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A great album (my personal favourite), with many highlights and the best Manowar songs of all time. Here we can find the spark and the magic that their last albums lack of. Manifold songs, each one with its own character and feeling: the opening theme “All men play on ten” (hehehehe, nice title and lyrics: “All men play on ten / never gonna turn down again”... these guys were and are out of this world, really!) is rocking and absolutely killer live, with that pre-chorus that invites to be sung along with Eric) . “Animals” is fast and furious, euphoric and full of hormonal metal, I´d say... that chorus with the pause and the screams, aaaargh! It makes you bite everything you have next to you... “Thor (the powerhead)” is one of the epic Manowar tunes of all time, with some fast passage, devoted to the Norse god that Manowar worships the most. This way, they play this song in honour of his name, with an incredible chorus and, yes, some “oooooohs” that are so Manowar-esque, and even a ridiculous sound effect that tries to resemble a hammer, I guess. “Mountains” continues the epic territories with almost 8 overwhelming minutes of art made music that begin with an acoustic, mellow introduction with Eric caressing the verses with his great voice, and then a mid-tempo very strong, powerful, immense as mountains themselves. Here the bass also takes a main role with high notes in some passages, something a bit weird but without being too dissonant. “Sign of the hammer” is an authentic hymn, from coast to coast, fast and heavy, the cavalcade kind, with mythic lyrics: “Onward pounding into glory ride / Sign of the hammer be my guide”. “The oath” is also very good, while “Thunderpick” is a the molest bass solo that was not necessary and breaks the harmony of the album. And last, ladies and gentlemen, “Guyana (Cult of the Damned)”, an incredible song with that evocative beginning with notes directly taken from Valhalla itself, with variety of rhythms, followed by the infernal drums that set the pace of the march towards the glory, the glory achieved through this song, because it´s totally glorious from the beginning to the end. I´ve ended doing a review of each song separately, so you can figure out what´s my opinion on “Sign of the hammer”! Except for the cover art, an impressive album if you think you´re into heavy metal. No need to say that Manowar has influenced a bunch of metal bands of today; a lot of musicians and metal fans really like this band, but the fact is that many people is not brave enough to admit they like Manowar, just because that´s not “cool” or they´re afraid of being mocked by this, that´s the point...
| Tracklist |
| 1. All Men Play On Ten |
| 2. Animals |
| 3. Thor (The Powerhead) |
| 4. Mountains |
| 5. Sign Of The Hammer |
| 6. The Oath |
| 7. Thunderpick |
| 8. Guyana (Cult Of The Damned) |
: 40.35
| Buy other Manowar albums |
