manowar metal anthem, the chorus of which should sound amazing when played live with the backing of the audience. "Hand Of Doom" does not let you relax even for a second, and after it comes the high-speed "House Of Death" with an acoustic break in the middle, which does not spoil the picture at all, but gives an ominous atmosphere, as the title of the composition should be.

And finally, the classic Manovarov action movie "Fight Until We Die", to knock out the teeth of those who still have them. And then silence. Ringing silence, when the disc ends and you really want more, that sacred and light that is called METAL!!!

Among the shortcomings of the album, which are clearly evident, is the obviously short duration of the Manovarov's musical material itself and the absence of some kind of ultra-fast action movie like "Wheels Of Fire", sweeping away everything in its path. Still, "House Of Death" is not quite suitable for this role. But this does not detract from the merits of the album, it would be worth buying the disc even for the sake of one of the seven songs, especially if it is "Swords In The Wind".

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And the time has come for great things. And again the mighty warriors gathered in a sacred campaign for the glory of the true Metal. And there were four of them. And they knew their job - to carry the news of Metal around the world and sow fear and confusion in the hearts of enemies. For a long six years, warriors wandered through distant lands. Furious storms and hurricanes they met on their way. The dark bowels of the oceans and the abyss of rocks threatened to engulf the fearless wanderers. Thunder and lightning tried to suppress their spirits and incinerate their bodies. But with honor they endured all the predetermined trials and returned home with a noble trophy won in bloody battles with the enemy armies of Darkness. And the name of the trophy was "Warriors Of The World". And he kept in himself eleven precious talismans, taken out from the battlefields to the groans of dying enemies and the battle cries of the squad. This is where the story of the exploits of the glorious warriors of Steel and Freedom ends, and another, more prosaic one begins...

Over the past 6 years that have passed since the release of the album "Louder Than Hell" (1996), Manowar have released so many live recordings that now, probably, every third respectable heavyweight lover has a shiny round ball from the legendary American four flaunts somewhere in the apartment . The public with bated breath was waiting for the release of a new opus. And now, finally, the next numbered disc was published. It should be noted that its cover is so typical that at first glance it may even seem that this is some kind of reissue of the band's previous works. But no, this is a brand new product from the almighty DeMaio & Co called "Warriors Of The World". The main distinguishing feature of the works recorded on it is unshakable monumentality, epic and straightforwardness. The songs are heavy and pompous, like ancient Greek columns. Most of them are united by a similar structure, choral background vocals and the same slow rhythm. "Warriors Of The World" begins with the album's most successful "Call To Arms" and "Fight For Freedom".

This is followed by the most difficult listening stage in the truest sense of the word - a series of the most mournful ballads and semi-ballads, diluted with no less boring introductions and an instrumental, which is a cover version with copyrights already in 1971. As they once said in one television advertisement, you should not be scared. The copyright for "Nessum Dorma" dates back to 1926 (!) and belongs to Giacomo Puccini, Renato Simoni and Guiseppe Adami. On the last three tracks, the Manowars try to make up for lost time by picking up the pace and inserting piercing guitar solos into the compositions, apparently designed to wake up those who have fallen into prostration after a good portion of stories about all kinds of Odins, Thors and Valhallas.

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Long live true heavy metal! It's just a plague; To be honest, I couldn't find another word to characterize the freshest disc from Manowar. This is the most accurate definition - because from the very first seconds of immersing yourself in the atmosphere of the new creation of the most European of American musical groups, you really understand that you are sick without the ability to remove the curse and obsession by reducing the decibels literally jumping out of the speakers. All these long six years I have been anxiously waiting for the moment when trembling little hands will gain control over the new record of the kings of true heavy. Fans, rejoice! Yes, by the way, I advise everyone else to join.

Manowar is back. As if there was no failure against the background of all the other bands of the album "Louder Than Hell". For the first fifteen minutes after the start of the show called "Warriors Of The World" I just jumped around the apartment, trying to find a cheaper thing in order to smash it to hell. To no avail. This does not mean at all that Manowar induces a cannibalistic - sadistic or vandalistic mood. Simply, the music really turns me on, I have not experienced such POSITIVE emotions from listening to anything for a long time. Feelings are in full swing, raising the tone to extraordinary heights - an amazing state of delight (euphoria) created by the battle anthems of your favorite band in an almost classic composition: Joey DeMaio (4-string and 8-string bass, Piccolo bass and keyboards), Eric Adams (vocals ), Karl Logan (guitars, keys) and Scott Columbus (drums, percussion). Many do not understand why, with all due respect to "Louder Than Hell", I scold this disc.

