I'm not going to recount MANOWAR's history or describe their catalogue — if you don't know it, you simply don't listen to heavy metal. The band has been criticised for excessive bombast since its very founding, and yet few people can deny the enormous contribution this American collective has made to the development of the heavy scene. The band, as is well known, was founded by Joey DeMaio and Ross Friedman; from 1982 to 1988 they recorded six albums together with vocalist Eric Adams and drummer Scott Columbus (from the second album onwards), after which Ross Friedman — better known under the pseudonym Ross The Boss — left the band.
Having begun his musical career as a punk guitarist, he met Joey DeMaio in 1980 and founded the band, for a long time serving as the primary author of the band's musical material. After leaving, Ross participated in many projects; the main ones in recent years have been BRAIN SURGEONS, which Ross joined in 2003, and THE DICTATORS — a band he had played in before MANOWAR and which he revived in the 90s.
For the first time since 1988, Ross performed MANOWAR songs in 2005, appearing during the band's show in Germany and playing two compositions. The last year has been marked by the fact that Ross has begun participating in cover parties in various countries, with programmes consisting of MANOWAR songs from the 1982–1988 period. The news that he was planning to visit moscow was therefore an extremely pleasant surprise — one that in many ways eased the frustration at the MANOWAR tour itself being cancelled, a tour on which a moscow show had been planned.
The concert was scheduled and took place on June 4th, 2006; SHADOWHOST was selected as the band performing with Ross, and several other acts were also on the programme.
But first — the press conference, which took place at the moscow Hard Rock Cafe on the Old Arbat. It, like the concert, was organised by the moscow concert agency Amber's Music. Arriving slightly late (mea culpa!) and going up to the third floor, I saw a small number of people and the imposing figure of the guest of honour sitting at a table, answering questions with extraordinary cordiality and never forgetting to deploy his excellent sense of humour. Questions were asked, surprisingly, with relatively little energy — I couldn't understand why — but I'll try to summarise the main points of the press conference. Ross spoke very positively about moscow in general, as well as about the concert being organised and the musicians he would be playing with. He spoke about his tattoos; one of them (on his right shoulder) had, it turned out, been done in honour of his son, who is, by his own account, an athlete. Speaking about MANOWAR's work, the guitarist noted that during his years with the band, he and Joey had been like Lennon and McCartney. His favourite album, Ross said, was the very first one: Battle Hymns. To the question of why, in his view, the band releases albums so rarely since 1988, and how he regards the three releases they've made in the last 18 years, Ross answered with extreme delicacy — saying he could only speak to albums on which he himself had played; as for the three most recent records, he put it briefly: they ought to be in any heavy metal fan's collection. Ross specifically highlighted the 2005 concert, saying he'd been very happy to take the stage and perform several songs with MANOWAR. The current heavy scene was also subjected to sharp criticism — particularly alternative metal. "I don't understand this music; this music bears absolutely no resemblance to what JUDAS PRIEST or IRON MAIDEN did — there's no lead guitar as such, just" — here Ross parodied the nu-metal riff sound vocally — "buzzz, buzzz."
I should add for my own part that Ross has excellent diction and minimal slang, and an interpreter was present in the room — though one couldn't help noting that practically everyone present understood the musician's language at 100%.
And now, and only now, we come to the concert itself, which took place at the "Relaks" club. From here I'll move to a sequential account of the acts' performances.
The first band was called russian MANOWAR BROTHERHOOD (billed as such in the programme) — not exactly a proper band, as the bassist and drummer were essentially members of VOLKODAV. There was also a guitarist and a girl from the band's fan club. The girl was, I'll admit, quite attractive, with an excellent figure, the upper portion of which was covered by little more than a small leather swimsuit-top. What else to say about the girl… Oh yes — she also sang. With the aforementioned advantages, it was by no means compulsory to be a good singer. In short, it was quite entertaining; no complaints about vocal power — but as for vocal control… no complaints there either, because how can you criticise something that's absent. The performance of three band classics — "Hail To England," "Carry On," and "Brothers Of Metal" — was extremely sincere, heartfelt, and completely unprofessional.
Soon enough, however, your humble servant deeply regretted the girl's exit, since on stage appeared the vocalist of VOLKODAV and a guitarist from the same combo. What can I say about their performance. Omit the profanity? OK — then listen to my silence… The frontman's croaking recalled the vocal of Ôlve Eikemo (better known as Abbath), but please note: the latter is a black metal vocalist who also performs MOTÖRHEAD songs — except Lemmy and Eric Adams sound just slightly different, and perhaps if this had been a tribute to the famous English outfit, VOLKODAV would have looked more appropriate. If I can forgive "Gloves Of Metal" and "Pleasure Slave" — songs where great vocal range is by no means required — the performance of "Hail And Kill" produced nothing but horror in me. Everyone remembers that song's incredibly beautiful opening; what prevented VOLKODAV's vocalist from simply reciting it — I cannot understand. Why was it necessary to perform it in a hoarse half-growl and thereby hopelessly disgrace such a magnificent song? And why did this band decide to perform "Warriors Of The World," in the middle of which the vocal is practically solo? In short, rarely does a band come along where nothing positive can be identified, but this was exactly that case. The musicians played terribly, the sound was dreadful, the vocalist was talentless, and the song choice was completely incompatible with their abilities and skills. Let us leave it at that.
