"what should i pick up this time? mmhhh... manowar? yeah, why not." these or something similar were my thoughts when i flicked through the "new in stock" section at blitz records in kiel. my one year old son and me were record shopping and i didn't come across somthing i really wanted. in such cases i am bold to take chances because i hate to walk out of a store empty handed. i didn't know much of manowar at that point but the record's condition was pretty neat and the price reasonable, so i took the gamble.
after i listened to "battle hymns" for the first time, i was surprised to find that manowar did play some really catchy up-tempo heavy metal songs in 1982. side b of the record also offers the trademark slow and epic songs, the band is known for. that was more like the manowar i got to know. i like both styles here and maybe will pick up another album of them when given the chance to. another thing i was really surprised at, was the spoken words part in "dark avenger". this is orson welles speaking. how come a metal band gets citizen kane for collaboration? anyway, solid record! liberty records. 1982.
