Today is the 20th anniversary of the release of Manowar's The Triumph of Steel. Let us celebrate this holy day by sharing our thoughts on this classic album.
It's an important album for me personally because it was the first traditional metal album I ever heard. Back then I'd heard thrash metal and the groove/alternative stuff that was popular at the time, but this was my first full album of true metal. I was in high school then, and everyone I knew who was into metal knew this album. Nobody was into Priest or Maiden, but they all liked The Triumph of Steel. Manowar deserves a lot more credit than they get for keeping metal alive in the mid '90s.
"Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy in Eight Parts" - When I first heard this, it completely blew my mind that a band would write a 30 minute song. I thought the only pieces of music that long were classical works. (Back then, I didn't know anything about progressive rock, other than it was something the Ramones didn't like.) Allegedly, they wrote this song because their label wanted them to go grunge. Nobody tells a man how to play!
"Metal Warriors" - The metal anthem to end all metal anthems. Plus, it added the phrase "Leave the hall" to the heavy metal lexicon.
"Ride the Dragon" - A killer fast song. Some unforgettable lines here, like "Into the fire with your soul!" and "The Gates of Hell are open! Let me in!"
"Spirit Horse of the Cherokee" - Manowar has a repuation as a meathead band, but I think this song is a lot more serious than Iron Maiden's and Anthrax's songs about Indians. It's probably better than Slough Feg's, too.
"Burning" - My least favorite song on here because it's the slowest (besides the ballad), but in no way is this a filler track.
"The Power of Thy Sword" - Heroic fantasy power metal done in the best possible way. The vocal arrangements at the end are nothing short of amazing, as good as anything Blind Guardian ever came up with.
"The Demon's Whip" - Another slower song which goes on a little too long, but when it speeds up at the end, it's incredible.
"Master of the Wind" - One of the best ballads ever. I've only recently realized how much orchestration there is here. DeMaio probably had Wagner in mind when he wrote this. A majestic way to end the album.
Dust off your copy and give it another spin today, and share your thoughts here. Unless, of course, you don't like it, in which case you can... LEAVE THE HALL!
It's an important album for me personally because it was the first traditional metal album I ever heard. Back then I'd heard thrash metal and the groove/alternative stuff that was popular at the time, but this was my first full album of true metal. I was in high school then, and everyone I knew who was into metal knew this album. Nobody was into Priest or Maiden, but they all liked The Triumph of Steel. Manowar deserves a lot more credit than they get for keeping metal alive in the mid '90s.
"Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy in Eight Parts" - When I first heard this, it completely blew my mind that a band would write a 30 minute song. I thought the only pieces of music that long were classical works. (Back then, I didn't know anything about progressive rock, other than it was something the Ramones didn't like.) Allegedly, they wrote this song because their label wanted them to go grunge. Nobody tells a man how to play!
"Metal Warriors" - The metal anthem to end all metal anthems. Plus, it added the phrase "Leave the hall" to the heavy metal lexicon.
"Ride the Dragon" - A killer fast song. Some unforgettable lines here, like "Into the fire with your soul!" and "The Gates of Hell are open! Let me in!"
"Spirit Horse of the Cherokee" - Manowar has a repuation as a meathead band, but I think this song is a lot more serious than Iron Maiden's and Anthrax's songs about Indians. It's probably better than Slough Feg's, too.
"Burning" - My least favorite song on here because it's the slowest (besides the ballad), but in no way is this a filler track.
"The Power of Thy Sword" - Heroic fantasy power metal done in the best possible way. The vocal arrangements at the end are nothing short of amazing, as good as anything Blind Guardian ever came up with.
"The Demon's Whip" - Another slower song which goes on a little too long, but when it speeds up at the end, it's incredible.
"Master of the Wind" - One of the best ballads ever. I've only recently realized how much orchestration there is here. DeMaio probably had Wagner in mind when he wrote this. A majestic way to end the album.
Dust off your copy and give it another spin today, and share your thoughts here. Unless, of course, you don't like it, in which case you can... LEAVE THE HALL!
