Album Rating: 5.0

"We wear leather, we wear spikes." No Iron Maiden nor Blind Guardian song approaches Manowar



Ok, then try "Flash of the Blade" and the "Duellists". And one look at IM's image back in the 80's (with the silly colors etc) is enough. Blind Guardian sing about orcs and hobbits, I mean why is that better than Manowar???



Anyway, I believe it is more than clear that heavy metal lives and breathes exaggeration. Whether it be satanism,gore, death, ghosts,dragons and swords, anyone who listens to heavy metal accepts these themes as a given.

Album Rating: 4.0

"Ok, then try "Flash of the Blade" and the "Duellists". And one look at IM's image back in the 80's (with the silly colors etc) is enough. Blind Guardian sing about orcs and hobbits, I mean why is that better than Manowar???"



I'm not the biggest IM fan but that's different. Maiden explore themes from literature and myths and don't take themselves seriously. Dickinson is a pretty witty guy and all the guys in IM laugh their asses off on stage. (even then, Dickison can be a little grating on records when he gets a little over-dramatic in delivery)



The problem with Manowar is when they totally confuse mythology and real life. The song Holy War off Fighting the World is a prime example. This is an amazing piece of music, dripping with atmosphere and unique. At first, the lyrics make it seem like it's about a crusade or jihad of some kind and that's neat. Until they start babling about how "metal is our religion" and we have to fight a holy war so we'll rule the earth one day? How much more profoundly stupid could it get?



It's the over the top vibe, plus their narcissism that reeks of cheese.



"Anyway, I believe it is more than clear that heavy metal lives and breathes exaggeration. Whether it be satanism,gore, death, ghosts,dragons and swords, anyone who listens to heavy metal accepts these themes as a given."



I believe metal lives and breathes intensity. It doesn't have to be exaggeration. And a lot of the things you mention, they don't fly with many metal fans. A lot of people who enjoy the music don't really care about overdoing it in the gore department, for example. It's just tacky and shock value. Same with the extreme views in black metal. I can listen to some great records but I could live without the over the top autobiographic satanist views and the ridiculous image.



So it's not just a Manowar thing but unfortunately, they are a good example of why Metal was held back and didn't gain the legitimacy it could have. The music broke ground but the image and themes are often immature.

no >:[

I'M NOCTUS!! >:[

Album Rating: 4.0

good review, pos.



Awesome album, Manowar at their best.

I'M NOCTUS!! >:[

BECAUSE THEY BLOW >:[

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

Great band in their prime.

BECAUSE THEY BLOW >:[

Album Rating: 4.0

"BECAUSE THEY BLOW >:["



You should give the first four albums a few more spins. That Bathory album you rate a 4.5, Hammerheart? It's a bad ripoff of those Manowar albums with a few nods to Venom's early work.



Go straight to the source and enjoy the originals. They were much better.

NO >:[

NO NO NO NO!! >:[

Album Rating: 4.0

Lol. You can deny it all you want but it's still true. Listen to early Venom and Manowar, you'll see Bathory stole everything from the themes (satanism, viking pride, epic vibe) to the music aesthetic itself.



It's just ironic that you rate an album as amazing and pretend that what it ripped off is so bad.

but manowar are still BIG FAGS IN BONDAGE >:[

um, no

not liking manowar is an offence punishable by death in 94 countries

THEY'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE ]:

Album Rating: 5.0

"I'm not the biggest IM fan but that's different. Maiden explore themes from literature and myths and don't take themselves seriously. Dickinson is a pretty witty guy and all the guys in IM laugh their asses off on stage"



First of all,excuse my late response! I guess all I'm saying is that you can't actually scale (rate) the cheesyness. In essence for example, Manowar's "Holy War" is Metallica's "Metal Militia" and "Damage Inc." I 'm not comparing them in terms of seriousness, I' m just saying that in heavy metal, especially up until the "serious" 90's we heard a lot of stuff we could laugh at (in terms of lyrics). I never thought this was a safe way to judge a band . I mean ok, my favorite metal album is on the serious/socially conscious side (Master of Puppets), but my second favorite is Powerslave with Eddie-Pharaoh on the cover, songs about sword-fighting and a funny "big horror" title. Dead cheesy, and I feel the same goes with many many other classic metal records (and whole genres).Could I rule off Iron Maiden, Dio-era Black Sabbath, Mastodon or even say Darkthrone because of this? As for the funny statements, Manowar have indeed declared that they are the loudest, but didn't Slayer once claim that they are the fastest? This exaggeration is no news in heavy metal, we'd better not rule Manowar off before we hear their music.

Album Rating: 4.0

Hey no need for apologizing for lateness, lostforwords. As you can see, I am late myself



First of all, please don't get me wrong, I do not rule off Manowar. As you can see by my rating and the comments in my review, I consider the first four albums to be not only great music but also somewhat groundbreaking in the genre. They have some other great stuff (mostly the Ross the Boss years although I dig Triumph of Steel as well).



I understand where you are coming from with your examples but again, it's a matter of context for me. Manowar play classic metal. Eric Adams's delivery is highly lyrical. He sings not just melodies but the words of the songs in a meaningful and passionate way that is rarely seen in metal. This is his strength when the material is solid but can be a weakness when it's over the top.



Metallica's early stuff can be a little silly but this is thrash metal. It's a hybrid of classic metal (the dramatic side) but with a healthy dose of punk-hardcore influences. It's dirty, rebellious. Two very different things.



I understand that again, this explanation will have holes for you. I refer to your original statement where you asked: "

Why do people keep saying that Manowar plays cheesy metal or something?"



My attempts at providing an answer are a mix of objective statements but a larger dose of subjectivity. The fact is, nobody can quantify such things and explain why it feels cheesy to some of us but as you said yourself in your statement: it's not just me. "People keep saying Manowar plays cheesy metal" because that's how a lot of us feel about some of their lyrics, image and even the music sometimes. They're just over-the-top in everything they do. But that's just how some of us feel about it. I know others disagree.



I try to be as objective as possible when I review but I totally admit it's not a science and there is a dose of subjectivity in them.



To further highlight this: you did say people don't find Dio or Maiden cheesy but I know a lot of people who do. I guess it depends how we feel about these things. When it gets overly dramatic (music or lyrics), I find it cheesy.



It doesn't change the fact that for all the bombastic nature of the early stuff, the cheese does not prevent me from enjoying most of the songs. But sometimes little things annoy me. Songs like the aforementioned Holy War and Blood of the Kings would be SO much better to me if they had more substance in the lyrics.



Regardless, Manowar are fun even when singing inanities such as BORN TO AMPLIFY :D

WORST BAND ]:

Album Rating: 3.5

Great album, Mountains is so damn epic.

Album Rating: 4.5

Yeah, and Thor (The Powerhead) is my favorite song here