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"Born to Amplify" (Joey DeMaio, "Carry On")
I find the Manowar guys likable for five main reasons:
A) Having legitimized fur underwear as stage attire at a time when Metal was divided between noisy hairstyles and clichéd studded jackets.
B) Having carried on a (very dignified) career based on just seven words in their lyrics, in alphabetical order:
-Fight
-Fire
-Hell
-King
-Metal
-Steel
-Warrior
C) DeMaio is the only living being I have seen gulp down, in one go and live, a 66 can of beer without then saying: "Don't try this at Home" (Gods of Metal '97)
D) "Il Gods of Metal è diventato troppo commerciale perciò non verremo ma assicuriamo i Fans Italiani che abbiamo una sorpresa per loro" (Eric Adams in an interview with AllMusic last Spring)... They are the only ones whose promises sound like threats.
E) The first metal cassette I ever owned was a compilation, recorded for me by a classmate back in '87, where among other things, there were "Kenewall" and "Peace in the World". Not long after, under pressure ("Are you sure it's saying: Peace in the World, Peace in the World and Kenewall, Kenewall?") my friend admitted to making transcription errors, I'll let you imagine the correct titles.
Gaudy, with no sense of (self)irony and often deadly redundant, sometimes I "gift" them to my listeners: thanks to some records collected in my youth, the aforementioned cassette and a compilation I'm about to discuss. This happens both out of nostalgia for a beautiful period of my life and because, among many things of questionable taste, there is always some (not rare) gem in their discography, after all, be it their technical abilities (even if often used annoyingly) or their sense of melody, the fact is that on certain boring days they can even cheer me up.
The album in question is a "Best of,,," ('94) and the first thing to notice, aside from the ugliest cover in History (I challenge you to find a worse one...), is the presence of tracks from only three albums:
- "Fighting the World" '87
- "Kings of Metal" '88
- "The Triumph of Steel" '92
So the three recorded for EastWest (Atlantic) which had resolved the contract the year before and thus prepared one last opportunity to collect some money, exploiting the name.
This note leads one to think that in the choice of songs, the opinions of the four Defenders had little influence, but aside from the absurd exclusion of "Carry On", one must admit that this collection very well represents that part of their career in which (despite the group's obvious official denials) Manowar tried to approach a wider audience beyond the boundaries of the genre they codified (Epic Metal), with tracks, even if not exactly appealing to the radio world, fairly easy-listening (the already mentioned "Carry On" "Blow your Speaker", "Kingdome Come" etc. etc.).
Ironically, the American combo achieved much more success when they returned to their roots (from 2002 onwards), and the fact that despite the terrible flaws, sonic and otherwise, mentioned above, they are still "alive", active, and angry stands to show it.
I don't want to be misunderstood, however, this collection, although more malleable to untrained ears in the sounds of the "Men of War" still presents those characteristics that made them the most hated group globally: Forced Epicness, Raw Sounds, and Self-Reference.
The same characteristics, however, have captured a (large) group of truly devoted fans: one could also say that in terms of intensity, they are also among the most loved in the world.
One absolutely personal consideration, I'll allow myself at the end: the Manowar can never appeal to non-enthusiasts of the genre and I advise against this album for them, to purists, however, I ask for the freedom to express the idea that their creative peak was from '87 to '92 and therefore not to despise the collection too much in question.
Hoping not to have overly annoyed those who love them (their fans) and those who hate them (the rest of the world) I claim the fact that despite not being too fond of them, I, for Manowar, have affection and hope that they too, despite my infidelity as a Maiden fan, feel the same about me...
Long Live both False and True Metal!
Mo.
The Hell of Steel:
- Fighting the World
- Kings of Metal
- Demon's Whip
- Warrior's Prayer
- Defender
- Crown and the Ring
- Blow Your Speakers
- Metal Warriors
- Black Wind, Fire and Steel
- Hail and Kill
- Power of Thy Sword
- Herz Aus Stahl
- Kingdom Come
- Master of the Wind
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