Representative Albums: "Anthology," "The Triumph of Steel," "Hail to England"
Representative Songs: "Kill With Power," "Manowar," "Blood of My Enemies"
Biography
Manowar was formed by ex-Dictators and Shakin' Street guitarist Ross the Boss. The original lineup included vocalist Eric Adams, bassist Joey DeMaio, and drummer Donnie Hamzik. The group's kitschy approach was designed to be the raw, primal, macho antithesis of classic rock. Their music was based on raw, aggressive riffs, and their lyrics were mostly about fighting, violence, and death. The group dressed in animal skins in concert to underline the point. Their first album featured a solo bass arrangement of the "William Tell Overture," and the press branded the group as a joke. The band tried to become even more extreme with each album and usually ended up dropped from their labels. They tried to take a more commercial direction in the late '80s, but this approach failed too, and Ross the Boss quit in disgust in 1988; undeterred, Manowar continued recording into the next decade, issuing records including 1992's Triumph of Steel, 1994's Hell of Steel, and 1996's Louder Than Hell. With each release and subsequent tour, Manowar began to build a devoted fan base, especially in Europe, where the group regularly sold out stadiums. A flurry of live DVDs followed, each boasting hours of music, interviews, and Viking machismo. The band returned to the studio in 2002 for Warriors of the World, followed by the Sons of Odin EP in 2006 and Gods of War in 2007. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York, formed in 1980. They are known for writing lyrics with an emphasis on the heavy metal genre itself, fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythological topics (particularly Norse mythology). Manowar's sound is loud and bombastic; in an interview for MTV in February 2007, bassist Joey DeMaio lamented that "these days, there's a real lack of big, epic metal that is drenched with crushing guitars and choirs and orchestras... so it's nice to be one of the few bands that's actually doing that."[1] In 1984 the band was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for delivering the loudest performance, a record which they have since broken on 2 occasions. They also hold the world record for the longest heavy metal concert after playing for 5 hours and 1 minute in Bulgaria in 2008.[2]
Although the band has never been a mainstream commercial success in the United States, they maintain a strong cult following there. In contrast, they are extremely popular in Europe, Japan, Australia and South America. Dedicated fans are known and referred to by the band as "Manowarriors" or "Immortals", and collectively their fans are known as the "Army of Immortals".
Drummer Scott Columbus joined the band for their second album, Into Glory Ride. Custom equipment was built for the band by John "Dawk" Stillwell, which helped in achieving their sound. [4]
The band usually performs in and around Europe, South America (especially Argentina and Brazil) and Japan.
Manowar influenced the early Swedish Black Metal band Bathory during their transition from Black metal to their later Viking metal sound. Bathory's lead singer Quorthon stated in a 2002 interview: "In 1986-1988, Bathory had a drummer who was heavily influenced by Manowar. He didn't enjoy any other type of metal, but he was somehow sold on Manowar. It wasn't like we decided to copy what they were doing. However, the typical heavy Manowar beat seemed to perfectly suit my new ideas for lyrics at the time."[5]
The band is also notable for its ownership of their entire operation. Record recording and distribution, as well as merchandise, are all controlled by the band. Singer Eric Adams has said that the reason for this is that the band has received unfair treatment financially in the past, and also to ensure the highest quality production. [1] The band's label, Magic Circle Music, includes other bands such as Rhapsody of Fire and HolyHell. [2]
Their latest album is Gods of War; for other albums, see the discography. At the Magic Circle Festival 2008, Joey DeMaio announced that the band's next album would be performed in its entirety at the following year's festival, and its release would be accompanied by a video game, book and film. The Thunder in the Sky EP (2009) includes a second CD of 16 versions of the song Father, each in a different language.
Members
Current members
Eric Adams - vocals (1980–present), guitar (1980, for a short while)
Rhino filled in for drummer Scott Columbus during Manowars' recent show in Bulgaria and also played with them during their performance at Magic Circle Festival on July 11th & 12th 2008. It is not yet known how long Columbus will be absent for. During the soundcheck at Magic Circle Festival, DeMaio stated that Scott was missing due to recent "personal tragedies" he had suffered.
Secrets of Steel ·Hell on Earth Part I ·Fire and Blood ·Warriors of the World united ·Hell on Earth Part III ·Hell on Earth Part IV ·The Day the Earth Shook - The Absolute Power ·Magic Circle Festival Volume 1 ·Magic Circle Festival Volume 2
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