Manowar - Anthology (1997)

Tonight I felt like a bit of a laugh, and thus I decided it was time to play my one and only Manowar CD. I purchased this from The Warehouse for very little, and suspect it is one of those cheap-knock-offs, excepting for the fact that my WMP does recognise its metadata and label the tracks appropriately. Who knows.

Manowar are one of the hardest metal bands to take seriously. This album does not help that in any way what-so-ever.  They formed in New York in 1980 - about the same time Iron Maiden we coming into their prime and they grabbed several themes with open hands - the first being fantasy and mediaeval, more of the sword and sorcery than the serious. You can sorta imagine these guys playing D&D on their weekends or pretending to be Conan the Barbarian. In 1984 they held the world record for Loudest Band ever, a record they have since broken twice. They are bombastic and pretentious and over the top with their raging guitars, throbbing drums and crazy lyrics about how awesome metal is. There's something totally over the top and anthemic about them.

As for this anthology... well, I'm going to do something I haven't done before in this blog - I'm going to scan the album cover. Seriously, my description cannot do it justice*:

It is a simple onefold affair - with a rather detailed history of Manowar on the inside. They have sprouted from the primeval roots of Heavy Metal, and from them was spawned the power metal genre (with some help from Helloween, of course). It extols the virtures of the band and how awesomely metal they are, and states that the vocalist Eric Adams, has a five and a half octave vocal range. That's really epic - I haven't found information on any other vocalist with that range. I didn't even know there were more than five octaves for male vocalists. They have also "declared war" on those who do not fully embrace the true spirit of their beloved heavy metal. I bet they'd like to take Slipknot down!

So let us begin our voyage of Heavy Metal discovery, we shall begin with the track:

"Manowar" with its solid beats, galloping guitars and somewhat powerful, but slightly tinny sounding vocals (I'm guessing that's the fault of the recording, which was probably made back in the early 80s). There is definite raw power here, and it kinda inspires one to jump around and posture and pose - either with guitars or swords, I'm not quite sure!

This is followed up by the rocky chords of "Metal Daze" in which Eric displays how high he can shriek and celebrates his sheer metal-ness:

"Only one thing sets me free, heavy metal - loud as it can be!"

There are aspects of Dio in the vocals, and of course pure 80s metal in the rhythms and uncomplicated structures. It's all very traditional, catchy and with enough repetiton to get the audience chanting along.

"Fast Taker" reminds me of soe of Sabbath's rockier moments (ie: with Dio or Gillian). The guitarist slides up and down his chords, racing along at breakneck speed, whilst Eric howls and screams. There's something visceral and somehow smokey and a little bit sludgy about it.

Now we get into the true sword and sorcery as we enter into the slower, driving bass of "Battle Hymns". There is more diversity in this track - and Eric sounds truly feral as he screams "Kill! Kill!" This almost seems like a true battle hymn - you can almost see the warriorss shouting it as they march (or ride) into war.
Oh my gosh - he's singing, actually singing! And he has rather a sweet edge to his voice. Amazing. Who would have thought?
And now he's screaming again. Oh and off go the duelling guitars.

Okay, I see what they mean by him being able to scale several octaves - it almost sounds like multiple vocalists - one minute his screaming the next dropping into bass.

And now the drummer's gone crazy. Then feedback!
Okay, this song is officially wicked.

Back to the more "ordinary" rock with "All Men Play on 10" which is about how society tries to force you from following your heart and fitting int society norms. I say "ordinary", but there's no way Manowar could ever be considered anything but over the top. The vocals are interesting in this one, closer to talking, but with rhythm, not fast enough to be anything like rap music, with the occasional smoother, sweeter bridge and anthemic chorus. I'm not quite sure how one plays on ten, however. Maybe it means full volume?

"All men play on ten, I'm never gonna turn down again..."