It's simple: until 1996, the Manovarovites created works of art, and that compact became, albeit very solid, but a conveyor receipt with completely identical principles and mechanisms for writing songs. To be precise, DiMaio ran out of steam, a long break was simply necessary to refresh ideas. I'm not afraid to judge in this way, but "Warriors Of The World" is a work of the level of "Fighting The World" or "Kings Of Metal". No worse - certainly, if not better. And, as you know, most fans recognize these records as the best in the band's repertoire in its entire long history, which this year has been TWO TEN years.

Why did I allow myself to compare Manowar's discs within rock music with works of art? It's easy to explain: such a heterogeneous and sky-high quality material has not been present on any group of even world-famous teams (such as the same Rage, which recently released a brilliant novelty "Unity") in recent times. Weak spots, which I searched for 47 minutes 20 seconds on 11 tracks, are completely absent. You have to listen to everything. Not to mention the fact that I was really struck by the increase in the amount of ballad and instrumental material in the current release. As in the good old 1987 and 1988, DiMaio and the support group kill on the spot with the melodiousness and sophisticated compositions - classical arrangements, choral chants and the atmosphere itself, namely Manovarov's and no other. The only thing that is quite trivial, but also within the framework of the direction, is Mr. DeMaio's tirelessly surprising straightforwardness, the main attributes of which are stable semantic constructions (similar to "fight until we die"), built from words like "fight", "die" , "doom", "warriors", "arms" etc. However, if we take into account that almost no one seriously reads the texts (except me) ...

"Call To Arms" in a number of compositions is clearly a warm-up - a typical Manovarov - classical, mid-tempo. This unhurried flow of music, by the way, can be attributed to one of the main differences from previous releases by the Americans. Other, already stylistic attributes of the New York band, are the pathetic content of both the musical and lyrical series, and, of course, the incredibly sticky (in a good sense of the word) choruses, which, after one or two listening, are sewn tightly to consciousness. Typical examples are "Swords In The Wind" and already familiar to metal fans "Warriors Of The World United", under which it is simply impossible to sit still. Sausage!

This is followed immediately by the semi-ballad "The Fight For Freedom", dedicated to the victims of the September 11 tragedy in the musicians' native New York, and the simply amazing operatic composition "Nessun Dorma", written at the time by Giacomo Puccini, Renato Simoni and Guiseppe Adami and published on BMG in the recent 1926 (by the way, it will be said that the text of this part of the classics was translated from Latin into our native English). Adams sang it incredibly beautifully, as in his best years; True, at the end he could not resist and yelled in his favorite style. However, since we are talking about the voice of the vocalist, it is worth noting that he still did not manage to break his voice over the previous years - along with the obvious addition of compromising ballads, the presence of the unstoppable Eric's clean vocals increased to the maximum, from whose hoarse singing on all the same "Louder Than Hell" was already starting to feel nauseous.

After a short instrumental "Valhalla", the track "Swords In The Wind", organically thematically fitting into the canvas of half-fables about Thors and other Odins, evokes memories of the unforgettable "Heart Of Steel", and a cover of a completely good ballad from 1971 from Milton "a Newbury. "The March" is a tribute to the memory of Wagner (no, not Peavy, but Richard), the founder of heavy metal, according to the Manovarovites. I don't entirely agree with this, but it is an undeniable truth that Wagner, being my favorite classical composer, influenced rock music in general more than other classics.

Next, what is called, hold your breath. There was a pack of four excellent and typical heavy metal tru-metals: the track "Warriors Of The World United" appeared on the single with a one and a half minute instrumental intro and with a crazy chorus, a fast and atmospheric song "Hand Of Doom", most of all reminiscent of "Power Of Thy Sword" " c "Triumph Of Steel", "House Of Death", which vividly recalls motorcycle themes like "Wheels Of Fire" (c "Kings Of Metal") or "Return Of The Warlord" (you know where), and finally the most the fast track on the album is "Fight Until We Die".

All this musical exuberance and splendor was recorded in Hell (that's the name of DeMaio's studio in New York), and mixed and mastered to the point of losing momentum at Galaxy Studios (Belgium) by Ronald Prent and Rene Shardt, respectively. It is impossible not to note the excellent work of these noise engineers - the sound is brilliantly worked out.

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Oh, and I heard enough speeches about this album before I bought it for myself! The band's last album (one of the ones that started my personal metalism) was criticized as much as they wanted, saying, for example, that "it can't be called Manowar" and that it is "a dastardly hoax". On the other hand, the disc was admired. Well, I did not particularly listen to the speeches and prepared to give an objective (as far as possible) assessment of the next creation of Manowar. Eleven tracks, lasting less than an hour in total, already suggested that "Warriors..." would not be too heavy. So what do we have? "Call To Arms", the first song, seemed to reassure the conservatives from metal - they say, this is us, the same unchanged Manowar.