The stage is taken by a band well known for their covers — heard at various tribute events in moscow clubs — namely moscow ROCK CITY. Immediately upon taking the stage they launch into the powerful "Warlord," followed by the bombastic warrior's anthem "Blood Of My Enemies," sung brilliantly by Pasha (the band's vocalist). The conclusion of this cover band's set deserves particular mention. They played six songs in total; the penultimate was "Carry On" — did the hall sing along? I'll be precise: the hall didn't just sing along, it sang the entirety of one of MANOWAR's most famous songs from start to finish. moscow ROCK CITY closed their set with another anthem that the real MANOWAR never omit: "Kings Of Metal."
PILIGRIM take command of the stage. As is common at events of this kind, this band performed with different vocalists. First to take the microphone was Andrei Arkhont (ARCHONTES), delivering an excellent "Wheels Of Fire" — Eric himself performs most of it through recitation and falsetto, so the result was quite close to the original. The lyrics, as typically happens in such cases, Andrei read from a sheet on the floor. Those who have seen him before are never surprised by this. Next the frontman of ASFERIKS appeared and performed the aggressive "Return Of The Warlord" — and did it excellently. A few minutes later he also sang one of the band's main 1996 classics, "The Gods Made Heavy Metal" — the hall again dutifully sang the composition from start to finish. What came next was, frankly, terrible: Andrei Arkhont walked onto the empty stage to the synthesizer and began performing "Master Of The Wind." After two verses, unable to listen to such an affront to this great ballad, I left the hall. The song was performed mechanically, precisely, and with absolute zero soul; on the chorus Andrei ineptly sang half-lines, inviting the hall to join in — to say it came out feebly and disgracefully is to put it mildly. Soon the MRC vocalist returned and performed "Black Wind, Fire And Steel" and "Fighting The World," with Arkhont joining him at certain points. PILIGRIM's set concluded with a performance of ARIA's cover of "Return Of The Warlord" titled "Probil Chas," performed by the RETRIEM vocalist — received with considerable coolness.
I should mention that during the performance of these bands, Ross unexpectedly appeared first at the bar, then in the main hall — the moment people recognised him, everyone instantly gathered around him.
And now the evening's climax: ROSS + russian musicians! Let me spell out that last phrase — on stage were: Victor Anger' of SHADOWHOST as guitarist; a bassist who would soon also join that band, performing at the time with SCARTOWN; and the PILIGRIM guitarist. I was unable to identify the drummer.
Ross himself occupied a prominent corner of the stage stage-right (from the audience's perspective). "Manowar" opens the concert programme of this particular masterclass. The hall goes wild; everyone emerged from the bar; some in a very cheerful state. First to note: excellent sound; a visibly very pleased Ross; excellent musical form from the bassist, guitarist, and drummer; and special mention must be made of Victor. For the first time all evening, the vocal side was beyond reproach — no other word for it. Victor made absolutely no attempt to imitate Eric Adams, which would be unrealistic — such attempts are always pitiful and doomed to fail, resulting in nothing but absurd pomposity. Instead, Victor applied his own voice in the spirit of German power metal in the RAGE tradition — and the result was simply phenomenal. After "Army Of The Immortals" the drawn-out "Secrets Of Steel" continued the proceedings, followed by "Gloves Of Metal" and — to general surprise — one of the band's most interesting songs: the nearly eight-minute epic "Mountains." Ross managed to cover the acoustic moments, deliver electric solos, and even play along on keys. Two songs from the very first album (Ross's personal favourite): "Death Tone" and "Shell Shock." Then "Thor," and the next three songs caused a pure storm in the hall — first the fast-charging "Kill With Power," then "Carry On," the hall sings again but not everyone — apparently sensing what's coming and conserving energy — and sure enough, within minutes, everyone without exception is singing along with "Blood And Death Are Waiting Like A Raven In The Sky / I Was Born To Die," then drowning each other out in their cries of "Hail And Kill." The nearly hour-long programme complete; the musicians leave.
Literally a couple of minutes later they're back on stage. "Fighting The World" rings out, and finally the great anthem whose title almost coincides with the name of MANOWAR's very first album from 1982: "Battle Hymn." Under these triumphant sounds the concert concludes.
Drawing conclusions is difficult — of course this is not MANOWAR, yet the energy of that band, channelled through Ross, was unquestionably present that day. What remains now is only to wait for the second coming of Joey DeMaio's band.
Report by Alan
Special thanks to Amber's Music for providing accreditation
Setlist:
russian Manowar Brotherhood:
- Hail To England
- Carry On
- Brothers Of Metal
Volkodav:
- Gloves Of Metal
- Pleasure Slave
- Hail And Kill
- Warriors Of The World
moscow Rock City aka Man-At-Arms:
- Warlord
- Blood Of My Enemies
- All Men Play On Ten
- Blow Your Speakers
- Carry On
- Kings Of Metal
Piligrim:
- Wheels Of Fire
- Return Of The Warlord
- The Gods Made Heavy Metal
- Master Of The Wind
- Black Wind, Fire And Steel
- Fighting The World
- Probil Chas
Ross The Boss:
- Manowar
- Army Of The Immortals
- Secrets Of Steel
- Gloves Of Metal
- Mountains
- Death Tone
- Shell Shock
- Thor (The Powerhead)
- Kill With Power
- Carry On
- Hail And Kill Encore:
- Fighting The World
- Battle Hymn