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Released on April 24, 2015 via Pure Steel Records
I’ll admit it: Manowar only piqued my interest when I heard they wore animal skins. Then I found out they sang songs with testosterone-fueled titles like ‘All Men Play on Ten’. It was only ages after I’d got over the initial hilarity when I discovered that they were pretty proficient musicians.
Now, if you’re going to be offended at Manowar being called hilarious, get over yourself. A lot of metal is silly. The false toughness, the scowls, the fantasy references and long hair… all silly. It’s just music, for goodness’ sake. Hell, all the studs, leather and bullet belts that are now part of the metal furniture came from Judas Priest’s Rob Halford raiding his S & M chest.
But I digress. Manowar are the epitome of American power metal and one of their former members, David Shankle, has just unleashed his latest album on the world. Shankle appeared on one Manowar album, Triumph of Steel in his six years in the band. He left to hone his craft, before starting his eponymous group. This album, the DSG‘s third, has been some time coming – tracks have been streamed since the beginning of 2013 – and for those into lightning-fast guitar and fist-pumping, driving riffs (not to mention monstrous muscle-bound knights brandishing blood-stained axes on album covers), it doesn’t disappoint. It even has a few overblown lyrics, sung with gusto by Warren Halvarson, for those pining for Manowar’s golden age.
The title track kicks things off and the only surprising thing is that the wailing solo that befits a band bearing the name of the lead guitarist is so short. The second track, ‘Ressecution’ (nope, me neither) delivers more on the shred front, however, with a short, yet technical, solo. The third track, ‘Glimpse of Tomorrow’, eases the pace down with a heavy riff that opens into a clean-guitar chorus that is made for holding aloft your lighter/phone/e-cigarette. Or better yet, a ‘riding off into the sunset on a massive motorcycle’ scene in an 80s teen film. It’s the album’s highlight.
And if you feel a little short-changed by the lack of shredding in the opening three songs, the fourth ‘Demonic Solo (from the movie Jezebel)’ makes up for it, as Shankle squeezes a billion notes into a song one minute and forty seconds long.
Next up, ‘Fuel for the Fire’ has simultaneous aggressiveness and glam on a par with Mötley Crüe’s Theatre of Pain album, with suitably deep lyrics. It opens with this: “Gate crashing head smashing in your face / I ain’t ever going to be disgraced / I’ll be out and tearing up the town / You ain’t ever going to slow me down.”
At least it rhymes. And, let’s face it, you won’t be buying this album for high-falutin’ lyrics; there’s always Mastodon for that. This release exists for the fret-melting guitar work. And in ‘Fuel’ that’s what you get: wailing, soaring, shredding, with enough tremelo to turn your moonshine to vinegar.
‘Eye to Eye’ approaches a perfect balance of melody, shreddage and sheer metacular, erm, metalness, whereas ‘The Hitman’, which follows it, feels like it is supposed to be the album’s centrepiece – it is an eight-minute instrumental, based on a boogie and packed full of eye-watering solos. But, dare we say it, it goes on a little long – especially as the absence of Halvarsen’s tuneful bellow is noticeable, given that he dominates many of the preceding tracks.
One other quibble lies with the production. It is very bottom heavy, meaning some of Shankle’s guitar work gets bogged down below a very thick bass. And towards the end, on ‘Into the Darkness’ – another decent example of power metal – the production values go through the floor.
Thankfully everything comes back together for the final track, ‘Across The Line’, which veers into Iron Maiden territory with its epic hooks, double-kick drums and acrobatic vocals. And the guitar? Quick. But this time the cascading torrent of notes has a classical flavour, which adds an extra flourish.
There will be those who think this album belongs in a museum – or even a hole in the ground. Let them think that, there will be no changing their opinion. Just as there will be no changing the opinions of people who hold a candle for rousing power metal. Animal skins or otherwise, they’ll be more than satisfied with this album.