Next - "Fight For Freedom", almost a military march (I listen and imagine a company of soldiers walking in step, and the command "Sing!" is heard, and the soldiers, of course, sing: "We" ll fight for freedom again !") And then... over the course of the next five tracks, I understood more and more clearly why Manowar was so ganged up... But what's there to prevaricate - and I did not expect to hear in the compositions of DiMaio and company... a symphony orchestra! It all started with Giacomo Puccini's (!) aria "Nessun Dorma", superbly sung by Adams and "electric guitar with orchestra", "Swords In The Wind", which vaguely reminded of "Courage" six years ago, and the symphonic "The March".

In general, let them say whatever they want, but for me this fragment of the album confirmed that metal and classical are very similar and interconnected things. Well, the last four songs bring the listener back to the empire of classical Manowar. The title track, "Warriors Of The World (United)" is an anthem, a real heavy metal anthem! In my opinion, there is no more worthy composition for this title, albeit an unofficial one. And probably won't. The only serious remark - "American Trilogy" - this song was definitely "offtopic" in the album and spoiled the impression a little, but still not so much as to unconditionally write down "Warriors..." as "sucks".

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"We dedicate this to MANOWAR fans all over the world
There are none greater
There are none stronger"
From the booklet.

So much has been said about Manowar lately that no fresh information will appear in the future. This is caused, of course, by the upcoming release of their new album, which will definitely take place on May 27 this year. At the same time, there can be no talk of any advertising of the upcoming, I hope, masterpiece. Since the announcement of the exact date of the release of the album, all fans are counting down the days until a happy meeting with "Warriors Of The World". I, fortunately, do not belong to the category of those admirers of Manowar who wash the wall calendars with a mean metal tear, but, without a doubt, along with the second part of Avantasia, this is a priority for me in the list of 2002 releases.

The first reason for such a tremulous expectation, oddly enough, is not even a desire to listen to the disc, but the need to make sure that you don’t have to blush for the band whose music I grew up with. If the general opposition affects the Manovars, then it will be completely uncomfortable. A bad feeling is an undoubted attribute of any expectation. Similar thoughts have arisen quite often during the time that has passed since the release of the last disc "Louder Than Hell", which was released 6 years ago, already far in 1996. Of course, the album was great and would have been an event for me if a young and inexperienced group hacked something like that. But, unfortunately, I was not entirely satisfied, to put it mildly.

At the same time, the criticism of a fan of any team is clearly different from the dissatisfaction of outside observers, since an admirer of creativity is most often deliberately objective. The Americans clearly deserved criticism, a whole bunch of shortcomings contributed to this state of affairs. For Manowar sample 1984 - 1988 - it was not a level. I was especially shocked by the unexpected and almost complete similarity of the compositions "Brothers Of Metal Pt.1" and "The Gods Made Heavy Metal", as well as their poor arrangements. Of course, there were masterpieces on the disc like "Today Is A Good Day To Die", "King", "Courage", but if DiMaio and Co. are going to release the upcoming new album like this, - I felt sad then - then let their conscience torment them (with the presence of such)!!!

However, I hope my suspicions and fears are unfounded. I was forced to make such a conclusion by the voluminous preview given by DiMaio in the press to the future disc. The LP will contain 10 tracks, among which are known by the names "Call To Arms", "Swords In The Wind", "House Of Death", "Fight Until We Die". In an interview, DeMaio, describing the recorded material, said literally the following: "This may seem ridiculous, but people who have already listened to this disc have made up different opinions. Some say:" you returned to "Battle Hymns", others - "this sounds like 'Hail To England' some people think we're continuing the tradition of 'Into Glory Ride' I take that as a compliment as we haven't quite forgotten what those albums were.

I think our career is a book called "Manowar" and each chapter is just another. To put it mildly, yes... One cannot but agree. We don't need more "other chapters" in the style of "Louder Than Hell". However, with the release in May, interesting things await us in abundance.What is worth the promise to present the composition "Nessun Dorma", containing operatic elements!For the sake of implementing plans, Eric Adams had to make excursions to the opera and learn to sing "the way they sing" When asked how the new songs differ from the old ones, the old man DiMaio did not give an intelligible answer, limiting himself to superficial statements like "we rub, all the other asses, wear funny clothes and run around with a sword, thinking they are cool warriors. The Manovarovites do everything for the fans, for whom we live and for whom we will die.

On the eve of the release described above, another one happened, which, apart from being unexpected and unexpected, cannot be called. What goals can be pursued by releasing a single a month before the release of a new album? Of course, purely commercial, in short, mercantile. By the way, for some reason I have a vague doubt that Manowar's "Warriors Of The World United" disc will be sold out quite quickly, so the bet on easy cutting down of eternally green rubles will be a success. This CD was produced by the Manovarovites themselves and recorded in the personal studio of Joy DiMaio with the kind and sonorous name Hell, which, as the guys from Nuclear Blast, abundant in promises, assure us, guarantees sound quality and other rubbish, which often turns into disappointment. This time everything is wonderful with the sound, but the list of tracks is striking in its wretchedness.

