ManOwaR
Friday, February 15, 2025
Munich / Zenith / Germany
“Other bands play – ManOwaR kill!!!”
Manowar — I last saw and heard them in 1999 at the Gods of Metal festival in Milan. Then came a string of questionable albums, starting with Warriors of the World in 2002, dubious lineup moves, a former guitarist who shall remain nameless and who distinguished himself with his “love” of children — and I’ll stop there.
All of this, plus other minor details — the most egregious being Joey‘s (DeMaio, bassist and band boss) creative block, which has been plaguing him since at least 2007 — led me to deliberately boycott any of their shows.
What changed my plans was the shock of realizing that my favorite vocalist, Eric Adams, had stepped into his eighth decade of life. I loosened the shackles of my convictions a little and decided to go see the guys in Munich, where they were playing as part of The Blood of Our Enemies tour. On this tour they alternate every other night, playing either Hail to England or Sign of the Hammer in full. We landed on Sign of the Hammer, the cult 1984 album, plus a selection of “hits”. You can check out the full setlist here.
I also decided this would be the last show I’d attend as part of an organized bus trip, because all-night adventures on the way back are no longer for these old bones. The crew in the back of the bus was in exactly the right metal state of mind — jokes and wisecracks flying left and right, so the trip flew by fast. The party carried on at the shopping center near the venue, where even the waiter felt obliged to explain it was time to weigh anchor.
My plan to get to the venue a bit early and secure a good spot for photos fell apart for two reasons. The first: Mr. DeMaio does not allow photography or filming. The second: I didn’t actually get there early, and the place was already pretty packed. This is where a fellow bus-rider stepped in — the same guy I’d good-naturedly cursed out at departure for stealing the seat I wanted by the other exit. Well, the chance acquaintance paid off, because for some unknown reason the organizer was handing out fanpit passes to anyone who happened to be in the right place at the right time. The bus guy had sniffed it out and tipped off both me and my companion. Excellent! So we managed to work our way pretty far to the front.
For recruiting a guitarist and drummer for the latest Manowar incarnation, Joey stuck to his recent playbook: he planted the (to me, at least) completely unknown Dave Chedrick behind the kit — at 55, he brings the band’s average age down significantly — and pulled the legendary-for-the-wrong-reasons guitarist Michael Angelo Batio out of mothballs. The latter didn’t inspire much confidence, because in video clips from the previous tour you could hear he’d taken his role more as a laugh — he was playing the solos (mainly Ross‘s) very much his own way.
The show? Killer sound, Eric in fantastic vocal form and all smiles, Joey in his classic macho manner, Dave precise as a Swiss watch, and Michael Angelo had actually done his homework on the solos — even if the style of the guitarist mentioned (or not mentioned) above suits him far better than Ross‘s. Ross the Boss is simply one of a kind. The crowd: wild and loud. Security constantly on the lookout for cameras and phones, but Silvija and I still managed to snap a few shots (see gallery).
I have to admit I deeply regret skipping Manowar shows for the past 25 years, because this was a religious experience! Manowar IS Eric and Joey — you can put almost anyone else in the guitarist and drummer slots, or at least that’s how it turned out. Manowar is a band that still puts enormous stock in theatrics — the stage setup, the backdrop, and the by-now-classic battle uniforms of the members confirmed it again. I have to emphasize once more the incredibly loud and crystal-clear sound, and — OMG — Eric! It’s insane what he can still pull out of those vocal cords at 72. He’s obviously optimizing his vocal output, but he knows exactly which animal screams Manowar fans want to hear. And he delivered every single one. From the opening one in Animals to the post-solo verse in Black Wind, Fire and Steel. Not to mention the closing “Mother! Mother! Mother!” from Guyana…
The setlist was, to my taste, flawless — nothing but classics, nothing from the post-2007 era, and from the rest only the cream of the crop. Anthem after anthem, metal upon metal, blood upon blood! Insaaaaaane!
A fun moment happened when some guy in the front row lost his glasses mid-headbang, and Joey casually stopped the performance of Sign of the Hammer so the glasses could be found — then they started over from the top.
Joey‘s speech was of course his well-known spiel about not letting anyone keep you down and believing in your own success. Time for a beer.
If I had to describe this concert in one word, that word would be METAL! I’m sure plenty of people would argue otherwise, but there is no band on this planet more metal than Manowar. I’m telling you.
Joey doesn’t know it yet, but there’s only one more step from here. He has to swallow his pride, rein in that massive ego a little, and call his old friend/enemy Ross the Boss and invite him back into the band. Once that’s done, he needs to call David Shankle and the insane drummer Rhino from The Triumph of Steel lineup. And then he needs to take this two-guitar version out on a farewell tour. Just do it, Joey!!!
Honorable mention: the squirrel on the guitarist’s head.
Text: Igorac
Photos: Silvija & Igorac
