When I wrote the report on the June 2006 visit to moscow by Ross Friedman — better known as Ross The Boss, original guitarist of MANOWAR and author of many of that legendary band's songs — I noted that one would still like to await the Warriors of Metal themselves, whose 2006 concert had been cancelled.
Well, the wait is over. The concert took place on 7 April 2007. Recounting the history of one of the most famous heavy metal bands is pointless, but let us note that from 1982 to 1988 the band recorded six albums; subsequent releases came in 1992, 1996, and 2002, with enormous gaps between recordings. The band toured; in recent years DeMaio had been busy with production work; Eric Adams had been filming a documentary about hunting featuring himself; the band talked at length about a new album, released a single, and finally, at the start of 2007, released the new disc. It was received with mixed feelings — because the conceptual album with a vast quantity of orchestral parts departs very sharply from everything MANOWAR had done before. Whatever the case, the tour schedule clearly included russia, where the band hadn't been since 1999.
The peculiarities began a week before the concert. An announcement appeared on the official website stating that the concert had been cancelled for technical reasons. However, a few days later, Joey posted a video in which, through a substantial quantity of profanity, one could make out that "Everything is fine, we're coming."
Peculiarity number two: the cancellation of the autograph sessions. The band that cultivates the idea that their fans mean everything to them cancelled the session, thereby denying fans the chance to see their idols and get the just-released album signed.
The Luzhniki Sports Complex. Concert day. Access was difficult as always (I'll spare the description of this procedure yet again), riot police, enormous queues — but eventually we were inside.
The time was just past seven; the official start was seven o'clock. Location: the standing floor. A professional camera was filming proceedings, clearly for a subsequent DVD. To say what followed was revolting would be to say nothing. A SCENE was being played out: someone arriving at a MANOWAR concert with an infant. I emphasise that first word — in place of a baby there was a doll dressed in a onesie. A number of people standing nearby delivered several choice words in DeMaio's direction, while others were extremely surprised by the equipment on stage — the drum kit in particular differed markedly from what Columbus normally sits behind.
19:20 — the concert begins. Intro, the lights go out. At that moment everyone clearly forgot the already considerable number of negative moments. 19:23 — lights, smoke, on stage... MANOWAR. They play the title track "Manowar" — and this is the loudest band in the world? The fact is that people could converse quite normally, and could easily utter the phrase that was already forming: that the band was not playing on their own equipment, and only Logan's guitar, DeMaio's bass, and Adams's microphone constituted their "native" gear. Now for the positive: screens to the right and left of the stage. At the JUDAS PRIEST show in November 2005, for instance, there were none, and visibility for those in the stands was clearly difficult. This time visibility was good — but audibility was another matter entirely. There were simply several times fewer amplifiers than usual; there was no barrage of sound crashing down on one's ears. I'll say without hesitation that this was one of the quietest concerts I've ever attended. Why the band could not bring their full equipment is unknown and inexplicable. In any case, we continue. "Brothers Of Metal" follows — Eric sings, and nearly everyone present sings along, at minimum on the chorus. Joey stood in his trademark pose for almost the entire concert (a few songs excepted) — head up and turned to the right — barely smiling; Logan was also fairly static; but Adams truly worked for everyone. Slightly heavier than before, he is nonetheless simply a coil of extraordinary energy, and finding fault with his vocal side is simply impossible. "Call To Arms," then a first dialogue with the audience — Eric addresses the hall. Then "Gloves Of Metal," "Each Dawn I Die" — for some reason these are almost always in the band's setlist despite having nothing particularly outstanding about them. In any case, they were received positively enough.
The next two songs genuinely provoked a magical response from the audience: the wonderful "Holy War," sung along with by the entire hall, and one of the band's finest songs, "Mountains" — with a stylised scene of flying clouds appearing on the screens. To be honest, for this song alone I can say absolutely nothing negative about Adams that day — he performed it simply brilliantly. The long, melancholy song about mountains gave way to the most aggressive fast track of the evening: "The Oath" — launched without an introductory solo, this speeding track flew by in an instant and was replaced by the drawn-out "Secret Of Steel." Then the lights went out, DeMaio in solitary splendour began his bass solo, without which no MANOWAR concert is complete. A passage from William Tell, as expected, was included; the Flight of the Bumblebee was not — but no matter. The solo concluded; Joey took the microphone and... the long-awaited speech from the leader and founder of the collective produced the most revolting moment of the performance.
