D-Day's Revenge...
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Reverend Scott reviews Manowar!!
Manowar w/Holy Hell March 11-12/2011 -Agora Ballroom, Cleveland,Ohio
Ok, Folks-
I'm going to try to condense a three day life-changing experience into a short review. Wish me luck.
First of all, I need you people to understand something...I bought the first Manowar album "Battle Hymns" in 1982 with money I made mowing lawns ( I was 13 ) and I have been a fan ever since. So finally at the age of 42 I made the journey to Cleveland, Ohio for two Manowar shows at the Agora Theatre. This review is seriously a labor of love for me.
I went alone, to a strange city in another state...and the moment I arrived I was among my Brothers and Sisters. I tell the Unbelievers all the time- Manowar are like the Greatful Dead of Metal- We came from ALL 50 American states and at least ten other countries, including Japan, Mexico, Canada, England and Slovakia. They gave us FREE t-shirts for the journey. I made a dozen new friends; Jeff (Dayton) and Steve (Boston) and Woody (Boston) -you three dudes were way cool to me-thanks for the drinks and the ride home.I hope to party with you gentlemen again in this life.
I have to give a few shout-outs to some Cleveland folks/facilities, because I told you I would, and my word is law.;)
Agora Ballroom- EXCELLENT facilities and EXCELLENT staff! Keep up the great work!
Red Roof Inn, Independence, Ohio- You guys rock! Thanks for letting us rage for 48 hours and thanks for the free upgrade to a suite ;).
University Hotel, downtown Cleveland, Ohio- MOST Excellent staff; they let us rage till 5 am and let us put on Manowar in the hotel bar from midnight-5 am. And the Night Manager Herbert hung out with me for quite a while-great facility, great staff!
Cleveland honestly DOES rock, as Drew Carey claims;).
OHIO!!
So, on to the Journey;)
My day started out rough on March 10th, 2011...packed and ready to head to the airport, not a single local taxi company would answer the phone...and panic set in. Two shots of Jack Daniel's later, one company gave me a number to call for some independent, and all was well. Got to Cleveland in pouring rain. By the time I got to the Red Roof Inn, the rain had turned into snow and the weather channel was issuing blizzard warnings for Northern Ohio. By morning we had 18 inches of snow. By the way, Ohio- what's up with all the music video channels being Country? ;)
Then, as we were starting to gather in the early afternoon of March 11th, we hear that Manowar blew out four city blocks of power during soundcheck...and panic set in. Manowar brought their huge custom D.A.S. Audio P.A. sytem over from Europe for these three American shows and apparently it is a bit overpowered for some older American theatres. So while we all waited in groups at our hotels, the City of Cleveland brought in generators and the snow finally stopped. So we were gathered in the hotel rooms around people's laptops, and we see that the show will go on and we all piled in vans and taxis for the trip to the Agora Ballroom in downtown Cleveland.
Agora Ballroom: great facility, great staff. Cute waitresses and cheap drinks as well. So, as the doors opened and we stood around for an hour and a half, we got to hear Manowar go through about six whole songs during soundcheck. Finally the doors opened and we poured in as the female-fronted, Joey DeMeio-produced Holy Hell took the stage.
Signed to Manowar's Magic Circle label, Holy Hell were technically brilliant and showcased each member's skill set quite impressively. Vocalist Maria Breon's voice is amazing, due to serious classical training at the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music. She soars above a classical Euro-metal foundation laid down by Joe Stump, nicknamed “Shred Lord” in guitar circles around the world for his virtuosity, and keyboardist Francisco Palomo, who has several degrees in music and theater himself. They finished with an amazing version of Ronnie James Dio's Holy Diver, probably the best I've heard since I saw Ronnie James Dio on the Holy Diver Tour on January 7th of 1984 at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, California. I actually got to speak with them briefly the second night and expressed my appreciation for their awesomeness.
Then, Finally, The Ultimate Moment: Amid a flash of light and the roar of thunder The Metal Kings took the stage!
Manowar opened up both nights with their anthem "Manowar" from the first album, 1982's "Battle Hymns". I was quite happy to see that Original drummer Donnie Hamzik had returned to the touring line-up. I was expecting Scott Columbus to be sitting behind the drums...and was deeply saddened by news of his death shortly after these shows. The Drums of Doom have fallen silent...
On both nights they moved quickly through a "Hail To England" track, "Blood Of My Enemies" on night #1 and "Kill With Power" on night #2, and something newer, and then they played the entire "Battle Hymns" album , in order. Quite impressive and damn kick ass. They also went through an excellent selection of newer material, different both nights. "Gods Of War", "Thor (The Powerhead", "Hail And Kill", "Warriors Of The World", "Power", "House Of Death", and "Black Wind, Fire And Steel" were all in the setlist. They were simply amazing to finally see live on stage from a few feet away. Joey, Eric,Donnie and Karl were in top form both nights and lived up to all of my expectations. Each member also did the traditional old school alone-on-stage solo piece, shredding with power.
Bassist and founder Joey DeMeio came out alone and over a beer, read off a three page list of the audiences respective home states and countries. As far as I remember we had folks from all fifty American states and at least ten other countries, including Japan, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Slovakia Norway, and England.Those of us who came from different states and/or countries received free t-shirts...how cool is that? Seriously, Who else does that?
Answer: No One. Manowar treat their fans better than anyone else. Period.
And I guess We ARE The Greatest Fans in the World!
Two awesome hours later we slowly filed out as "The Crown And The Ring" played and we bid farewell to The Metal Kings.
I guess the only difference between the two nights was the different part of the setlist, the various crowd members and where the after parties were. On night two I was happy to see several of the same folks from the first night back again. Of course it was an international gathering yet again, even more so as Night #2 was a sold-out show.
So, to sum it all up, I had a most excellent time, I made new friends and I saw one of my favorite bands two nights in a row. What more can one modern man ask?