Prior to that, the first place for me in the list of concert-single degenerates was occupied by "Live ..." from my favorite Dimmu Borgir, which contained as many as 5 tracks. Now the palm has been taken away in an unequal struggle by the Americans. Their disk consists of only...3. What is called, who is less. Onward to new records. Didn't bother to add more material. For example, it was possible to overwrite something from an old one. Okay, so three is three. The first track is a provocative and outrageous - colorful, typically Manovarov heavy metal, which actually gave the name to the single. The second and third compositions "March Of Revenge" and "Carry On" are provided with video footage filmed at "The Gods Of Metal Festival" in Italy on June 6, 1999. Damn, cool they sausage. Can't wait for October...

Manowar - The Absolute Power (2005)
Artist: Manowar
Name: The Day The Earth Shook - The Absolute Power
Concert: Earthshaker Fest 2005
Country: United States of America
Style: Heavy Metal, Power Metal

Band:
Eric Adams
Joey DeMaio - 4 String, 8 String, Picollo Bass Guitars and Keyboards
Karl Logan
Scott Columbus
Tracklist:
01. The Ascension
02. Manowar
03. Brothers Of Metal
04. Call To Arms
05. Sun Of Death
06. Kings Of Metal
07. Sign Of The Hammer
08. Screams of Blood
09. Blood Of My Enemies
10. Kill With Power
11. Triumph of Steel Era Introduction
12. Metal Warriors
13. The Glory Of Achilles
14. Battlehymns Era Introduction
15. Metal Daze
16. Dark Avenger
17 Outlaw
18. House Of Death
19. Herz Aus Stahl
20. Wagner Tribute
21. Prelude to Act III by Lohengrin
22. King Of Kings
23. Hell on Wheels
24. Warriors Of The World United
25. Hail And Kill
26. Black Wind, Fire And Steel
27. Battle Hymn
28. The Crown And The Ring
29. Credits

On July 23rd, 2005, Manowar headlined the Earthshaker Fest 2005 Highlight. This performance was a unique historical event as it included a grand finale showing the past and present of Manowar's members on stage as one of the legion of heavy metal.

It is a rock band from the United States of America, New York City, New Jersey. The team in their work is marked by their commitment to three genres of rock music: heavy metal, speed metal, power metal. This is a bright and extraordinary team that has been committed to its style for many years (many call it “true metal”) and has a huge army of fans.

Story

The rock band Manowar was formed at the very end of 1980. The members and founders of the line-up were guitarist Ross "Boss" Friedman, bassist Joy Di Maio, who worked as a pyrotechnician for the legendary Black Sabbath. The "founders" met when Black Sabbath gave a concert at City Hall, Newcastle, UK.

Manowar bassist Joy Di Maio

Pyrotechnician Di Maio met with Ross The Boss, who was then playing music in the Shaking Street team as an opening act for Black Sabbath. In the nascent Manowar, a schoolmate DiMaio was later invited. It was Eric Adams. His vocals are the standard of voice for heavy metal.

Manowar vocalist Eric Adams

The drum kit at that time was occupied by Karl Kennedy. The further history of the group includes the search for a drummer, when Donny Hamzik, hired by a newspaper ad, took the place of the drummer. Also behind the drums was Scott Columbus.

The name "manowar" is interpreted as an abbreviation for the English "man of war", which translates into Russian as "man of war". One of the largest ships of the sailing fleet also had a similar name.

Getting Started in the Studio

Manowar's debut album was recorded at Criteria Studios in 1982. The work was called Battle Hymns. With its sound, the album resembled a symbiosis of the work of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. A characteristic feature of the album was the story of the legendary actor and film director Orson Welles (Orson Welles), who was noted on the track called "Dark Avenger". The album did not immediately make the group mega-stars, but did allow for significant critical attention around the world. The style of the group at that time had not yet been fully formed.

The next album was 1983's Into Glory Ride, which featured Scott Columbas percussively. A feature of his playing was that this drummer often broke standard sticks, and the percussion instruments themselves could not withstand his powerful pressure. The problem had to be solved immediately. It was decided to make steel drums to order, which had the necessary safety margin. Since that moment, the band has gained a huge number of fans around the world. The team began to actively bring to the masses "real metal", which is considered to be classical. Only the texts and semantic orientation were unique and original.

Manowar

Manowar's subsequent discography includes 11 more studio albums (13 in total), 15 singles, 4 compilations. There are also 8 albums, which are accompanied by a video sequence. The group holds a Guinness World Record for being the world's loudest live band.

