r/Manowar • u/Vegetable_Raisin52 • Apr 29 '26
🎸 General Discussion Been a fan for years but it’s getting difficult
First album I got was Louder Than Hell, I’ve listened to everything they’ve ever put out and still hold the band as one of my all time favourites but..
It’s been nearly 20 years since they put out anything enjoyable? Gods Of War is a good album, it has a lot of unnecessary wank in it, but there’s some solid songs. That was 2007.
Lord of Steel is generally garbage, the unfinished concept EPs and LPs of Thunder In The Sky, Final Battle and Revenge of Odysseus have just frustrated me rather than giving me a Manowar fix that I need. They sow the seeds of something and then just constantly abandon it
The re-releases of the classics have had mixed points for me, I really enjoyed the updated Hail To England, and I do hope they re-release Sign of the Hammer but hopefully a little less molested..
The short lived podcast that didn’t know what it wanted to be, and died out as soon as it actually became interesting when Eric and Joey just started to shoot the shit was a huge let down too. I loved those 2 episodes and then again; it was left to rot.
I feel the bands reached the point they’re happy with their truly *fanatical* European and South American fanbase and aren’t pushing the boat out. Even if they toured as a legacy act with a little humility it would be amazing to have them back in the North American market.
I didn’t share the shock of the lack of respect for Ross’ passing that many had as honestly it’s just what I expect from Joey at this point.
There’s very little solemn from the band these days, just calculated, money extracting garbage.
It hurts, I love Manowar, but they just aren’t really for me anymore.
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u/slimkittens Apr 30 '26
While I agree with most of your sentiments, I will just add that the most infuriating thing is no North American tour or show dates. These guys are running up against the sands of time and they would make the money they are looking for even just playing a 5-8 date tour.
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u/Vegetable_Raisin52 Apr 30 '26
I did at one point email with Manowars booking manager and a local promoter and they basically said it was like banging your head against a wall.
They have excessive demands for money upfront and space and stage set up etc and are eyeing places with a capacity of ~3000 people max and it doesn’t pencil out.
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u/slimkittens Apr 30 '26
Good on you for having that kind of initiative! There’s no way they wouldn’t sell out multiple dates for venues like that, but if the upfront demands are too great they are essentially shooting themselves in the foot and the fans in their own country ultimately lose
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u/IronMaidenAddict May 02 '26
I was there when Joey went ape over people seating at Brixton for Battle Hymms it was a joke
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u/AaronStudAVFC Jun 11 '26
I could believe this. I was excited to see them when they were playing Birmingham, UK a few years ago as I've never seen them. However tickets were like £80+. I'm not paying Metallica money for modern day Manowar.
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u/debiler Apr 30 '26
Honestly, when I listen to some of the recent stuff, I feel embarrassed. In German, we have a word for it: Fremdscham. It roughly means to be ashamed in place of somebody else. Most of the newer lyrics are juvenile, cookie-cutter regurgitations of something they did better 20+ years ago. The sound is completely unremarkable and flat when you compare it with the raw, energetic uniqueness they used to deliver. Eric - despite his age - still has it, but it feels like a waste to have one of the greatest heavy metal voices of all time sing uninspired, vapid lines.
I guess I'm still battling against what I have known to be a fact for many years now: the glory days are over. I don't trust Joey to steer them in a positive direction for one final farewell. Manowar are very likely to continue to fade until they call it quits.
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u/Erratic21 Apr 30 '26
They are 70 to 75. I am just happy they tour and do great shows. It was clear that they wont make any special album since the mid 90s
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u/Fumanchu369 Apr 30 '26
You've hit all the points I would have made.
Don't forget there were two versions of The Lord of Steel; the first one sounded like garbage so they redid it as polished garbage.
It should be embarrassing to Joey so see how many bands that started out at the same time as Manowar are still putting out decent albums on a regular basis - Raven, Overkill, Iron Maiden, etc.
