Manowar - Battle Hymns (LP)
- LP
- 1 piece(s)
- 1982
- 8 tracks
- 36 min
- power metal
Battle Hymns
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4.3
Average of 4 reviews
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I'm torn about this 2001 remaster, to be honest. Joey DeMaio did a solid job boosting the low and high ends, but I'd say Peter Mew's 2000 remaster for EMI Records, with all the perks of Abbey Road Studios, might just take the cake. Both did their best, no doubt. Mew's version amps up the grit in Ross the Boss' guitar, but the bass is kinda weak, stuck in the mids. Plus, Donnie Hamzik's snare and cymbals blend together too much, making it sound thin and not quite "true metal." It's got a tight sound, sure, but it's a bit off. DeMaio, at least, tried to give each instrument its own space in the sound spectrum. I'm not a fan of his choice to brickwall and compress it, though. It might've been the easiest way to give Joey and Ross a solid base, but it loses the natural build-up, especially in "Metal Daze", "Dark Avenger", and "Battle Hymn". Funny enough, DeMaio's remaster of "Manowar" makes Ross the Boss' guitar solo super clear, finally letting Ross' skills shine through; "Fast Taker", too. The 1980s CD version is the same as the Capitol Records stream, thank goodness; it's got great dynamics, but the EQ is so flat you might as well adjust it yourself. I'd rank DeMaio's remaster first, then the 1980s CD, and lastly, the 2000 Peter Mew remaster. And hey, in the 2001 CD version of "Battle Hymn", DeMaio takes all the credit when Ross The Boss is a co-writer on every pressing. Ross deserves to call DeMaio out on this and get his due.
Everything you need from Manowar is right here in these early albums. Anything after 1987 is basically Manowar 2.0, leaning more towards pop than their true metal roots. Sure, there are some great tracks on each later album, but these initial records are the real classics. Those who dismiss them as cheesy are exactly the kind of 'false metal' posers Manowar warned us about. They're the ones being laughed at, just as Manowar predicted. Metal is more than just music; it's a community, a lifestyle. Look at the favorite bands of these posers—usually bands like Guns N' Roses—and you'll see they just don't get what metal is all about. You either understand it or you don't. It's like with Schwarzenegger's Conan; either you laugh at it or you're blown away by the storytelling, just like I was as a kid. That movie was my favorite, just like Manowar's early work. When this first album dropped, there was nothing else like it. Carl Canedy played on the demo and later formed The Rods. The songs here are classics, and the next two albums are pure, unadulterated metal. This is just a taste of what was to come with 'Battle Hymn' and 'Dark Avenger.' The rest of their discography is rock 'n' roll done the metal way, much like Ozzy's 'Diary of a Madman'—classy metal tunes where the title track often steals the show. Stay awesome, LPWJ.
Great album overall, however, the Back on Black version left me unsatisfied... The print quality of the cover is quite poor. I'm going to have to search for the original release to swap out the BOB one.
I've got a copy with these Matrix numbers:Side A: SILBT 11247 - 1 ?Side B: SILBT 11248 - 3Is this the same version as the one here?
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