Manowar

Warriors Of The World

Starts a little slow, but hits you HARD in the end!

Review Score:

(10/10)
I got into Manowar several years ago, just after Louder Than Hell came out, and this is the first Manowar CD I've had the privilege of buying new with the rest of the fans. I have to admit that the first time I listened to it, I worried I had wasted my money, but after a couple more times, I couldn't get enough of the album.

I noticed several other people writing reviews said that they felt the sound was different, more somber than previous albums. I agree; earlier Manowar CDs were all about the heat of battle, rage, etc...and while this one DEFINITELY has that ("House of Death" and such), it's also possessed of a grim maturity that descends directly from earlier songs like "Lament of the Kings" and "Heart of Steel." There is a heroic, powerful, somewhat fatalistic resolve in these songs that suits the mood of the world today.

For those of you a bit miffed that the Kings of Metal would "stoop" to singing Puccini and covering Elvis, I say this: how many lead vocalists do you know who can thrash with the best of them while also being able to sing opera like a true performer? I say it's proof positive of the band's versatility. Also, "Nessun Dorma" packs a punch when you bother to read the lyrics' translation...and that Elvis song? I, too, was surprised, but it weaves so many varying trains of thought together that you can't help but get a sense of the American spirit.

This CD has the diginfied warrior's grace of a battle-wizened general...who can still split you from crown to codpiece if he wants to.

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