Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Manowar
Label: Magic Circle Music
Released: 2007
Writing about Manowar is actually a pretty thankless job. Why do I say that? Because Manowar are considered one of the biggest, maybe even best bands in metal… yet they’re also a target of mockery and contempt for plenty of people. Just when you’d think they’d mellow out and come down to earth in their old age, Manowar keep on doing their thing – metal, manliness and sex. And yes, they’re still oiled-up, pumped-up “real men” standing around a fire, waving swords and screaming “Greyskuuuuul!!!”. But fine, Manowar are a band that built a career on image. They’re ultra-macho, muscly, long-haired, loud, and they still love riding their bikes. They’re the standard-bearers of true metal and they defend everything that’s real in metal. Confusing for some, since it’s never clear how seriously a band like that can be taken, but Manowar are still a group you can respect… absurd look or not.
So after five years, Manowar have once again greased up their biceps, polished their swords and ridden their Harleys straight into Valhalla. What else? We’ve got a concept album about the supreme Norse god, Odin. Supposedly the first in a series of concept albums about mythological gods. But did Manowar actually manage to claim an honorable seat at the round table of fallen warriors in the hall of Valhalla with Gods of War, each with a valkyrie at their side? Sadly, the “great warriors” tucked their tails between their legs and Odin turned them away at the gates of Valhalla.
Gods of War suffers from a serious lack of quality. Manowar are of course known for epic orchestrations, overtures and cheesy monologues, but this time they’ve gone too far. So far, in fact, that it’s reminiscent of the “symphonic Hollywood metal” of Italy’s Rhapsody (of Fire). And that’s exactly where the problem lies. This is Manowar, damn it, and from them I expect metal, metal and more metal. I expect TRUE metal, and I demand it in ridiculously large quantities. And on that front, the album goes down in flames across the board.
Gods of War is a long record, ending only after an hour and fifteen minutes, and at times so heavily epic that it hurts itself. It kicks off with a “Wagnerian” overture, Overture to the Hymn of the Immortal Warriors, and we get exactly what the title warns us about – a full-on symphony with a mighty choir. Strings and organ build up the atmosphere even more and the start is promising. But at almost six and a half minutes the intro is simply too long, and I can barely wait for the guardians of True metal to come riding in on their Harleys… Oops… here comes another overture – The Ascension. Sure, it serves the purpose of introducing the concept, but it couldn’t have done a better job of killing the mood. Ten minutes in, the real Manowar sound finally kicks in with King of Kings. Too bad we’d already heard the song, albeit a live version, on the EP. Well, at least we’re done with the overtures, interludes and monologues now, right?
Sorry, I have to disappoint you again. Army of the Dead Part 1 is yet another pointless filler, saved only by Adams’ fantastic vocals, which really pull the record out of serious mediocrity, since Manowar don’t shine instrumentally on this album anywhere near as much as they did on previous ones. Finally, Sleipnir gives us a totally fresh Manowar track with that proper Manowar sound you fall in love with quickly – a mid-tempo number with mighty vocals, thundering drums and just the right riffs. The album is clearly getting going at last, and another metal anthem follows, Loki God of Fire. Blood Brothers is another gem of the record, a typical Manowar power ballad, where Adams always delivers with his fantastic vocals. Unfortunately they put the ballad in too early, and it totally slows down and wrecks the pace of the record. What could have been a great ending to the album fades into oblivion way too fast.
But don’t worry, the boring, bland symphonic overtures are not over yet. Odin’s trio starts with the seven-minute Overture to Odin together with The Blood of Odin, and is wrapped up by Sons of Odin, another familiar face from the EP. Sons of Odin is definitely one of the album’s highlights, reminding us of the good old Manowar, with strong bass lines and a building structure. Glory Majesty Unity serves up some more symphonics and needless chatter. Personally, Norse mythology fascinates me like crazy, but let’s be honest, I don’t think Manowar will convince anyone who’s fought their way through Gods of War to pick up a book on the subject.
The title track brings back the real Manowar again, and on Gods of War they manage to mix just the right amount of symphonics and metal. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that the song would hit even harder if you didn’t have to claw through half an hour of needless overtures to get to it. Army of the Dead of course has to get its obligatory, needless sequel with a second part, after which we finally get a great mid-tempo rocker, Odin. Then comes the closing Hymn of the Immortal Warriors, and we battle through to the bonus track, Die For Metal, which is a bonus purely because it doesn’t fit the concept. Funny that a concept record gets saved by a bonus track that has nothing to do with the concept. But at least with Die For Metal Manowar serve up that proper raw metal energy we expect and demand from them.
So, if I wrap up by dusting off the stunted parts of my brain that handle math – the record is an hour and thirteen minutes long. Overtures and fillers take up about 36 minutes, which is half the record. We get just 8 real metal tracks, three of which we already had the chance to hear on the recently released EP. What we’re really left with is 5 new Manowar songs worth listening to, and one of those is a bonus track. So is the record worth your money? That’s for you to judge.
Since this is a concept album that actually makes very good use of the Odin concept, especially with its excellent lyrics, we could forgive Manowar all the needless filler that spoils the atmosphere and pacing of the record… if they hadn’t bombarded us with the same stuff in the past. But we live in the digital age, and with a little work we can put together an actually excellent record ourselves. This time Manowar failed to cross the rainbow bridge to Valhalla. So I hope they’ll make it with the continuation of the concept and take a seat at the richly laden table, together with Odin and his warriors.
Lineup
Eric Adams – vocals
Karl Logan – guitar, keyboards
Joey DeMaio – bass guitar, keyboards
Scott Columbus – drums
Production
Ronald Prent
Tracklist
1. Overture to the Hymn of the Immortal Warriors
2. The Ascension
3. King of Kings
4. Army of the Dead, Part I
5. Sleipnir
6. Loki God of Fire
7. Blood Brothers
8. Overture to Odin
9. The Blood of Odin
10. The Sons of Odin
11. Glory Majesty Unity
12. Gods of War
13. Army of the Dead, Part II
14. Odin
15. Hymn of the Immortal Warriors
16. Die For Metal
