by Daniel HindsI still remember my first proper exposure
to Manowar. It was when Battle Hymns had just come out and I was on
my way home from high school. My brother was driving and popped in
a tape with "Metal Daze" on it. I was just blown away by the power
of the music and by Eric Adams' unearthly voice. We were both headbanging
so hard, we lost control of the car and nearly went off into a major ravine!
Luck was with us, though, and I followed the band closely for many years,
buying such classics as Into Glory Ride, Hail to England and Sign
of the Hammer - true metal, indeed! The band hasn't been quite as prolific
in the last decade, but they did recently do a rare US tour and released
the brand new Warriors of the World album to appease their legions of fans
worldwide. Eric lays down his sword to give me a quick update on the
current status of the Kings of Metal…
Were you pleased with the recent US tour with Immortal?
Oh yeah, I mean [we'll play] anywhere where there is a Manowar fan out there.
It's funny, the first show we ever played, there were four people in the
audience and they got the same show that the people in Texas did when we
played at the Dallas Reunion Arena. It's the same show, it doesn't
matter, if they are Manowar fans, we're out there to kick ass. All
over the world, it's the same, that's why this album is called Warriors of
the World. A Manowar fan is a Manowar fan anywhere you go. Some
of the shows weren't that happening, but the crowds were there, and some
were outstanding, so it's just the way it goes.
One thing I was amazed by was before you
guys came on, someone would yell out a line from one of your songs and pretty
soon the whole crowd was singing the rest of that verse.
(laughs) Yeah, that's great! I love that, that's one of the best
parts of the night, when the crowd sings along with us. They've seen
the DVDs, they've seen the previous shows and they know. We kind of
expect it and we write songs for the fans, we write anthem songs on every
album, so we hope that by doing that, they'll sing along with us, and it
does work out really good.
What do you do to keep your voice in shape?
Well, what do I do…? I guess a lot of pussy juice. (laughs)
I don't know, I sing all the time. I work out, I have weights with
me on the road all the time. I don't go out on stage cold and just
start singing. I sing backstage, do some scales and warm up.
I don't smoke, I just kind of take care of myself, and fortunately I've been
able to sustain a pretty good vocal throughout the years. What is really
nice about the Warriors of the World album is I really got to sing a lot
on that album.
I know you guys have always expressed a
love for bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and KISS, but are there any
metal bands from more recent years that you feel particularly standout?
Ah hell, there's a lot of them, but I learned a long time ago that a professional
does not mention band names. (laughs) So I always get a kick
out of it when somebody mentions Manowar in a downer way. I'm like,
oh that's good - they just pissed off a lot of Manowar fans! (laughs)
Let me go back and ask you about some of
the more pivotal albums in your career. Battle Hymns - there is a confidence
about that album that is just amazing for a debut album.
I have the memory that nobody believed in the band at the time, except for
one guy who signed us. I remember living in Florida at the time - it
was cold as a bastard in New York at that time so we were recording in Florida.
When we did the Harley song, "Death Tone," the studio wanted to just use
a taped sound of a Harley. And we thought that was bullshit, we didn't
want to do anything half-assed, so we brought in three or four Harleys into
the studio and let them fire up, smoke all throughout the studio, we had
microphones everywhere - people thought we were absolutely fucking nuts.
(laughs) But, hey, that's the way Manowar has always been. Tip
of the top or nothing can be good enough.
Whenever I ask people about their favorite Manowar album, a lot of people point to Hail to England.
Hail to England was one of those albums that just did really well for the
band, I don't know why. I love all the albums or I'd still be in the
studio recording them. I don't know what it was about Hail to England
that really set it off, but it seems like I sign more Hail to England albums
than anything (laughs) when I'm doing in-stores or whatever. I don't
know if it was the epic stories, I don't know. But every album that
we've ever done has had the same drive, the same blood, sweat and tears.
There's never any filler songs, every song is the very best it could possibly
be.
I read somewhere that you recorded that album in six days.
Yeah, we did! We had no cash. We were taking the money we made
from the first album and did two albums together at that time. Because
we spent so much time in Florida rehearsing Battle Hymns, we just had more
time to write songs, so when it came time to record the next album, we said,
'Well, let's just do two if we can.' And we were so well-rehearsed
with it, we just laid them down. The guy couldn't believe it, but we
said, 'Let's do it now, let's get it in the can, ' because we don't have
the money to move on any further. We weren't making anything.
Those were the years we were stealing to eat, it was tough staying together.
But hey, here we are 22 years later.
Manowar has had a remarkably consistent
line-up since day one, weathered all the trends and are more popular than
ever. What do you attribute that longevity to? Is it just the
shared vision of the band?
That's exactly what I attribute it to, Dan. I think we've always had
the policy in the Inner Circle (the four members of the band) that when times
are good, times are good for all, and when times are bad, times are bad for
all. We all stick together and do what we have to do to make it work.
