Plankton

^Pretty much my review of it.^

Thanks, buddy.

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The Batlord

Did you actually listen to the entire thing?

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Plankton

Yes.

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The Batlord

Then I have saved you the trouble. You're welcome.

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The Batlord

People generally call this Manowar's sellout album, but I'm kind of dubious about that. They definitely watered their sound down to a large extent, basically deconstructing their sound back to Battle Hymns, but without any of the energy. But considering this was 1987, the time of hair metal, when Judas Priest was releasing Turbo, I find it odd that Manowar would sellout by playing early eighties trad metal while continuing to sing the exact same lyrics they had from day one.

It could very well be that their record company gave them a vague, uninterested decree to shape up or ship out, without even caring enough to foist a gestapo producer on them to write their album for them -- and that probably did happen -- but I suspect that they probably didn't fight it very much, if at all.

They'd showed signs of running out of creative steam on Sign of the Hammer, so I don't find it surprising that their next album would see them going the path of least resistance in a desperate bid to replace their lost inspiration with money (I probably would too).

The biggest sign of this is "Defender", the only song that sounds like the material on their three previous albums, and it really sounds like a castoff from Sign of the Hammer. It's heavy and epic, or at least it tries to be, but in the end it's just uninspired dullery. Even a heavier production probably wouldn't have saved it from being filler.

Most of the rest of the album is second and third rate Judas Priest-style trad metal without much to recommend. The first half of the album has some alright tunes, but generally nothing that sticks in your head after it's over. The second half is pretty much garbage (I don't know why people say that "Black Wind, Fire, and Steel" is that great, as it's just decent/good metal which just happens to be better than the crap before it.)

Honestly, the only song on this album that I'll ever be going back to is the title track. It's a straightforward metal song that could just have easily been recorded by Judas Priest or Saxon, but Eric Adams' bombastic, arrogant voice nails the **** out of it. It's anthemic and catchy in a way that just invades your brain and sets up a tent for days. It might be more of a backpeddle than an actual musical accomplishment, but it's too awesome for me to care.

So yeah, that's all that really needs to be said about Fighting the World. Perfectly ignorable album, but check out the title song if you're a true Manowarrior.

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The Batlord

Just added links to all the reviews in the OP.

And what are the chances that Ori is actually going to come through? Cause I'm prepared to take Hail to England too.

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Oriphiel

I did it. I reviewed Hail to England. I've been having some pretty bad days lately, and I admit that I briefly considered giving up on the review, but I eventually decided that I had to man up and fulfill my promise, for the sake of True Metal. This is the first Manowar album that I have ever listened to...



1. Blood of my Enemies - Kicking things off with a fairly solid metal song, it seems like this isn't going to be too horrible of an experience. However, i'm not very impressed so far. Manowar kinda sounds like a bargain bin version of Judas Priest (especially in the vocal department), and they seem to lack the creativity and energy to add anything new to the mix. In all fairness, it's far from horrible, and it is in fact a relatively fun song, but it just doesn't leave much of an impression on me. Maybe I've become way too jaded in regards to Metal.

2. Each Dawn I Die - Sexy riff. Unfortunately, the vocals come off as pretty cheesy, and the drumming sounds too quiet and unremarkable. I'm sorry, but so far Manowar is coming off as a fairly generic 80s Metal band. The guitar solo was pretty bitchin', though.

3. Kill With Power - Fun, with some steady guitar chugging, but... I don't know. Manowar lacks that special something that really makes a Metal band great, you know? I just don't feel much true power or energy in their songs. The guitars kind of have it, but everything else just sounds way too standard and powerless. And lacking that power, to me, is the greatest crime that a Metal band can commit. There's a certain test that you can do to determine if a band has that spark; turn down the volume. If their songs still have strength, emotion and intensity, then you've got the real deal. But if they sound utterly forgettable once the knob is even slightly turned, relying almost entirely on simply being played loudly to hit hard, then... well, you've still got a song that sounds great when played super loud, so CRANK IT! Just don't don't expect me to seek it out and listen to it again after the party is over.

4. Hail to England - Is it just me, or does every Manowar song kinda sound the same? That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if I enjoyed their core sound, but I apparently don't, so it's kinda like I was doomed to dislike this album from the start. Anyway, whether or not this song distinguishes itself from the others, it's still not too bad. I could imagine driving down a highway, having this song come on the radio, and not immediately turning it off.

5. Army of the Immortals - I don't know why, but this is my favorite so far. The vocals aren't too cheesy, the guitars are fun, the drumming is... well, pretty boring. But still, if some medieval guy was going to be ravaged by a lady barbarian in the back of his parent's horse-drawn carriage, this wouldn't be a horrible song for his entourage of bards to play on the sidelines.

6. Black Arrows - Ha ha ha ha! What the fuck?

7. Bridge of Death - Every version of this that I can find sounds like it was recorded in a garbage can. I guess the band were prophets, because they uncannily managed to record their album in the same place where most copies of it would end up. All joking aside, this song gets pretty fun once it gets going, so now I feel bad about trashing (heh) on it.

Damn. This album was pretty fun, and definitely not bad, but I was still really disappointed. Also, I feel pretty messed up right now, and halfway through the album I just kind of stopped giving a fuck. You know what's on my mind right now? It's not Manowar's music, because psssht, yeah right, I've already forgotten most of the songs. No, it's that guy in the bottom left corner of the album art. Look at him. Like, his beard is a different color than his other hair, and his hand is stuck to his chest via an arrow, which, judging by the angle of the arrow and the trajectory that it probably followed, looks like it was shot at him from the flag-bearing barbarian's crotch. Don't believe me? Look at his facial expression and tell me that that is not the face of a man who was just shot by a crotch-arrow. That is the shattered visage of a man who has received the ultimate mark of shame, and is suddenly realizing that his mettle (and metal) was false. The final verdict is that this album is fun. Give it a shot some time. If you're like me, though, one listen-through is enough. Honestly, you're better off nabbing a copy of Defenders of the Faith or something. Oh, also... fuck you Batlord, it turns out that Girlschool really is more Metal than Manowar.

Pet_Sounds

Manowar - Thunder in the Sky

Against my better instinct, I have made a deal to review a Manowar album. To ease the pain, I've decided to do it in a "Love or Hate?" style. (Plus, I'm watching the Home Run Derby as I write this.)

Apparently, this EP was released as a promotion for an upcoming album, although they only shared one track. And there's one song that was released in, like, fifteen different languages. That many people like Manowar?

Track 1: Love I'm amazed. This is a great track, with a powerful bass, thundering riffs, and an epic chorus. I didn't expect this. (Yes, Batty, I can appreciate heavy metal .) It provides a epic soundtrack for rookie Joc Pederson's twelve epic home runs.

Track 2 Sounds similar to the opener, but slower and not as catchy. Nicer vocals though.

Track 3: Hate … And now they break out the cheese with a ballad. This is more what I expected. This is also the multi-lingual song. I hope they did it in Russian. Please tell me they did it in Russian.

Track 3 More cheese, but it's on the symphonic side this time. Sounds like a battle hymn.

Track 4 This is the "metal version" of a previously released track. Please sound like the opener. Please please please. No, it's back to the cheesy symphonic sound. Can't say I hate it though, it's just kind of boring.

Track 6: Hate The powerful sound of the first two tracks is back, but the riffs aren't interesting enough. Bass is good though.

So, love or hate? Hate, with a strong inclination toward meh. Not as bad as I expected, though.

See you later, I'm off to listen to Black Sabbath. I need some quality metal now.

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