Your review of
Battle Hymns was kind of odd to me. I really don't mean any offense, but it seems like over half of it was just you apologizing for Manowar's lack of creativity and originality. It's almost like you're saying "Alright, these guys suck,
but... they're kinda fun." Anyway, when it comes to this part...
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Batlord
Then of course there are "Dark Avenger" and "Battle Hymn", two songs that don't get nearly enough credit for pioneering a different sound in 80s metal. Even the very tiny handful of doom metal pioneers of the time were more concerned with aping Black Sabbath than really blazing any trails, whereas Manowar took the fantasy aspects of traditional metal and created a sound that suited those lyrics far better than anything Dio ever put out (Sorry, Ronnie, but it is what it is). Many bands since have realized that slowing down rather than speeding up can be far more effective in evoking an epic atmosphere, but Manowar were pretty much on their own in 1982.
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I don't know if I agree with that. From what I've heard so far, Manowar were indeed good at making relatively slow and intense songs with epic imagery and lyrics, without getting too Doom-y like the various Black Sabbath clones, and they also had some fun speed-metal tracks. However, there were plenty of bands achieving these sounds, even ten to fifteen years before Manowar, back in the late sixties and early seventies. Off the top of my head, Lucifer's Friend and Wicked Lady's sounds weren't too far off from what Manowar was doing, both with the slow/intense songs with epic lyrics and vivid imagery, as well as the speed-metal numbers (if you don't know who Wicked Lady was, go ask Unknown_Soldier
).