Interviewer : Andreas Schoewe
Published on : June 2002
WAR OF THE WORLDS
The american heavy metal quartet MANOWAR advanced to the epitome of constancy on a musically high level. And it should take some time for other musicians to make a work like JOEY DEMAIO's and his band's WARRIORS OF THE WORLD.
The case of emergency, cultural shock and the war of cultural philosophies awaits us once again: in a not-so-distant future the "Whimps and Posers" will be requested to leave the halls, or they will face paroles like: "Heavy Metal or no Metal at all!", "Death to false Metal!", "If you are not into Heavy Metal, you are not my friend!". However behind these - admittedly loud-mouthed and pathetic sounding - slogans is applaudable hardheadedness and a philosophy that knows no compromises: The best is just good enough for the band. Or in the jargon of the four: "Other bands play - Manowar kill!". So this year as well we have to count with the bass-player Joey DeMaio, singer Eric Adams, drummer Scott Columbus and guitar-player Karl Logan. And the following interview proves that the Americans are still not at the end.
Your last regular studio album LOUDER THAN HELL has been released in 1996. Now it is year 2002. There have been ages when you came up with two albums in a year...
Joey: Actually even three: Next to INTO GLORY RIDE and HAIL TO ENGLAND we prepared during the same session SIGN OF THE HAMMER. Meanwhile, however, we are touring several months per album - yeah, even years. Now for example we just attended the "Hell On Wheels" as well as the "Motorcycle Madness" tour. Afterwards we put together our first live-album. Then followed the "Hell On Stage" guest tour, during which we tape-recorded our next live double album. There was a video and also a DVD. Except that we remastered 3 of our earlier classics and gave them a new ambience. You could say - the both double CDs counted as two respectively - alltogether 7 albums in 6 years. Plus WARRIORS OF THE WORLD...
Well, it sounds a bit far-fetched now...
Joey (unperturbed): We also set up our own studio and established our label Magic Circle Music (Address: Magic Circle Music, PO BOX 7214; USA-Auburn, NY 13022). So by no means we have been inactive! And concerning the songwriting an important fact is often overlooked: art underlies a spontanteous, creative process and needs a relaxed atmosphere! Nobody delivers one hit after another - not even Beatles have been able to do that! Nevertheless we always want to give something special to our fans - songs and albums with their own identity and an exorbitant quality from the first to the last second.
Eric: The interval between the two studio albums didn't seem that long for me. Just few moments ago I could swear that the presentation of LOUDER THAN HELL would date back only two, at most three years.
After that what Joey just suggested I conclude you can hardly tell a point in time when the work on WARRIORS OF THE WORLD actually began...
Joey: Right. Rough said: After we came back from our last live activities, we went into studio - just to realise that our recording equipment reached such dimensions that we could not accomodate it all in the existing four walls. So built another, modern sound-temple.
With your last answer you take one of my next question right out of my mouth: WARRIORS OF THE WORLD hasn't been recorded in "Haus Wahnfried" but in a studio called "Hell"...
Joey: Additionally to our existing audio-equipment we purchased a video studio. But as I already suggested: "Haus Wahnfried" became to small for all those equipment. Meanwhile we are storing our Tour-PA there.
Eric: We also set up a small rehearsal-corner as well as small garage for our Technique-Designer John "Dawk" Stillwell.
But back to the album: How does the songwriting work for you in general? Are there joint rehearsal sessions?
Scott: I always compare it with a puzzle. After buying a new theme you take the fragments out of the box and pour them out on the table. In doing so there are usually some snippets which are linked up. But you have the final result, the vision, in your mind and all you need is to join the remaining fragments together to a beautiful picture. Sometimes this happens very fast. Every now and then you have problems with some parts and you lay them apart, and continue at a different point. With composing music it's almost the same.
Joey: If we like an idea then we work on it until it becomes a killer song - or we throw it out.
So there is no such a thing like an archive or pool with ideas?
Joey: No, it either works - or it's bad. Sure, we throw a lot of ideas out, which have a quality other bands would never reach. But finally we are Manowar! The word "it" has only 2 meanings for us: either "That's it!" or "Sh-it!".
Although for me there is no track on your last album WARRIORS OF THE WORLD that would fall in the last category - after 'Call To Arms' there's not much going on first, since the first half is dominated by quiet moments.
Eric: It happens for certain reason: at the beginning it is supposed to move the listener from ribald rock to heavenly-quiet regions, before the infernal speed at the end hardly lets him take breath!
Already alone due to Eric's vocals your interpretation of the aria "Nessun Dorma" from the "Turandot" opera by Giacomo Puccini impresses me the most...
Eric: Thank you! It was my special motivation that helped me: lately there came up strange rumours that I wouldn't be able to sing properly any more. To me the only reason for this bullshit is that someone did not realize that during our latter tours we set on harder playstyle and this needed much rougher lead vocals. Well, whoever believes my voice would be broken after listening to "Nessun Dorma" then he just did not get it!
