Search - Manowar :: Gods of War

Epic, but . . .

Saint Blackangel | Covington, VA USA | 07/04/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'll take you through this as I experienced it, starting with the purchase.



The first thing you notice - other than the nearly-thirty dollar price tag - is the metal cover. It's not shiny plastic or cardboard with a film over it; that's real metal. It's startlingly heavy, too - when you pick it up the first time, you'll heft it automatically just to get a feel for it. The metal case wraps around a black-bound book that contains the Gods of War CD on the left, the booklet in the center (bound to the book, not loose) and the DVD to the right. The artwork on the discs and the booklet are a bit more racy than the usual cover you see - there are undressed fantasy-style artwork women adorning all three, so fair warning if you're touchy about that. Not that most Manowar fans would be, I'm guessing.



The booklet is written entirely in what is known among scholars as the Elder Futhark runic alphabet. I've studied it for some time now on my own and was startled to see it used for this, but pleased. There's a definite pro-and-con to this - the runes really amp up your feel for the Viking atmosphere for this album, but there's no English translation for non-rune readers. They include a guide in the back, but you have to translate it yourself. I'm fairly accomplished at reading them and it took me a while, so the casual reader should be aware that this will take them a long time. It's mostly a bit of a history lesson about Odin and the Aesir mythology anyway.



In the interest of being thorough, I should mention that they take liberties with the runic alphabet; EF doesn't use some of the letters our alphabet does (no C, Q, V, X, or Y) and actually has three runes which represent pairings of letters - NG, TH and AE (the long E sound). Some of the substitutions they use make sense (K for C, Y for AE) but they use the NG rune for Q and the TH rune for X. So if you're a real scholar of the runes or if you're trying to really learn the runes from this, you might want to look at other sources for information so that you don't get confused.



On to the music - and here's where I got my slight sense of disappointment. I enjoy orchestral music as well as metal, and I'll be the first in line to say that having an orchestra back a metal band can really make a truly epic sound. The problem is that at times it's more like a metal band backing an orchestra. There are some great songs on here - King of Kings is amazing, and Sleipnir gets looped constantly on my CD player - but there's also a lot of, well . . . pomp and pretension. There's times when there's no doubt it's Manowar blowing you away, and then there's times when you just can't believe that it's Manowar putting you to sleep. The Army of the Dead tracks are a bit different; they're not heavy, but they set mood successfully - I get the feeling that they meant several other tracks on here to set the mood but succeeded only in sounding sad. While anyone familiar with the story of Ragnarok and Odin's destiny would say that it is indeed a sad story, you don't pick up Manowar to feel melancholy. And if you do, you get Swords in the Wind - which manages to get a truly epic feel while being sad.



Speaking of which, I can't understand why they didn't put Swords in the Wind on this album as a bonus track - and why they DID put Die for Metal on. While I like the song, it doesn't make any sense to put it on an Odin-themed album. It's very much out of place and frankly a poor choice by the band.



Overall, I'd give the album itself three stars, but the excellent packaging and my love of the subject matter will get it another star. For anyone looking for typical Manowar, this isn't it. For casual fans or for those who just like Viking-themed material, give it a try.



The DVD is frankly pointless. I had hoped for music videos or maybe live concert footage, but it's mainly ads. Ads for their guitars, their printing company, their photographer . . . there's a brief bit where the band talks about the Manowar philosophy of making an album. Oddly, Joey DeMaio never makes an appearance for that. Just the other three. In fact, you only see him briefly in the photography segment, and only as he poses with the other members. If you're thinking of buying this version because of the DVD, forget it - get the cheaper regular version."

Manowar...The Soundtrack

Michael Ragiel | easton, pa United States | 05/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At first listen you might think have I purchased the right cd. There is no Manowar, it's all classical music. the cd has a soundtrack feel to it. There is also a narrator who has that Orson Wells touch to it.



the cd booklet is all written in Norse. They give you a guide to translate. Once you translate the 10 pages you can happily say you can read and write in Norse. I know I can.



Overall if you love Manowar, you'll grow to love this cd. Oh by the way, this is the first part of a trilogy. This is also the heaviest cd I have ever purchased."

Manowar returns and it was worth the wait.

Lou Vitelli | Upstate, NY United States | 05/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Manowar has returned after many years with a great new studio album and it was worth the wait. At first listen I wasn't blown away by it, but the more I listen the more I like it. The album is a grand concept done in a Manowar way, orchestrations, narration, choirs, and heavy metal. All hail Manowar."