Review Summary: A strong step forward that ensures Manowar’s full commitment to what could’ve easily been a one-off bit.
Once you get past the secondhand embarrassment of that opening spoken bit, Into Glory Ride seems like it’ll fall right in line with the preceding Battle Hymns. Granted the driving chugs make “Warlord” faster than anything off that album but it exudes the same attitude with its devil-may-care vocal jumps and pulsating chorus. Its veneer of badass masculinity shatters if you think about it for more than five seconds (Dude who ***s sixteen-year-olds and calls himself the Warlord while talking like a chickenhawk? Lol okay, nerd) but ultimately makes for a fun start.
However, the album reveals its true character as “Secret of Steel” and the pounding “Gloves of Metal” establish a tighter presentation. The band fully commits to the epic tone that its predecessor ended on and the overall dynamic feels more rigid than before. Much of this can be attributed to new drummer Scott Columbus, whose harder hits and busy bursts provide an ironclad foundation for the guitars to get heavier and the bass even flashier. The vocals are also as commanding as ever, dispensing wisdom as an operatic orator on “Secret of Steel” and affirmative grit on “Gloves of Metal.”
From there, the album’s bombastic tendencies somehow get pushed to even further heights than previously thought possible. “Gates of Valhalla” is essentially the patient zero of Viking metal with its periodic clean textures, vocals that range from declarative falsettos to ecstatic wails, and the sort of measured stride that would give Hammerheart and its thousand young their legs. “Hatred” and “Revelation (Death’s Angel)” also put in some interesting contrast, the latter’s upbeat power metal splendor and catchy chorus make up for the former’s dip into demented doom potentially getting a little too drawn out for its own good.
It all culminates with the “March for Revenge (By the Soldiers of Death).” The track is a climactic closer like “Battle Hymns” before it and stretches that premise to its limits by acting as a proverbial kitchen sink over the course of eight and a half minutes. The meat of the song is great in itself as the verses go at a steady marching pace and the chorus inject some twinkling percussion, but the building drums at the beginning, choral ending, and the halted lament for a fallen warrior halfway through do a lot to top off the song’s character.
While Into Glory Ride has its share of hiccups, it’s a strong step forward that ensured Manowar’s full commitment to what could’ve easily been a one-off bit. The domineering warrior metal aesthetic with everyman macho posturing in a backseat role works well as an inverted mirror to Battle Hymns offering the other way around. The song flow is also commendable as its gradual build to more grandiose territory is downright subtle by Manowar standards and the almost narrative song flow keeps it engaging. I wouldn’t count this among their absolute best but it’s pretty damn close.
