Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Manowar, A Powerful Polarizing Force In The World Of Metal.

Who knew that Manowar could be such a polarizing band? In a way, Manowar expresses many of the world's problems in foreign policy, and the manner in which we fail to understand each other's cultures. In places like Europe and South America Manowar really ARE kings. They play to large audiences and no laughter can be heard when they hit the stage. Only stern faces, throwing the sign of the hammer can be seen in stadiums and arenas. Here in the United States, when I last saw them, all twenty people were laughing when they hit the stage at a club best known for its 80's night. When Joey broke a string during his bass solo ("Sting Of The Bumblebee"), the laughter was louder than the sound of his piccolo bass. How this band can be received so differently in two places is beyond me. If we work together to understand this, and bridge the chasm between us...there is hope for the world. If one day, when visiting Europe I don't laugh outloud when I see ten teenage kids wearing Manowar shirts air guitaring (as I did in Spain once)...there can be hope. For now, I can only imagine that their Manowar cassettes are like tiny time machines. Tiny time machines that take them to a time and place when metal was king. A place where wearing leather pants was okay (see videos below).

The guy in this first video certainly knows who the kings are. Slow start on the video, but boy does it deliver. Fantastic boot-cut leather pants. I'm sure this guy is well loved by his neighbors. Like other videos we've posted in the past, this one is proof that people in certain parts of the world appear to live in another era that the rest of the world is in.



This guy also knows what's up. Again, slow start...but it delivers.



On the other side of the coin we have this young man, voicing his opinion against the kings of metal. The YouTube phenomenon of long winded videos where mildly effeminate teens voice their opinion about random subjects should really be limited to people who have at least some speaking abilities. This kid sounds like he was dropped on his head as a baby multiple times. I know these types of videos can get old, but I couldn't help myself.

14 comments:

  1. i doubt that manowar's got any lesser of a fanbase in the US than it does in the EU. only, since "everything's bigger", their fans are more dispersed. hence the illusion that people in the US live in 2008 and know what good metal is.

    no nation's free of the manowar mentality, lucho.

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  2. hmmm. you bring up a good point. this could be true. it's just that whenever i see manowar in the states...the largest audience i've seen was roughly 100 people. decent Journey cover bands can get more people through the door around here. i still don't think that in a place like new york they can draw the type of audience they can get in sao paulo and the like. i guess we'll never know...

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  3. we're trading on delicate and complex ground here.

    true, they might not draw larger audiences in NY, but they won't do so in athens, paris, vienna, etc. either. yet one would still think of europe as backward. ignoring, on the other hand, that shows at some white-trash US capitals might be packed.

    all i'm saying is that percentage is the same, it's all about the dispersal/local concentration.

    but how does one account for such high local densities as e.g. in sao paulo, i dunno. fewer pose-laden cultural restraints in giving in to your true primordial self?

    like i said, it's a complex issue.

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  4. I've got to agree with the original post. There is no doubt in my mind that Manowar are MUCH bigger outside of the states.

    I have never met an honest fan here, just people who love "the joke".

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  5. If he hates Manowar, I love them.

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  6. Those 3 videos are like a douche contest. I pick number 3.

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  7. Holy shit. The last video I stopped after like a minute, but the first two are incredible comedy. Especially #2. (Total "What the fuck!?" factor.) The first moron's lucky he didn't burnt his fucking house down.

    "Wheels of Fire" and "Metal Warriors" are incredible songs, hokey or not.

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  8. let me start off by saying that i LOVE manowar. thourgh and through, no bullshit. any of the people here who know me, know that they are one of my favorite bands. of course i understand how silly they are and how ridiculous their lyrics are. im the first to make fun of them, but it's not like i think the dudes in the videos are cool. i fucking love manowar. i own more manowar CDs, DVD and records than any other bands except maiden and slayer. i dont have a manowar t-shirt, tho. that would just be gay.

    anyway, what i wanted to say is how fucking funny it is that the kid in the third video says that if people call him a poser for hating manowar, then he says people who hate slipknot are posers. WHAT? is this dude serious? WTF does slipknot have to do with manowar? like'em or not manowar have been around for a LONG time and they have not changed their style (unless you count their horrible new CD). slipknot are new kids on the block. they're actually not even in the same hood as m'war! scott columbus was fucking trashy groupies in green bay when the dudes in slipknot were watching power rangers. slipknot couldnt pay to brush the bear fur on joey's boots!

    manowar=tru-metal slipknot=nu-metal

    .

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  9. i appreciate everyone weighing in. this is a complex issue indeed.
    in regards to "real" fans in the states...my brother and i know of one. the president of their fan club, who is not joking around, and if you saw what she looked like...ehh....well, you'd know what i mean. ouch.

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  10. i really wasnt kidding. i really DO like manowar.

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  11. that last kid. whoo, boy...

    is it just me or did it seem like he was reading off some notes he had written?

    I almost watched his rants on Emo and Mainstram rap, but decided my brain would hate me.

    As for manowar, I never really "got" them. I "accidentally" smashed the fuck out of this kid's best-of manowar mixtape in grade school, though, and got a nice shiner as a result.

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  12. i would pay to watch joey demaio drive over that dude in the last video's head on his snowmobile.

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  13. why you so egotistical and elitistical.

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