Any self respecting rock music fan should have this album in their collections.
A long (LONG) time ago, there used to be a radio programme here in the UK called The Friday Night Rock Show, hosted by the late and eternally great Tommy Vance. Each week I would tune in to Tommy's show and listen intently as he played a selection of old and new tracks, and I would avidly take notes of the band's names, hoping to discover acts that I hadn't heard before. Then I would go off in search of those albums the following day at my local record shop (remember when you used to be able to do that?). The reason I tell you all this is because one night in late 1981, Tommy played two songs by an as yet unknown band called Manowar, namely 'Metal Daze' and the album's title track 'Battle Hymns', both of which instantly blew me away, and started me on a life long love affair with the band.
When I finally got my hands on the original album I found that it was full of fantastic heavy metal songs and also some outstanding performances by the band, it's only problem being the thin, weak production that let the album down quite badly. Although help was at hand, what with all of the other early Manowar albums reissued and re-mastered, I knew that it was only time until 'Battle Hymns' received the same treatment. Unfortunately for some reason (label issues probably) the years rolled by without a new version of 'Battle Hymns' hitting the shelves. That was until now, because sitting in the death deck making one hell of a racket is the totally re-recorded 2011 version of Manowar's debut album, and by God it's like I'm a teenager all over again, happily revisiting this bombastic slice of heavy metal. And it is the type of heavy metal music that the genre is supposed to be all about. Which is, of course, big vocals, big drums, big guitars, big bass guitar, and naturally big songs. 'Metal Daze', 'Death Tone', the band's signature song 'Manowar', the awesome epic that is 'Battle Hymns' (which still brings a big goofy grin to my face, even after all these years), and the even better 'Dark Avenger', where the narrated voice over parts of the legendary actor Orson Wells have now been re-recorded by our very own Sir Christopher Lee, that all gel together to blow your speakers (pun intended) apart.
To say this Heavy Metal album is a must have is putting it a little mildly because any self respecting rock music fan should have this album in their collections, the reason? Well that's very simple. It's because 'Battle Hymns' is that damn good.
Ian Johnson
Subscribe to this comment's feed