Back into the fantastical with "Sign of the Hammer" - insane drumming, throbbing beats and Eric's wonderfully diverse voice soaring into a rather awesome bridge. I can see the roots of power metal being set down right here. There's something amazingly evocative and stirring about their passion, it cannot help but send a thrill down your back. The recording quality has improved here too, so it must be a later track. Either that or I've gotten used to it. Galloping rhythms, soaring vocals... One can imagine the vast mountainous landscape, pine trees clinging to the slopes.

Now its time for "Fighting the World" and I can tell from the offset that this is another Metal is Great track. Yup:

"I'm fighting for metal cos it's here to stay!"

Truer words have never been spoken.

And of course, the loudest band in the world would have a song called "Blow Your Speakers". But it won't blow mine, because even at full volume this CD just won't go that loud. Solid rock with a hint of roll and a lot of passion and power and some very nice twiddly guitars.

What is this I hear? Piano? Could the mighty Manowar be about to give to me a ballad?
Oh yes! This is "Heart of Steel".
Wow, he really can manage quite a haunting and beautiful voice. Powerful too, as the verses march on. This is visceral stuff, digging right into the inner core of my being. It is empowering. Epic. Beautiful.

Screaming and screeching indicates that the next track is nto going to be anything less than a raging epic Heavy metal piece. Listen to the guitarists go - twiddly bridge-sliding, almighty rifts. It is time to bring the "Blood of the Kings".
The lyrics are totally ridiculous:

"On a crusade the world we bring, Four Kings of Metal, Four Metal Kings.
Death to the false ones, dance on a string..."

Oooh, more guitar duelling. This is hilarious!

And what better to follow up the blood of all king, than a little "Violence and Bloodshed"? It starts with the ominous howl of sirens, the buzz of choppers and then the guitars slip in. This is another one with faster vocals and a straightforward, fast-paced beat. It gives it a ... well not exactly modern sound, but definitely later 80s. 1987, in fact. Modern warfare for a change, and thus more savage and less bombastic than the medieavel/fantasy stuff.

Motorbikes might not be very fantasy, but they're very metal. "Wheels of Fire" from 1988 is more along the lines of thrash - pounding rhythms, roaring engine noise, surging guitars, aggressive vocals.

And then it's time for:

"Every one of us has heard the call.
Brothers of true metal, proud and standing tall
We know the power within us has brought us to this hall..."

You don't get a more epic Metal Anthem then 1992's "Metal Warriors". Even if it does declare "if you're not into metal, you are not my friend...". If I'd gone by that decree in my youth, I would have had even less friends. And I might not have the balls to take it, but I sure as hell wouldn't leave the hall (although I would probably have brought some ear plugs).

A rather sinister beginning to "The Demon's Whip" - more reminscent of black metal than power metal. Snarling demons, raging fire. Even the pounding, steel edged guitars makes one think of black metal - although the vocals are pure Manowar. Not a bad song, but I think it would have been better to end on Metal Warriors. There's some seriously shrill guitar here. And the false ending made me jump!
The drumming is far too fast, that can't be natural or real.

After it finishes, the silence left from the sheer intensity and enthusiasm seems odd. I almost expect my ears to be ringing, the world just seems too quiet now. And I wasn't even playing it that loud!

My only complaint about this cd is the quality. It's cheap. Even at full volume (and you want to play Manowar loud) it's not able to reach the intensity of more modern cds. Plus the bass lines and drums need to be lower and more ominous on some of the earlier tracks, it's all a bit high and tinny - like it came off a record. The later tracks are a bit clearer and you can't fault the band for the poor quality of a cheaply pressed CD I bought for peanuts.

If you want pretentious posturing, bombastic rifts, very versatile vocals, galloping intricate guitars, pounding drums, ridiculous lyrics and muscular guys wearing only their underwear, then check out Manowar. They're awesome, really.

No really!

And I wouldn't be a sister of true metal if I gave them anything less than 9/10.

* You may have wondered why I haven't put up the cd covers before. Partly it was due to copyright concerns - I'm not sure I'm legally allowed to, and mostly it was from sheer laziness - I'd rather be dissecting the music rather than trying to scan things straight. Besides, most album covers can be found by a simple google search.