If somebody has a problem and he's got a bill or whatever and he's going
to lose his house, we all chip in and help him out. What goes around
comes around, it's that kind of thing. That's why our crew members
are all the same as well. It's not just a job for them; it's a bunch
of friends that got together. When we say it's a band of brothers,
that's not bullshit.
Fighting the World - This was the first digital recording and first for Atlantic.
We're not afraid to be innovators in anything and when it was brought to
our attention that digital was the way to go, we were like, 'Let's go ahead
and do it.' I don't think any other heavy metal bands at the time were
recording in digital. They were all saying, 'Analog's the way, analog's
the way, you want that dirtier sound on the guitar.' But we thought,
no, if digital is the wave of the future, then this is what has to be done.
And it just means the guitar players have to play precise. (laughs)
I don't get it. You have to be talented and if you're talented, it's
going to show on the tape no matter if you're using analog or digital.
On the new album, Warriors of the World, we were asked to be innovators in
SuperAudio CD format, and we said yeah man, let's go. Warriors of the
World is available in regular CD format but also in SACD format, if people
want it. It puts you right on the stage, with the drums behind you
and the vocal in front of you, it's really cool.
Atlantic signed several metal bands around
that same time (Savatage, Raven) and it seemed like they had a hand in shaping
how those bands changed their sound and image. Did you have any pressure
from the label at all?
Yes sir, we did, and that sir is why we've been with so many different labels.
(laughs) When the record company says, 'Hey man, the last band that
sold a lot of records for us wore long coats and that's what you should do,'
- what the fuck are they talking about? Or if they said, 'You guys
play too loud,' what the fuck is that? What the fuck is it to them?
Do they come and buy records? Are they out in the middle of the crowds
with all the metal heads out there? No, that's not how it works.
Our fans have really been behind us a lot when we say we're not going to
change, we're not going to be pushed around or have these fucks tell us what
to do. We know how we want to sound, we know how we perform live, its
balls to the wall metal and that's it. For anyone to tell us how to
sound, they're not concerned about Manowar or Manowar's fans, they're just
concerned with how many units they're selling. I can honestly say that
our [current] label in Europe and the label here in America, they've gotten
the word and they leave us alone, and we'll see what happens in the future.
The funny part is the joke is on them [Atlantic]
because here you guys are, more successful than ever, and if they had stuck
with you, they could have been part of that success.
Exactly, that's my point. Of course, now the record companies are all
screaming for business because of all the piracy going on, but what can you
do? Unfortunately, that's the way it is and I think true metal fans
know that this is your livelihood, this is it. If they want to hear
the songs before the album is released, okay fine, download them, but they
still go out and buy the album when it comes out. That's a true fucking
fan.
The new album is easily the most diverse album you've ever done. Did you set out to make an album like that?
No album is ever set out; we never sit down and think, 'Oh we have to write
an anthem next' or whatever. It's normally about 3 o'clock in the morning
and Joey tells me to come on over to his place and sing this line because
he's got it in his head and he can't go any further until he hears me, to
see if it is in a good key. It just happens and Warriors of the World
just happened. That's why An American Trilogy worked on this album.
It's one of those songs we've always wanted to do and we couldn't do it on
the previous albums because it would have stuck out like a sore thumb.
For this album, with all the orchestration that went with it, it was just
the time to lay it down. "Nessum Dorma" was another one, time to lay
it down, it just worked like that. Nothing is ever planned with Manowar,
it's always finished. (laughs)
I'm sure everyone has a favorite Manowar
song, mine is "Secret of Steel." Can you tell me a little about what
inspired that song?
It's just one of those epic songs that puts you in a different place and
puts me in a different character. That's one thing I always liked about
Joey's writing is he always put me in a different character for every song.
And I was that person and I just close my eyes and go into that place, that
zone, I can be that person and that's why it sounds pretty convincing when
I'm singing it.
That's one of the things I've always appreciated about Manowar, that ability to transport the listener to another place or time.
At the end of the day, isn't that what music is all about? A lot of
people say, 'Well, I hear this song and it reminds me of this or that, it
relates to me.' Well, Joe Blow who wrote that song doesn't know every
individual, but every individual who listens to that song - if it is a great
song - can relate to it. You get busted at work all the time, it's
a shit world that we live in, you don’t' want to come home and turn on the
news and be reminded of all the crap that happened all day long. At
the end of the day, you want to turn on some music, sit back, close your
eyes and go to a place that you want to be. That's always what we've
been about. The image of the band has always been, 'Hey man, believe
in yourself, have the courage to carry on.' Be strong, be a leader
not a follower. Be strong in your convictions.
You seem to be pretty keen on handling
the business side of your careers. Is that just something you grew
into out of necessity?
That's exactly right. We used to have managers, we used to have agents
that said they believed in the band, the record execs said they believed
in the band, but all they really cared about was their gold card so they
could take someone out to dinner. I'll be honest with you, it's been
a learning experience, but we produce our own records now, we're involved
in our own artwork, we decide what goes on the t-shirts, we decide what goes
on the albums, what the order of songs is, etc. That way we know we're
not getting ripped off.
|
|