"All kinds of freaks told us not to go to russia, but we didn't listen, because we're not IRON MAIDEN, not JUDAS PRIEST, not fucking METALLICA — we're MANOWAR" — this is an almost verbatim fragment of his statement. While many in the hall received it neutrally in the moment, after the concert, recalling it, people were seized with fury. Above all because DeMaio had just destroyed his own idiotic idea of metal brotherhood — casually killed it off with blatant rudeness toward three famous bands, two of which play heavy metal just as he does, and all three of which have influenced the heavy scene in ways that outstrip MANOWAR in every respect. Moreover, IRON MAIDEN is loved in russia far more than MANOWAR, not to mention METALLICA. Then came the audience-member-playing-with-them trick, which appeared in every city on the tour. People spoke of a plant — I don't know, I didn't see it, so I can't assert it; someone named Dmitry appeared on stage in a BLIND GUARDIAN T-shirt; Joey asked what that rubbish was, told him to take it off and bring a MANOWAR shirt. The Guardians are also a popular band in russia — very much so — and there were numerous people in similar shirts in the hall; how they felt at that moment I'd rather not speculate. Speaking of the hall: the advertising had done its work — it was remarkable, the Luzhniki Sports Complex was packed to capacity, not a single free seat anywhere. Well then — Dmitry performed "The Gods Made Heavy Metal" alongside the "warriors," doing his best to fire things up and generally getting into the role — only the rhythm guitar was inaudible for some reason (draw your own conclusions).
"Kill With Power" and the bonus track from the new album "Die For Metal" followed in sequence — why the far more interesting "King of Kings" was not played remains an open question. "Kings Of Metal" was inevitable, appearing as second-to-last in the main set. Closing it was "Warriors Of The World United" — with a brief pause before the slow middle section. The band departed; the time was 20:47. Three minutes later the musicians were back on stage. A long introduction rang out, eventually resolving into "Hail And Kill" — this great song was sung by absolutely everyone, as was the following "Black Wind, Fire And Steel." The time was 21:03 — remarkably, the concert was over. The standard "You're Great, We Will Return" sounded; outro of "THE CROWN And The Ring." In almost every European city, several more songs from the new album were played, forming a kind of suite — why this wasn't done in moscow is yet another question. Possibly related to the equipment. Another fact: the undisputed masterpieces "Battle Hymns," "The Power Of The Sword," "Warlord," "Blood Of My Enemies," "Hail To England," "Army Of Immortals," "Carry On," and "King" were not performed, and neither of the great ballads "Heart Of Steel" or "Master Of The Wind" was heard. Leaving the venue, a very significant portion of those who had come that day were plainly dissatisfied with the set.
Overall, the concert was not bad. And precisely that — not bad. Many good songs, quality of performance at an appropriate level, despite some sound issues. All would have been well but for one thing: the incomparable pomposity that inseparably accompanies this band raises expectations of something supernatural, something extraordinary, some particular relationship with the audience, some unprecedented charm — and when none of that materialises, disappointment is unavoidable. An average concert by a good old band and nothing more. Everything we see on MANOWAR DVDs is cheap posturing, manipulation of fan consciousness, and hollow theatrics. The band deserves to be regarded exclusively as a quartet of decent rock musicians. Thank you for your attention.
Report by Alan
Special thanks to the concert agency of Tatyana Dalskaya for the accreditation provided
Setlist:
- Intro — The Miracle And The Finale
- Manowar
- Brothers Of Metal
- Call To Arms
- Gloves Of Metal
- Each Dawn I Die
- Holy War
- Mountains
- The Oath
- Secret Of Steel
- Bass solo / Joey's Speech
- The Gods Made Heavy Metal
- Kill With Power
- Die For Metal
- Kings Of Metal
- Warriors Of The World United —Encore—
- Hail And Kill
- Black Wind, Fire And Steel
- Outro — THE CROWN And The Ring