Significant Manowar albums include Warriors of the world and Kings of metal. Of interest are the albums Fighting the world, Hail to England, Sign of the hammer. The power, ideology and inner strength of the group were fully manifested in these works. The band is not alien to the classical origins of the heavy metal ballad. An example is the song Manowar Heart of steel, which reflects the sensual notes in the band's work. Also interesting compositions can be considered: Guiana, Holy War, Hail and kill and many others.

Manowar-Heart of steel

Ideology

The main achievement of the early period was a clear and definite position, which was reflected in the defense of the real "True Metal", "pure metal" with its direct and understandable ideology. The group was engaged in active propaganda of the cult of strength, medieval brutality and the culture of the ancient Vikings. She opposed commerce and denied "false metalheads". Scandinavian mythology fills Manowar songs, the worship of militancy and brute force are the hallmark of this team.

When Manowar were signed to a record company, they signed the deal in their own blood, becoming the first band in the history of rock to confirm their commitments in this way. So Ross Friedman showed his devotion to the style of heavy metal, remaining true to this idea to the end.

sound

Starting with the third album, the style of "classic heavy metal" has completely taken shape and is fixed in the minds of the listeners. Powerful rhythm section, heavy guitars, explosive vocals in a wide range, replete with falsetto notes.

51 chord selections

Biography

Manowar was formed by bassist Joey DeMaio and guitarist Ross Friedman in April 1980. The historic meeting of the two future members of the world's loudest band took place at a Black Sabbath concert in Newcastle, England. De Mayo was the pyrotechnician for Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler at the time, and Ross was a member of Shakin Street, the support band for Black Sabbath. Joey was so impressed by the guitarist's wild stage presence and blues-influenced playing style that he asked then-Black Sabbath singer Ronnie James Dio to introduce Ross to him. Thus, after a short conversation, the future of Shakin Street was in big question, and Black Sabbath had to look for a new pyrotechnician.

The guys, having quit their previous "jobs", invited Joey's school friend, American Eric Adams, to the new group. After short auditions, a drummer was also found - Karl Kenedy.

The group searched for a suitable name for a long time and finally settled on Manowar. On the one hand, in literal translation it means “Warrior”, but on the other hand, this was the name of a heavy English sailing frigate, which has already allowed critics to find a reason to mock the guys. In the same 1980, the band went into the studio, where they recorded a demo tape. Manowar, on the other hand, was still far from the glory of its fellows in the metal camp, especially since at the very end of 1980 the group changed drummers - Kenedy left for The Rods, and Donny Hamzik, an American of Polish origin, joined the group.

Regular performances on the east coast of the United States bore fruit in early 1981, when the guys managed to interest Kiss manager Bill Ecoin, who arranged for Manowar a contract with the not-so-famous Liberty Records company and in 1982 at the later famous Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida was the band's debut album "Battle Hymns" was recorded and released. The disc was not revolutionary, and sounded strongly like a mixture of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. All of the album's tracks were written by Joey himself, the lyrics were quite straightforward, and the then-famous Hollywood actor Orson Welles appeared on the track "Dark Avenger". The album did not sell well, but was well received by critics in Europe and Japan. In the US, the debut went completely unnoticed.

In the summer of 1982, the group again underwent a line-up change. And again it was the drummer (Hamzik) who couldn't keep up with the rhythm and understand the meaning of the band's music. He was replaced by Scott Columbus, who was one of De Mayo's friends, but the force of his kicks on the kit was so great that the band had to order steel drums. At the same time, the group was offered to perform at the famous annual rock festival in Reading, but just a week before the concert, the owners of Liberty Records terminated the contract with the group, and the performance did not take place. Many young bands often gave up and broke up after such a negative experience, but Manowar stood the test. The main thing they needed was their music and fans, even if not numerous. In this way the band continued to play club gigs and eventually secured a record deal with Music For Nations in England and Megaforce Records in the US. The group signed the contract with blood - as a sign that its members will never change their once chosen style - heavy metal - and will be true to their promises to the end.

At that very moment, the “scandalous” fame of the group began, which, at the first opportunity, cursed the many bands that played, in their opinion, “fake metal”. They showered such accusations on many groups, especially since there were really a lot of objects for attacks at that time. And the new Manowar album is proof that their music is real metal. In fact, whatever song on the Into Glory Ride CD you take - whether it's "Secret Of Steel", "Gloves Of Metal" (which was made into a video clip) or "March For Revenge (By The Soldiers Of Death)" - all of them are classic heavy metal compositions, however, with not quite a standard theme. After the release of the album, the band went on a European and Japanese tour, accompanied by unprecedented excitement from the fans.

