Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy: Part IV
- Thread starter Jim LotFP
- Start date
... to protect against the weapons of the gods, of course!
Or maybe it's just made by them but not for them.
It's not a difficult decision to make...
DBB
Member
- Dec 20, 2005
- 370
- 1
- 18
Achilles needed the armor to avenge the death of Patroclus and single-handedly rout the Trojans and kill Hector. It is a human receiving the armor of the gods as aid and assistance—a common “occurrence” in Greek mythology where the gods meddled in human affairs directly as personalities.
I enjoy The Odyssey much more thanThe Iliad (really more of a Euripides The Trojan Women type of guy when you get right down to it), but IV. Armor of the Gods and “Agony and Ecstasy” is what I would consider to be the best drum solo of all time. It is pure genius in my estimation. If you read the description of Hephaestus fashioning Achilles’ armor in The Illiad and then listen to IV it is really a stunning musical interpretation of the passage that captures the imagery of the source in an imaginative fashion. Simply sublime…
Actually the whole song is brilliant, and Manowar pulling off a grand idea without sinking to the horribly grandiose abortions that have appeared on the last two albums.
If they could only reach those heights again instead of unloading the putrid pile of dung that is Gods of War on the public. I’ve heard people say that Manowar are engaging in self-parody before and brushed it off, but this last album almost has me convinced that they might very well be laughing at what people will buy and hail as a masterpiece without questioning anything.
As if I don't have enough books sitting on my shelf waiting to be read (Deathly Hallows, Melmoth the Wanderer, Gulliver's Travels, Picture of Dorian Grey, and Moby Dick are in the pile... not to mention I wanted to get to Lord of the Rings and 1984 again... god damn it!), now I have to take out my Homer and put it on top of the pile because I realize I don't actually remember any of these details at all. In fact, come to think of it, when I think Odyssey, it's that Armand Assante TV movie I end up thinking about. Again - God Damn It!
I haven't read the Odyssey... yet. I did read the Illiad and great enjoyed it.
I actually don't think I've listened to this Manowar album.
Listened to their latest, and its okay. Some really good material, some filler junk, some just plain dumb.
I actually don't think I've listened to this Manowar album.
Listened to their latest, and its okay. Some really good material, some filler junk, some just plain dumb.
Similar threads