Joey: We courted the German fans already with "Herz aus Stahl". Now we are in the happy position to have not only German fans but among others also some south-european. We provide them something that can be matched with the high level of the native compositions. There is the music from Milan setting the worldwide standards for italian opera art - as well as Puccini as the most famous composer and his aria "Nessun Dorma". Besides, we demonstrate with this song that we feel good in classical genre as well. On the contrary there are not many bands that could allege that of themselves. We see it as our "Fuck you!" to all the bands who take the piss out of their fans with albums of minor value and without any substance. Furthermore our version proves that there exists a close relationship between classical music and heavy metal. I strongly believe that the masters of those age would today create the kind of music we celebrate! By the way, with "The March" we pay tribute to Richard Wagner - the father of heavy metal...
And I already thought the good, old Richard fell in your disgrace... But also the interpretation of Elvis "King of Rock'n'Roll" Presley's "The American Trilogy" is quite off-beat...
Joey: Whereas it's about three traditional, American anthems - "Dixi", the fanfare of the South during the civil war, plus "Battle Hymn of the Republic", the war song of the North, and the "Oh My Triumph", a prayer for all who died in the war...
Which sounds suspiciously like the American nationalisms which came up in particular after September 11...
Joey: We are aware of the fact that this song is misinterpreted to that effect. I still think the idea of showing the aspect of fighting from the views of the concerned opponents is great, especially since we liked battle hymns already before September 11. From my point of view this trilogy gets very clear the feeling of powerlessness across that one feels against the disastrous powers which demand such inane selfdestruction. Mind you: worldwide!
If you deal intensely with all of your albums you realise quickly that there always exist connections between them: INTO GLORY RIDE is descended from a text line from "Battle Hymn"; the song title "All Men Play On Ten" appears in "Metal Warriors". Accident? Purpose?
Joey: With this conscious chain-linking of text passages we confess clearly to all previous releases. Other bands are quite flexible here: "Our last record was bullshit. But the new one - that's it!" And with the next album all starts from the beginning...
As perfectionists, what do you think about the vehement raging progress in technology which hardly lefts space for individuality in cd productions?
Karl: The danger is that many kids overrate themselves: They think it would be enough to buy a computer plus miscellaneous software for a few hundred dollars - and you can act as the studio owner, producer and rock star - preferably in one person. But exactly this is how rock music looses its level - a fastfood standard a la McDonalds establishes oneself worldwide...
The cheeseburger-level...
Karl: Right! While even the preparation of a cheeseburger has to be learned. But - methaphorically speaking - most of the kids do not seem to be able to do even that! And if you like good food you have to frequent restaurants of higher categories.
Scott: On the one side as a technology-junkie I welcome the progress on the computer sector. However I agree with Karl: The flood of releases in the past years proves that quality and originality fall behind.
Does one of your exclamations - namely "Death To False Metal" - target into this direction? And who do you mean with "Whimps and Posers"?
Joey: Those who Karl just named so accurately: Guys who take their fans for fools and think a dumb gimmick and a low budget product would be enough to take their fans the money out of pocket. These whimps want to become a rock star immidiately and accumulate millions without working on their careers for 20 years - like for example Motörhead or AC/DC!
Is it possible for a young artist in the face of current pressure of competition and the industry still to bite through without changing himself?
Eric: Exactly this is where the concept of our label kicks in: we give our clients plenty of rope. They should self-realize without any restrictions.
Joey: For us this label isn't a record company in its traditional way, but a kind of tool to find talented artists - preferably musicians - who wish to live out their dream of artistical freedom without compromises. A 30 minutes single? Wonderful! Welcome home! MTV and VIVA wouldn't play that? So much the better, because then your music is really good - these broadcast stations air only trend bullshit! Maybe this way we will find another Alice Cooper... You know the story of his discovery?
No!
Joey: Frank Zappa heared that there is someone who always sweeps the clubs when he performs on stage: Cooper hangs and decapitates himself, holds snakes in front of the audience, paints his face horribly - and with his outfit nobody knows if he is just a crazy transvestite... So Zappa visited one of that guys' shows and after Cooper chased away the people from the auditorium Zappa signed him - with the argument that a real artist is only someone who isn't understood at first go.
Manowar enjoy the reputation of always trying to make a perfect show. But rock means life - and this is not always without complications. Doesn't your claims for perfectionism and Rock'n'Roll exclude each other?
Joey: No. That's exactly why we let Dawk check thoroughly our equipment before each show. Should there be only one cracked speaker in the whole PA then we cook his goose during the soundcheck and we replace it with a new one. This procedure warranties that we enter the stage under optimal conditions. That's why we do not need to think about what we're gonna do if the equipment fails - it does not fail! And this certitude gives us the guaranty to rock on - low-brow, but with perfect sound.
We will see and hear it again...
ANDREAS SCHÖWE