However, these tours did not last long, and in early 1984 the musicians went to Canada to record a new album. This disc, called "Hail To England", was largely dedicated to the English folk legends about King Arthur, which impressed the English public very much. Many of the songs were very dark in content and to some extent can be classified as a very, very early version of the black metal style. Needless to say, the tour of England was a wild success. However, things were not going as well as the musicians wanted. In the summer of 1984, Music For Nations announced the termination of their contract with the group, under the pretext that they would henceforth work only with English bands. However, this could not stop Manowar. At that time, there were so many independent metal record companies that the musicians had only one question - in whose hands they would give themselves. Ultimately, Manowar chose 10 Records, and after working for some time in the studio on compositions recorded back in the days of Hail To England!, they released a new disc, Sign Of The Hammer, in the same 1984. The disc turned out to be not particularly strong, but it consolidated the band's success in the European market and gave the musicians the opportunity to once again prove that their faith in metal is unshakable.

Until the beginning of 1986, the group was on a world tour. And, as always, the homeland of the group, America, remained away from the enthusiastic voices. However, this did not affect the musicians much, and one of the most significant moments of that tour was the joint performances with Motorhead. Nevertheless, no matter how great things were going, it was necessary to start working on a new album. And then a mystical story happened to the group. As soon as the guys recorded a new album, the day before the master tape was sent to the factory, a fire broke out in the studio and the album burned down. 10 Records could not survive such a blow. Manowar was her only trump card, and having invested a round sum in the creation of the ill-fated album, the company went bankrupt. And again, fate gave the guys another chance for success - signing a contract with a major American label Atlantic Records.

The collaboration resulted in the album Fighting The World, released in February 1987. I must say that by that time the group had noticeably grown both musically and lyrically. The compositions have become more understandable and intelligible, and the texts have become more meaningful. One of the songs - "Violence And Bloodshed" - was even dedicated to the Vietnam War. However, the main theme has not changed - heavy metal has firmly settled in the brains of the guys, and nothing could knock it out of there. In parallel with the release of the album, a couple of other interesting things were done - a video clip was shot for the composition "Blow Your Speakers", and for the first time in the history of the group, a single was released with the song "Defender", which once again featured an old friend of the band, Wells. In the same year, the group was recognized worldwide as "the loudest in the world", which was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

Since the release of the album and until September 1988, the group was on continuous tour and was able to start recording a new disc only after they were finished. The new creation, released in November, was self-confidently titled "Kings Of Metal". And this phrase, in principle, corresponded to the truth. The album was a classic example of heavy metal in general. Everything was there - ballads, fast and slow compositions. One of them, "The Crown And The Ring (Lament Of The Kings)" was recorded at St. Paul's Cathedral in Birmingham, England using a real church choir. This kind of disc could not but become number one in all charts of the world. So it was. The whole thing was overshadowed by only one moment - the critics once again found something to reproach the group for, namely for their male chauvinism, which is clearly seen in the composition "Pleasure Slave". No wonder it was only released as a bonus track on the CD.

It seemed that nothing could shock the group after such a disc. But this time the problem came from within - Ross left. The guys did not have any musical, let alone personal disagreements - Ross simply decided to play a more blues version of hard rock, which was simply unrealistic within Manowar. The rest of the musicians fully understood the desire of their comrade and parted with him in the warmest feelings, looking for a replacement. Yes, actually, this “replacement” was in their mind for a long time - German guitarist Michael David Schenkel, who had already managed to play with American rockers from Chicago for some time before. He met the band while working on "Fighting The World" and since then has not lost contact with them.

The next two years, the group was engaged exclusively in touring activities. At the end of the tour, they already had quite a few ideas for recording a new record. And again there were problems within the group. Scott's son became seriously ill, so he had to leave the team and deal with family problems. Scott was one of the band members who went through many dark days with his colleagues, and it is not surprising that when he left Manowar, he found a replacement in the face of an absolutely unknown drummer nicknamed Rino. On the very first day after being accepted into the group, Rino burned his old drum kit, and Scott himself gave him his legendary sticks. So by the time the album was recorded, the band was once again ready for everything. However, the problems didn't end there. The fact is that for heavy metal it was not the best moment, newfangled music in grunge styles and alternative came out of all the cracks. In this regard, the management of Atlantic Records asked the guys to make the album a little quieter.

However, Manowar remained 100% true to their style, and the new album, called "Triumph Of Steel", calmed all the band's fans who were too excited about the 50% line-up change. Compositions such as "Metal Warriors", "Ride The Dragon", "The Power Of Thy Sword" proved that the rumors circulating in the press about the change in style or Eric's sagging voice have no basis. Fans were especially interested in the 27-minute composition "Achilles, Agony And Ecstasy In Eight Parts", the text part of which is based on Homer's Iliad. In this epic creation, the new drummer of the band showed himself best of all, convincing all listeners that Scott was not mistaken in his choice.

