Check the integrity of your armor and chains and unsheathe thine swords oh Metal Warriors for on this very day in a bygone age, the mighty Manowar had thus delivered the molten platter “Fighting The World”. It was the bands fifth release and came care of Atco Records. As an album it was very straightforward Metal that had more of a commercially viable sound based on a few of its tracks than some of the bands earlier material offered up. Some of the purists to the band might have felt that the band sold out since this would be the their first chance to be broadcast on MTV with the fun video for “Blow Your Speakers”. I’ve embedded that for you below to check out if you haven’t seen it in many years or never before.

As usual, this toast is more personal based as opposed to lining out all the history that you can read on the Wikipedia entry. The original track listing is below and looking over it I have to say that my favorite tunes from it are still my favorite tunes from it. The first tune that “did it” for me personally has to be “Carry On” with the slower beginning and then into its thunderous drive. Speaking of drive there was probably nothing as heavy in my mind as the pounding relentlessness of “Black Wind, Fire and Steel”. As a very active drummer during the time of the album’s release I would periodically try to give myself a heart attack by seeing how far into the song I could get. That Scott Columbus was a demon on the kit during this time and I remembered also being a player who instructed some younger drummers in the basics and when one presented this tune to me as something they wanted to learn I had to be the Ben Kenobi Jedi Master and say “in time this will come” but certainly not after just learning how to keep basic 4/4 time.

Track Listing:
1. Fighting The World
2. Blow Your Speakers
3. Carry On
4. Violence And Bloodshed
5. Defender
6. Drums Of Doom
7. Holy War
8. Master Of Revenge
9. Black Wind, Fire and Steel

I loved the crunch of the album’s title track of course and the “hit” single of “Blow Your Speakers” but those other two were above them as favorites. I loved the spoken word part of “Defender” from the late great Orson Welles as it was like something out of the movie “Conan The Barbarian” and fit well with the overall premise of what Manowar was with the whole “Death To False Metal” stuff. Perhaps this introduction initially sparked the interest in Sir Christopher Lee who would do the same thing in the band Rhapsody before fronting his own Metal band in the years before his passing. When it’s the proper voice it sure does work. As far as Manowar albums go I’d have to say that “Fighting The World” is one of the releases that I listen to the most from beginning to end. The first comes with their debut in the seminal “Battle Hymns” and then I would say “Sign Of The Hammer” comes third.

In today’s modern Metal world Manowar is still touring but based on some recent announcements will be doing a farewell tour and calling it a career. The band still finds original members Eric Adams and Joey Demaio on point along with Donnie Hamzik but lead guitarist Ross The Boss Friedman has been solo for some time and sadly drummer Scott Columbus who did this album died back in 2011. Oddly enough despite being a fan for a few decades now I have never seen Manowar in concert live which means I’ve also not reviewed any of their shows on the website. They don’t visit these parts all that much and seem pretty comfortable with European jaunts. Perhaps the farewell will find them doing some proper US touring as a goodbye to their fans. What did you think of this Music Milestone from Manowar? Let me know in the comments below.

Official Website: http://www.manowar.com
Official Album Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_the_World