This was my second MANOWAR concert, but the first that I was able to really sit back and enjoy (thanks to the unique tiered design of Ziggy's dance floors). I arrived early, accompanied by my best friend Chad and his wife, The Princess of Darkness, Heather. We had a chance to mill with the other fans as we waited outside under a small tent in the rain, and the atmosphere seemed ripe for a great evening of metal.
We filed into the club, and took up shop on the second dance floor. We we're sitting up against the railing on barstools, and we're still only about 40 feet from the stage. The first agenda for the night was set, great seats, now we waited for the fun to begin.
After a short delay, the opening band HavockHate(sorry if I misspelled it guys) hit the stage with a manic fury. I've never heard of them before, but it was easy to see they had roots in the thrash metal scene from the late 80's & early 90's. They played a good set, a little bland for my tastes, but they did a great job of entertaining the rest of the half packed club.
The next band was Usurper, and like my mother always told me, if you don't have anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all. So, I'll just say they weren't my cup of tea, but the moshers seemed to like them.
The crowd was lathered up to a frenzy for the KINGS OF METAL, and we began the chant HAIL AND KILL, until the band took the stage. MANOWAR led off with the 'signature' song of their set, Manowar, and well that's where the night started to blur together for me. I immediately started raising my fist and screaming out the lyrics. Eric was already showing he was still the stage wizard like usual, he used the entire stage to move from each corner getting the fans boiling during the first song.
Manowar bled into Blood of my Enemies, and that's where Chad and me just lost it, luckily for us the Princess of evil was there to keep us from diving off the railing into the crowd in a battle lust frenzy. It was during Blood, that I noticed Eric was trying to get our shy little princess to flash her breasts to him, and even with goading from myself and her husband she declined(It was her first show, so we gave her a break). Joey and Karl blew the place to pieces, during Flight of the Bumblebee, the crowd acted like they we're about to riot. Karl hit his solo's perfectly, and proved that he is the perfect fit at guitars. What can you say about Mr. Columbus, the Warlord of the Skins, he ruled his domain with an iron grip, and was technically flawless.
The rest of the set consisted of POWER, KILL WITH POWER, HAIL AND KILL, HEART OF STEEL, (The new song) WARRIORS OF THE WORLD (IT'S FUCKING AWESOME!), METAL WARRIORS, KINGS OF METAL, OUTLAW, & FIGHTING THE WORLD.
The encore was spectacular, and it BLEW OUR SPEAKERS......BLACK WIND, FIRE, AND STEEL. Heather, Chad, and Myself we're totally spent, dripping with sweat, and damn did our bodies ache. As the outro music played, we hugged, like warriors that had survived a clash with gods, we had lived to see MANOWAR conquer NORTH CAROLINA! Something we had been waiting for 15 years to see.
The night was great, the music was crystal clear and hammering, and along the way, I got to make eye contact with my idol several times. I think Eric knew that I had lived a life free of all false pride. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to speak. DEATH TO FALSE METAL!
One of the Faithful,
Zane A Johnson
I was at the show in Winston Salem on March 30th, my name is Sorrow. You probably don't recall the girl with the crown who could only worship you from a distance. I started lessening to Manowar about 3 1/2 years ago when I met my mate. All this time I have said that you were not the best band in the world, as all the Brothers of Metal think. I thought that there was no way a man could have the power and soul I felt from your music with out a bunch of studio effects and great technicians to boost it. And now I can't believe how wrong I was. I stood in awe watching your show. I was right no man could sing the way my Lord Eric sang. You are not a man but a God! Not to leave the others out because you are all Gods. But you Lord Eric touched something in me that has never been touched. You shook my soul and rattled my spirit. I am a mother of four and truthfully most of the time I feel so much older than I am. But standing there being a part of this changed something in me. I felt beautiful and young and full of life, baptized by the sheer awesome power of your voice. I Can't wait to see you again and hate to say am looking a little less forward to seeing Virgin Steel in two months . I hope you get this and understand, I am not an empty headed groupie. But I would kiss your feet given the chance.
Waiting,
Sorrow
Bill Young
So, placing my Canon AE-1, wide angle & 200mm zoom lenses in the trunk of my car seemed like the only thing to do. So I did. Though I was more than a little disgruntled, I rejoined the little band and we all began discussing Manowar and Heavy Metal topics. Two girls had come down from New Jersey to see the show and were planning to fly to Baltimore after the show to see the next one. Other people had come great distances as well such as South Carolina, Virgina, and one die hard guy who driven up from Florida.
As I listened to the stories and saw the enthusiasm displayed by the group, which had now grown to about 20, I realized at last that I am not the only one who has cared so much for so long about Manowar. My frustration about the camera faded and I accepted the fact that I was still about to see Manowar live.
At 52 years of age, I was the "old man'" of the group yet I felt right at home with the other headbangers and added some Manowar tales of my own including the fact that I was a Web Warrior of the Week at the end of December 2001 and my picture with porn star Devon is still in the Web Warrior Archives.
At last we were about to be let inside and one of the young men beside me whispered to me that "I can't believe I'm really about to see Manowar live!" I just nodded and said nothing, though I felt the same way for I've waited 20 years myself.
Finally we were inside and the concert began. Havochate came out and put on a nice display of high powered speed Metal. Then it was Usurper's turn. Though they played hard and with enthusiasm, the crowd of about 250 just did not warm up to them. I believe it was because their vocalist was a Death Metal growler. In all fairness to Usurper, I think Manowar fans are just the wrong crowd for them.
Then it was Manowar's turn. They opened with the classic Orson Welles intro and went straight into the song "Manowar". The sound was through the roof and the intensity was electric. "Kings Of Metal", "Heart Of Steel", Hail And Kill", and several other classics came at us with the mighty force of an electronic whirlwind. They finished their aural assault with the new "Warriors Of The World" and came back for an encore in which they performed "Black Wind, Fire And Steel". Now, the basic set ran for about an hour and the encore consisted one song.
Michael McCurry
The Ancient Headbanger