Tours followed again, but the group's success was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that this time they began to criticize even in England for a certain commercial raid in music, but enthusiastic exclamations from Germany and Japan could not prevent the true triumph of Manowar. But problems followed the group on its heels and caught up with it again in mid-1993, when Atlantic showed the group the door at the end of the contract. And again, as always, unexpectedly, salvation arose from another large company, which employed the “broken” rocker John Kallodner, who had been in business for many years and brought Aerosmith and Whitesnake to the star trail. John invited the guys to Geffen Records, who immediately got down to business. To begin with, the company bought all the rights to Manowar's albums from previous companies and re-released all the band's discs in remastered form. Separately, a "Secrets Of Steel" box was also released with a 20-minute video bio of the band and two albums - "Into Glory Ride" and "Hail To England".

The new company did not force the guys to immediately run to the studio and create another masterpiece, but on the contrary - invited them to go on another tour. Thus, the next two years were spent traveling around the world. In parallel with this, for the first time in the history of the group, the compilation "The Hell Of Steel" was released (by the former company "Atlantic"), on which the composition "Heart Of Steel" in German was added as a special track. Incidentally, the translation was carried out by one of the editors of Rock Hard! - one of the most respected metal publications in Germany.
The group, after the tour ended, began work on the album. And again a change of composition. Schenkel considered that it was necessary to stop playing heavy metal and return to their favorite classical guitar, and the guys were again puzzled by the search for a suitable candidate. The first idea was the return of Ross, but the founder of Manowar decided to pursue a solo career One day, De Mayo, literally on one of the New York streets, ran into a long-haired guy on a Harley named Karl Logan, who recognized the bassist and said that he had been playing the guitar for many years in local heavy metal bands. De Mayo invited Carl to the studio and after a short jam in the presence of the whole group, a new member of the group was enrolled in its ranks. At the same time, former Manowar drummer Scott Columbus, who had not lost contact with the band all these years, asked to come back and was joyfully received (Scott had everything in order with his son, so nothing prevented him from returning to his native team).

So, in 75% of the old line-up, the musicians settled into the studio and in just six months a new album called “Louder Than Hell” was recorded, mixed and released. The jubilation of the fans knew no bounds. And if on "Triumph Of Steel" the group slightly moved away from their classical sound, then this time everyone heard the most classic album of the "warriors". The new guitarist fit perfectly into the band and proved that he is able to create very serious works and play no worse than Ross, as, for example, in the instrumental composition "My Spirit Lives On". Against the backdrop of the entire album, the epic track “Today Is A Good Day To Die” stood out, dedicated to the struggle of Indians for survival in their native country after the arrival of European colonizers there. Also, in parallel with the release of the album, a video clip was shot for one of his best songs "Return Of The Warlord". The clip was shown several times on MTV, although already at that time this television channel stopped promoting rock music in general. It's time to hit the road again. However, this time the group decided to start with the countries of South America, which they have not visited yet. Fans bought up albums in packs, crammed into all the clubs and halls where the group performed. After that, the group went on a tour of Europe, called "Hell On Wheels", after which the first double live album in the history of the band was released, named the same as the tour, with each song recorded in a specific city and country. In parallel with this, the Japanese company Teichiku, which managed the release of the group's albums in Japan, released a video compilation, which collected all the clips of the group made throughout its career - "Gloves Of Metal", "Blow Your Speakers", "Courage" (live version from the Hell On Wheels tour), a 20-minute MTV cut from the 1992 tour and interviews with De Mayo and Adams, Metal Warriors and Return Of The Warlord. Despite all this, Manowar never performed in Japan. The "Hell On Wheels" tour is over and the band is off to a new "Hell On Stage" tour. This time they visited England, Scandinavia and for the first time came to Russia. Simultaneously with the tour, the band voluntarily decided to once again change the record company. This time, her choice fell on the biggest metal label of recent times, Nuclear Blast, whose main office is in Germany. At the end of the tour, the guys immediately released of the second live album, named, like the first one, after the tour. The reason for such a move was that many fans did not hear a good half of the band's classical compositions on the previous live album and turned to the musicians with requests to release another "live" disc. The new company was all for it, and the album even appeared in two versions, since a 3-song CD was added to the limited edition, recorded during concerts in Germany. In addition, Manowar came up with the idea to publish a video retrospective of its activities over the past four years (since 1996). No sooner said than done: the first 2-hour part of "Hell On Earth" went on sale in the summer of 2000.

After all these projects, the band finally started recording a new album. In the spring of 2002, the single Warriors of the World United was released, and then the album Warriors of the World and the video clip of the same name. One of the first, Manowar released an album in the new Super Audio format. In August, another single was released, with the songs American Trilogy and Fight for Freedom, dedicated to the anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley.

