Here's a review I wrote for this...
Nobody Stopped THIS Crusade
This is everything that Manowar wishes they were... don't get me wrong, I love the self-proclamed "Kings of Metal" and they've put out great work, but none of it quite reaches the level achieved by this all-too-brief three song EP. Listening to it can be quite frustrating at times, because the thing just leaves you wanting more... It's a shame all that were involved didn't feel the need to continue this project. I'll take a full length Steel over another Bloodbath.
First up, "Heavy Metal Machine" makes other metal anthems look like confessions to sucking. The track starts off with Dan Swano's high-pitched shriek and then the song hits the ground running and never lets up. And how about that chorus riff... the one after Swano yells out the song title... "Heavy Metal MachiAAAAAAAAAANE" And then it sounds like "Too Young to Fall in Love" but on speed, heroine and anything else you can inject between your toes...
"Rock Tonite." Oh yes, none of that silent "gh"ey shit here, this song just flat out ROCKS. It's slower than the opening track, but then again it would need to be because if this were anywhere as awesome and fast paced as the debut, I just couldn't take it. Awesome memorable riffs like the first song, but check out those LEADS... they kick ass too... Fucking solid all the way though...
Which brings us to the closer. "Say Goodbye to Mediocre Ballads." None of that boring plodding 6 and a half minute ode to cutting off your balls pussy shit to be found here. It starts out looking like that, but around 50 seconds in the riffs come in and the over-the-top chorus comes in with those FUCKING FALSETTOS. If this band wasn't permanently retired, I'd tell King Diamond to watch his fucking back because these go so fucking high that I can't even understand what he's saying half the time... oh yes, when I blast this song, neighborhood dogs go nuts and shit themselves, and it WORKS.
Call it a parody, call it a joke... call it a fucking one-off that Swano and the guys from Opeth decided to do on a whim... I call it a fucking call to arms. If they released this shit right after Nirvana hit the charts, Cobain would have had to shoot himself a few years earlier because he would have gotten his shit ruined. It's obvious what must be done... download it, send it to your friends, blast it from your speakers... this is the fucking "EP That Would Save Metal" right here.
