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Manowar - Hail to England Audio CD

A fair review of the Manowar "Hail to England" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Manowar reviews here, or go back to the Manowar tabs.

Manowar Band: Manowar
Title: Hail to England
Rating:
Release Date: 2000-05-10
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Blood of My Enemies 2: Each Dawn I Die 3: Kill With Power 4: Hail to England 5: Army of the Immortals 6: Black Arrows 7: Bridge of Death

True Metal
But about a dozen years ago I found myself checking out several early 80s metal bands that I never gave a chance the first time around (Mercyful Fate, King Diamond). Before I heard anything from Manowar I used to write them off as silly macho metal. Because Hail To England got many good reviews I decided to start there. To my surprise this band could actually write good metal tunes. Their slogan of "Death to false metal!" seemed cheesey at first but then I started to realize that these guys are dead serious. I salute any band that holds the flag of metal high with pride. If you like heavy guitars, chugging bass, pounding drums, soaring vocals, and don't have a problem with fantasy lyrics, then Manowar is for you. My favorite tracks are Blood Of My Enemies, Each Dawn I Die, Army Of Immortals, and Bridge Of Death. Fans of the Dictators (and Shakin Street) will know of guitarist Ross The Boss who left the band in 1988. I ended up buying a few more albums by Manowar but I think this one is their best. Hail Metal!.


Manowar's greatest album.

The problem is most of the band's detractors seem to miss that the band is meant to be just good fun. Manowar are generally beloved by heavy metal maniacs,but misunderstood by just about everybody else.
Simple.
Manowar works because it's a band that brings sincerity to there music,making there tales of battles and days of old,seem that more real.
It's a timeless representation of the eternal twenty year old guy,ready to take on the world,young,dumb and full of. . . you get the point.
This album ranks as Manowar's greatest release,featuring the best block of warrior metal ever delivered through Valhalla's dark gates.
The album kicks off with the band's all time classic,"Blood of my Enemies",and goes into "Each Dawn I die",than crowd favorite,"Kill With Power".
"Hail to England" is the perfect tribute to the amazing metal movement of the than current,NWOBHM.
"Army of the Immortals" is for the fans,a jolly tribute to where the band owes it's existence(to be repeated on each record).
"Bridge of Death" is the epic of the album,and a good one.
"Black arrows" is the bass solo,and it's interesting,but not really relistenable,the only smudge on a classic release.
If your in the mood for fistpumping classic heavy metal,get ready to raise some hell with Valhalla's finest:
Manowar's Hail to England.


Another classic album victimized by the "loudness war"
Sure, we all do. After reading this comment's title you'll probably be thinking: "but I do want to listen to Manowar as loud as possible!". The expression "loudness war", however, refers to a trend in the music industry to master CD's with the volume too loud, often beyond the limits allowed by the technical specifications of the CD format. This process will almost always cause unwanted distortion and even "clipping" on various parts of the audio. In other words, parts of the audio are often irreparably damaged in the mastering process because they don't "fit" within the CD format's dynamic range limits.

I did a full audio analysis of this remastered "silver edition" of the album, and on the first track alone, "Blood Of My Enemies", there are at least 254 clipped (that is, cut off, LOST) samples on the left channel and 312 on the right channel. Please note that this is something completely different to listening to a correctly mastered CD as loud as you want - the sound will be intact in that case, and the loudness limit will be defined only by your audio equipment and your taste. On the other hand, an album that has been victimized by the "loudness war" will be missing parts of the sound even when played at a low volume.

It's a real shame that a band that's known for their perfeccionism when it comes to their music, and specially Joey DeMayo, allowed this absolutely classic album to be released this way. If you don't have "Hail To England" on CD, make sure you get the original release, which was mastered correctly.

For more information on the "loudness war", just Google the expression between quotes.
.


Their Best Album
This is your sword and sorcery band from the '80s with good guitars, reasonable drums, and a pretty strong lead singer with a powerful melodic voice. Not many people know about them or like them if they do but this is one of their best albums in my book. Although simpler in musical arrangement, if you like Mercyful Fate's lyrics then you will enjoy those on this album. I like every single song on this album.


I listened to this...
. . then I laughed, and I cried, and I contemplated the great mysteries of life. . . okay, I mostly laughed. Really, it's funnier than a thrashing Spinal Tap cranked to 11. I love this and think, quite sincerely, that it's a masterpiece.


You can see a complete list of all Manowar discography, or go back to the Manowar tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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