In 2007, after a long break, which was caused by the termination of the contract with the record label and the founding of their own, as well as the injury of guitarist Karl Logan, the band released the album "Gods Of War", the theme of which was Norse mythology and its gods in particular (Loki, Odin, Thor, horse Sleipnir). This album differs from the previous ones in sound, Manowar turned towards more melody, which is proved by the huge number of overtures on the disc.

On July 8, 2008, at Kavarna 2008, Manowar performed a new song, Die With Honor, which was subsequently released as part of the band's single.

Relentless fighters against the notorious "fake metal" and three-time Guinness World Record holders for concert decibels, "Manowar" has never been popular in their homeland, although they managed to win a lot of fans in European territories. The history of the team began with the acquaintance of the bass technician "Black Sabbath" Joey DeMaio and the guitarist who played as the opening act for the great Birmingham "Shakin Street" Ross "The Boss" Friedman (ex-"Dictators"). Both adored straight metal, and the unity of musical tastes prompted the guys to put together their own project. They were joined by vocalist Eric Adams and drummer Carl Kennedy, but the latter was soon replaced by Donnie Hamzik. In 1981, the quartet recorded a two-track demo, and though not on the first try, it got the attention of EMI figures, who attached the band to a division called Liberty Records. Immediately after the release of their debut album, the musicians launched a campaign to fight for the "right heavy", although in fact their first-born was closer to hard rock than to the epic metal that made the band famous.

One way or another, the American public was in no hurry to buy the record, and due to the low sales of "Battle Hymns" the label hurried to put their wards on the street. In early 1983, Hamzik ​​left to make way for Scott Columbus. The new drummer was rumored to be so strong that he could smash an ordinary kit to smithereens, so he had to order special stainless steel drums. When the staffing problem was closed, the group decided on an impressive publicity stunt, and Manowar signed a new contract with Megaforce Records with their own blood.

However, with the second album, on which an appeal to Scandinavian mythology appeared, the team also failed to conquer the American market, so the musicians turned their eyes to the ocean. They called their third record (recorded in just six days) "Hail To England", and its theme was devoted to the legends of King Arthur, which aroused interest among British heavy fans. Be that as it may, but the contract was again lost, and the team had to settle down at a small company "10 Records". Although the "Sign Of The Hammer" disc, which completed a series of epic works before moving to a more straightforward style, again did not bring much dividends, "Manowar" diligently strengthened their status by touring in continental Europe. A mystical story happened with the next album, and the already finished master tapes burned down, so the release of the disc was greatly delayed. Label "10 Records" went bankrupt, but the group was lucky, and she managed to conclude a major deal with "Atlantic". After the release of "Kings Of Metal", which did well at the box office, DeMaio fired Ross, who was replaced by David Shankl.

Following the Boss, Columbus departed, handing over the installation to Kenny Earl "Rhyno" Edwards. Due to personnel changes and protracted tours of the new album, the fans had to wait four years, but the musicians did not waste time and managed to build their own studio in New York. The disc "The Triumph Of Steel", which was released in 1992, sold quite well in Europe. The album received a particularly warm welcome in Germany, where the release hit the top ten without any promotional support, and in Greece, where 15,000 metalheads gathered at the capital's stadium for the "Manowar" concert.

The last fact, in general, was explained simply: after all, the 28-minute composition "Achilles, Agony And Ecstasy In Eight Parts" with texts borrowed from the Iliad was present at the "Triumph". In 1993, Shankl was replaced by Karl Logan, and after the album "Louder Than Hell", which, despite good sales, was criticized for its simplified style, Columbus returned to the gang. The band spent the end of the 90s traveling all over the world, releasing a couple of live albums in parallel. The new studio album was released only in 2002 and, like "The Triumph Of Steel", brought the German gold to the team. The brightest moments of this disc were the song "An American Trilogy" once performed by Elvis Presley and the arrangement of the aria from Puccini's opera "Turandot" "Nessun Dorma". At the beginning of the century, Manowar began preparing a 5-disc DVD series "Hell On Eath", and this was one of the reasons for the delay in the release of the tenth album. The program "Gods Of War" was dedicated to Odin, and keyboards, choirs and symphonic instruments played an active role in its implementation.

In general, the disc was supposed to open a series of records about different gods of war, but the idea of ​​a sequel hung in the air, and the next time "Manowar" instead of preparing fresh material re-recorded their debut album "Battle Hymns". Meanwhile, Columbus slowly disappeared from the line-up (he died in April 2011), and Hamzik ​​returned to drums. In 2012, the album "The Lord Of Steel" was released, which was no longer a concept album and marked a return from the symphonic metal "Gods Of War" to straight metal. A couple of years later, the legendary "Kings Of Metal" was also re-recorded, and at the end of the promotional tour, the team announced the work on a new disc, but less than a year later, the mood of the musicians changed, and they announced the imminent termination of the activity of "Manowar".

Last update 10/30/16