Blast from the past albums #14: MANOWAR - The Triumph of Steel (1992, Atlantic)

In this series of posts I'll discuss an album I picked up as a teenager or my early 20s and haven't listened to in a very long time.

It's practically impossible not to take the piss out of Manowar to some extent, even if it's just a little bit. Their entire image, identity and lyrical themes are essentially one big heavy metal stereotype at this point. Yes, there's a huge list of gimmicky bands out there who play into stereotypes for fun, and were never supposed to be taken seriously in the first place. But I think a lot of those heavy metal clichés were innovated by Manowar in the 80s; the whole "we are true metal, no posers allowed etc." attitude, the leather/chains look (invented by Judas Priest, enforced by Manowar), the sword and sorcery fantasy album covers... all that stuff. Personally, I think Manowar started their career with serious intentions. But as time went on and their tropes became more and more cheesy/over-the-top, they kind of just ran with it and made it a part of their whole personality. I don't think the average Manowar takes them too seriously. I myself don't. But I laugh with them, not at them. It doesn't mean they haven't made great music (which they have). And anyway, the ridiculousness of their persona is what makes them so fun in the first place. But let's not forget that the band themselves were always fantastic musicians, more than capable of writing great songs as well as boast one of the most underrated heavy metal vocalists in the game, Eric Adams (in my opinion).

I've personally always liked Manowar a lot. I don't think their discography is perfect by any means; some albums have their issues, sure, but I've always liked their 80s catalogue - Battle Hymns, Into Glory Ride, Hail to England, Fighting the World, Kings of Metal... that's an impressive run. And then we get to 1992's The Triumph of Steel, actually the first Manowar album I ever picked up maybe 16 or so years ago, and one that I almost never reach for. And I do listen to Manowar every so often, even if they're not a personal favourite band of mine.

I doubt most fans will be surprised to know that the reason The Triumph of Steel is not one of my favourite Manowar albums is down to the Greek mythology-focused song 'Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy in Eight Parts'. Maybe seems a bit harsh on paper to criticise an entire album based on a single track, but when the song in question is over 28 minutes long and takes up roughly a 1/3 of the album's total length, I personally think that's a valid reason. Look, I like long songs. Well, some long songs anyway. And I get that 'Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy' is split into multiple segments, but to me it just does not flow well at all. There's good parts within it - like the Iron Maiden-esque riffs near the beginning ('Hector Storms the Wall') and the speed metal parts ('Hector's Final Hour', 'Death Hector's Reward' - or at least I think). They sound like classic Manowar. But between all the good parts are too many lengthy and frankly boring instrumental compositions - including a snooze-fest of a FUCKING DRUM SOLO THAT GOES ON FOR AT LEAST 5 OR 6 MINUTES!!! I'm sorry, but I HATE drum solos!!!!!! I totally appreciate a good drummer keeping time in a band - who doesn't? But drums being played on their own for a very long time bores the fuck out me, regardless of how good the drummer is, live or in the studio! To give you an idea of how much I hate drum solos, I practically always skip 'Moby Dick' from Led Zeppelin II and 'Rat Salad' from Paranoid - 2 absolute classic albums that I love.

Oh, and of course there's a ridiculous Joey DeMaio bass solo in there too. Why wouldn't there be? Okay, I'll admit the bass solo doesn't bother me like the drum solo does. To be honest, if you hate bass solos you may as well not listen to Manowar full-stop (although I must confess I do occasionally skip 'Sting of the Bumblebee' from Kings of Metal!). But the bass solo in 'Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy' feels like it's there for the sake of being there. Look, I appreciate that the band tried something new with this song, but I don't think 28 minute epics are right for Manowar. It feels as if Joey wrote this track to a checklist of ideas, rather just writing a song from the heart:

• A speed metal part? Check.
• An anthemic metal part? Check.
  
• A ballad part? Check.
• A drum solo? Check.
• A bass solo? Check.
  

You get the picture. It's quite obvious that 'Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy' was supposed to be the main focus of the album, yet ironically I tend to skip it these days. I'm not willing to sit through 28+ minutes just to hear maybe 12 or so minutes of classic Manowar. And that's why I rarely turn to this album when I'm in a mood for some Manowar. I'm not saying it's a legitimately bad song; the musicianship is strong, Eric Adams sings great, and it still feels like Manowar of course (even if at least half it bores me). It's a deeply mixed bag, and Manowar are not exactly a sophisticated prog band either - that's what I'm really saying at the end of the day. Given their cheesy reputation, it kind of makes the whole thing seem even more ridiculous. But then maybe that was the point? You know, I've gone on record here bashing Iron Maiden for writing too many long songs in more recent years, but even their longest ever track, 'Empire of the Clouds', is 18 minutes long - 10 minutes shorter than 'Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy in Eight Parts'!!

The good news is that there's still a fair few normal-length tracks to be found on this album, many of which are good. Well, maybe not 'Burning' - this one is too stop-starty and grates on me for that reason, even if the heavier parts are cool. And 'Master of the Wind' is a tedious ballad to end on. But 'Metal Warriors' is awesome, one of their classic anthems! This is what Manowar are all about! Extremely cheesy heavy metal with such classic lyrical quips as "Heavy metal, or no metal at all - wimps and posers, leave the hall!" and "Every one of us has heard the call, brothers of true metal proud and standing tall!"! 'Ride the Dragon' is nothing new for Manowar either, just a strong speed metal number. And after sitting through a self-indulgent 28 minute experiment, that's fine by me! I also like the native American-focused 'Spirit Horse of the Cherokee', a good fist-pumping number. Maybe the lengthy narrated intro is a bit much, but good song either way. 'The Power of Thy Sword'? This is a much more comfortable and natural attempt at writing an epic, probably because it's 7 minutes and 50 seconds long instead of 28 minutes, and when it does transition from heavy and soaring to soft and mellow, it actually feels properly structured this time. 'The Demon's Whip' takes a bit too long to get going, but it's repetitive riff is a great and heavy one, and the speedy outro is fun too. The shreddy guitar solo (courtesy of David Shankle, this being his only release with the band) is particularly awesome.

Still, even if there are a number of songs I do enjoy on this disc, The Triumph of Steel is far from one of my favourite Manowar albums. It may have been the first one I picked up, but it's not one that holds any sentimental value for me. To be honest, I'm just glad it didn't write-off Manowar completely for me. I'm pretty sure Sign of the Hammer and Kings of Metal were the next albums I got my hands on after this one, and I love them. Same goes for Battle Hymns, Hail to England and (up to a point) even Fighting the World. I don't think Triumph is a poor record. I genuinely like maybe 2/3 of this album. Even the mediocre experiment that is 'Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy in Eight Parts' has bits I do like. Even if the rest of the songs are far from peak Manowar, I do think 'Spirit Horse of the Cherokee', 'The Demon's Whip', 'Ride the Dragon' and 'The Power of Thy Sword' are decent. Hell, I love 'Metal Warriors'! And I like the production. Joey DeMaio bass tone is iconic as always, the guitars are crunchy and I always enjoy hearing Eric Adams. I think it sounds very similar sonically to both it's predecessor, Kings of Metal, and it's follow-up, Louder than Hell. And that's totally fine by me. 

I suppose the takeaway from The Triumph of Steel is that it is a significant step-down from any of their previous albums, even if it's far from bad. It has it's moments. Considering how long I've had this thing in my collection though, I don't think it'll magically become a go-to Manowar album for me anytime soon.
Adam's rating: 6.7/10