Kings of Metal

Kings of Metal
Studio album by
Publication (s)	November 18, 1988
Label (s)	Atlantic Records
Format (s)	CD , LP , MC
Genre (s)	True metal
Title (number)	10
running time	47:51
occupation	Singing : Eric Adams Guitar : Ross The Boss Bass : Joey DeMaio Drums : Scott Columbus
production	Manowar
Studio (s)	Universal Rercording, Chicago (USA)
chronology Fighting the World (1987) Kings of Metal The Triumph of Steel (1992)

Kings of Metal (English for: "Kings of Metal") is the sixth studio album by the US true metal band Manowar and was released on November 18, 1988.

background

In the year of publication, a German translation of the title Heart of Steel was published as a single "exclusively for German fans" with the title Herz aus Stahl . A CD version of this song was released in 1994 on the maxi CD Metal Warriors , which included the title track and Heart of Steel as well as a live version of Fighting the World .

The piece The Crown and the Ring (Lament of the Kings) was recorded in St. Paul's Church in Birmingham with the Canoldir Male Choir. The special thing about it is that the typical heavy metal instruments such as guitar, bass or drums are not available and the song is mainly carried by the alternating singing of the choir and Eric Adams (with a light organ accompaniment). Since then, this song has been played as an outro from CD at the end of every Manowar concert .

The song Hail and Kill was viewed critically because of the violent lyrics. In particular, it concerns the section:

Original Rip their flesh Burn their hearts Stab them in the eyes Rape their women as they cry Kill their servants Burn their homes Till there's no blood left to spill

German translation they Lacerates to Burn their hearts Stab them in the eye dishonors their wives while they cry Kill their servants and maids burning their homes down until no more blood left is to shed

The Warriors Prayer is not a song in the musical sense, but the story of a great battle that the grandfather tells his grandson (similar to a radio play ). The grandfather is spoken by Arthur Pendragon Wilshire and the grandson by Grant Williams. The ending leads directly to the song Blood of the Kings , which was also heavily criticized. It was about the text passage:

Original Our armies in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales Our brothers in Belgium, Holland and France will not fail Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Italy Switzerland, Austria Back to the glory of Germany

German translation Our armies in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales Our brothers in Belgium, Holland, and France will not fail Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Italy Switzerland, Austria Back to the glory of Germany

The last line was explained by saying that Germany was the country where Manowar had their first successes and that this is where they have their most loyal fans. Any right-wing extremist tendencies were categorically rejected by the band.

The bonus track Pleasure Slave led to allegations of sexism against the band. In the song, women are referred to as "slaves" who should be freely available to the men. The band trivializes the allegations and describes the text as fiction.

This album was the last that Ross "The Boss" Friedman was involved in. He left the band in friendship because of musical differences. Friedman said in a 2008 interview that the lyrics to Pleasure Slave upset him enormously, causing him to lose interest in the band. He also complained about the lack of a "real partnership" in the band. David Shankle was found as a replacement , who also did the following tour.

Track list

1. Wheels of Fire - 4:11
2. Kings of Metal - 3:43
3. Heart of Steel - 5:10
4. Sting of the Bumblebee - 2:45
5. The Crown and the Ring (Lament of the Kings) - 4:46
6. Kingdom Come - 3:55
7. Pleasure Slave - 5:37
8. Hail and Kill - 5:54
9. The Warriors Prayer - 4:20
10. Blood of the Kings - 7:30

The CD version was added the song Pleasure Slave (5:37) in seventh position in Europe and America. The song did not appear on LP or MC.

All tracks were written by Joey DeMaio, except Kings of Metal and Hail and Kill by Joey DeMaio and Ross The Boss. The song Sting of the Bumblebee is an interpretation of Rimski-Korsakov's Der Hummelflug , which Joey DeMaio plays on the electric bass . The piece is considered demanding, not least because of its high speed.

The illustrations on the cover were created by Ken Kelly , who has been responsible for the illustrations since the album Fighting the World . The image structure of the record cover was adopted almost 1: 1 for the title image of the game Turrican . Only the color and weapons of the warrior have been adapted to the science fiction concept of the game.

success

The album entered the charts in Germany at position 37 . Manowar received their second gold record for the album in 1995 for more than 250,000 copies sold in Germany. The predecessor Fighting the World received an award in 1994.

Well-known cover versions

• The German Fun-metal band JBO in 1998 on the album masters of music the play The Warriors Prayer parodies . At JBO it was called a beautiful story and leads seamlessly into the song Defender of Nonsense , which also satirizes the intro of Blood of the Kings . On Head Bang Boing JBO also recorded a "Smurf version" of the song Pleasure Slave in which they sing "Woman be my Schlumpf".
• The Finnish power metal band Thunderstone covered the song Heart of Steel on their 2004 studio album The Burning .
• The title song Kings of Metal appeared in several cover versions: 1999 on the album Launched by the band Beatsteaks , 2007 on the second CD for the album Back in Blood by the death metal band Debauchery , and in 2008 on the album Hero of the a cappella - Metal band van Canto .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ EP's and Singles - Heart of Steel - 1988 . ( Memento of the original from January 24th, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. manowar.com 
2. ↑ powermetal.de
3. ↑ manowar.at
4. ↑ Björn Thorsten Jaschinski: 5,000 bullies . In: Rock Hard , No. 257, October 2008, p. 118.
5. ↑ image comparison
6. ↑ charts-surfer.de
7. ↑ ifpi.de ( Memento of the original of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.