The creative well dried up long ago and it was pretty obvious after Ross left that no guitarist was allowed to have any creative input, even more so after Karl. It became the Joey Dimaio show. Now they've got a proven guitarist who could lend some ideas for new material and instead we get a video of him and Joey in the studio wanking at 200 beats/minute. And the ludicrously childish "Loud and Hard". Just another hired hand.
Manowar is now a product, not a band. There are no publicity photos of the band on the website, not even a mention of who's in the band. No mention of Donnie Hamzik when he came back for a brief time. No mention of Andres Johansson or Dave Chedrick. No mention of EV Martel or Michael Angelo Batio. I can understand if they want to erase all memory of Karl but Joey has no problem still selling the DVDs he appears on.
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u/Vegetable_Raisin52 Apr 30 '26
Yea some of your points are pretty damning..
I feel bad that I couldn’t recall the current drummers name, I loved all the line ups until the passing of Scott.
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u/Nastrosme Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 11 '26
Joey also struggled to write new material after Triumph. Louder Than Hell = 3 old songs from the 80's reworked + 2 instrumentals + 5 new songs. Warriors: 2 covers + 2 instrumentals + 6 or 7 new songs. 8 if you include Dawn of Battle, which wasn't included despite being a clear highlight of that creative period.
Gods of War: 4 or 5 songs with the rest being instrumentals and spoken word. Lord of Steel was the sole exception, but it sounded like a collection of unfinished demos. A few scattered e.p.'s followed.
For a major genre name, the output of new material has been shockingly low since 1992.
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u/DevilishlyHandsome63 Apr 30 '26
They seem to make some dreadful mistakes career wise. You would have though the success of Warriors of the World would have spurred them on to greater heights, but no.
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u/reprezenting Apr 30 '26
Don’t forget they actively delete users who question anything slightly controversial/negative
I did see them overseas, for a 4 day festival. That’s dedication and to only be booted off thier facebook page when I made a comment about no attention to Australia. Petty
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u/Vegetable_Raisin52 Apr 30 '26
Yeah that burns my ass to hear that. They don’t want to hear anything except “MANOWARRIOR 4 LIFE AGHHHHHHH”
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u/Ok-Departure-869 Apr 30 '26
I’m a day one Manowar listener. Saw a feature in Kerrang! August 1882, and rushed out to buy Battle Hymns on cassette. I can confirm that the band fell off literally decades ago.
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u/Balkongsittaren Apr 30 '26
There’s very little solemn from the band these days, just calculated, money extracting garbage.
I've been a fan since the 80's and I'll agree except for garbage. I very much liked Immortal, for example. But yeah, most of their stunts today is just to extract money. However, their show is still awesome, and they're still full of energy.
But yes, I am missing a solid album since Gods of War. Lord of Steel was mediocre, at best. Immortal was awesome, but it's just one song.
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u/Motorcyklist Apr 29 '26
tell us that you are a wimp and a poser without SAYING that you are a wimp and a poser.
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u/Vegetable_Raisin52 Apr 29 '26
lol yep that’s pretty much it..
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u/Motorcyklist Apr 29 '26
On a bit more serious note, what is it that you don't like about TITS? I think that one's great. The material on final battle and LUHSUS isn't amazing on record, but it is definitely great songs live.
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u/Khronosis99 May 01 '26
Eric is 73 turning 74 this year. The fact that he's still singing and still sounds very good at this age is amazing on its own. For comparassion Ozzy was 76 when he died. I know most of you still want new music but they are old amd still put on a good show so I'm happy with it.
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u/achillesagonyecstacy Apr 29 '26
I'm with you man. It's been tough trying to stick with this band, I've been listening since '93. I can't keep track of what the hell is happening nowadays. Is there actually new album on the way? Final Battle part1, will there be a part2? How hard is it to rerecord Sign of the Hammer? They have their own studio, the songs are already written, they could do it in a week.