The band posted a second song on its Facebook page.

Expendable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koNYpiwH ... r_embedded

I'm still waiting for the song that was supposed to burn the hair of my balls and melt my face... 'cause this definitely doesn't. Despite it being too pompous and would-be epic, Gods of War did have its moments. I will check this, it's not improbable that I'd buy it for the completeness of my collection, but I doubt I'll pay much for it.

Also, did you note how they turned of the comment section? Afraid of the comments and bad negative feedback?

This newest one really doesn't do a whole lot either. I didn't like the drumming done on it either. Turning off the comments is a sign of weakness. After all they did so on both of the lame samples.

I really do hope these were rough mixes, and not samples. Both of these have nothing of substance that I look for in Manowar.

Their PR person is Joey - that's the problem, heh.



eh, I wouldn't judge based on that. fanclub-types (especially for "true" metal) tend towards the introverted and it usually takes at least 2 or 3 beers before they all awkwardly stumble out of their shells and start having falsetto competitions

Music is worthless as expected, but the lyrics seem to be fun this time.

I think this is even more accurate. If he hadn't fired Ross all those years ago, it's likely that the music would still be as good as it was in the eighties. Or at least there would be more good guitar parts.

I do miss that "not technically perfect, working man's metal" element that they had with Ross. These days it sounds like everyone just mails their parts in and Joey puts it all together then turns the bass guitar up.

Does anybody know what has happened to The Asgard Saga? The official website has been deleted, and the title of the new album has been shifted from Hammer of the Gods to something unknown. It seems to me like they abandoned the project due to a lack of inspiration/enthusiasm/cooperation with the writer/positive feedback of the fans, or maybe because Joey got tired of it.

In any case, it's really lame that they don't feel like updating the fans on what's happening: do they hope it will be forgotten and that it will seem like it never happened. Pretty lame (and dare I say cowardly?) if you ask me.

It most likely just didn't work out. What do you expect them to say, "our project failed miserably, sorry fans"?

In fact, yes. Or at least something like: "Due to different views on where we're going with this project..."

Well, you figured it all out correctly for yourself, what do you need the band spelling it out for you for?

Also, knowing what little I know about Hohlbein's personality, I thought it was a weird match from the beginning, and thus, pretty much doomed to failure really.

Wow, "Expendable" sounds like Disturbed.

"Wimps and poseurs, jumpdafuckup!"

"Expendable" sounds like it's aptly titled.

So when are we going to get a full song? The minute long segments are getting a little annoying and what little we're hearing isn't exactly promising...

What annoyed me the most about that whole thing wasn't even the grand plans of some Asgard Saga concept that totally failed. It was in 2008 when Joey was claiming fans could see the new album that year! 2008 came and went, and 2009 we got what was supposed to be a "preview" EP (Thunder in the Sky). Then of course, no new album came out, and 2010 and 2011 went by without it either. Then Joey is saying "Well screw Hammer of the Gods, that album sucked! We're giving the fans what they REALLY want. A re-recording of Battle Hymns! Huh??? No...we want a new studio album and for them to stop touring Europe and releasing live DVDs.

I just get annoyed how EVERY Manowar album since the 80s has to take these guys 5-6 years. Only 2 albums per decade of a band who seem to be constantly working is pretty lame.

A-fucking-Men. Couldn't have summed it up better myself. Four studio albums since Kings Of Metal - over 20 years.

This fucking is shit.

Manowar has probably been the ONLY BAND EVER that can get away with über-simplistic riffs, for example I think the one note ending on The Demons Whip is a genius use of it, but I rather want that than SHITTY RIFFS like this.
Eh, this album will most probably suck ass.
That said, I really liked the actual songs from Gods Of War more than on Warriors Of The World, but the production and toy drums was horrible. With a production like Warriors Of The World they would have been awesome.

It's really quite amazing when you think about it. They were among the very best, freshest and most original metal bands in their early days, but all of that has been gone completely ever since Louder Than Hell - Triumph of Steel was really good for the most part, I thought, but none of the three (three!) albums they have put out in the twenty (twenty!) years since then has been worth a damn. It's some of the flattest, least interesting material in all of metal. IMO.

Of course you can hear that these guys are experienced and technically proficient, but that really isn't worth anything if the material is that boring. And while I haven't heard the re-recorded Battle Hymns, the idea seems pointless and unnecessary to me, as I do not reckon they have made something totally fresh and unexpected out of it, and re-recording it the way it was is pointless because there was nothing wrong with it in the first place.

At the risk of stating the obvious, my guess is that the band's attitude towards what they're doing has undergone a complete change that started when they signed to a major and was complete by the time of Warriors of the World, at the very latest. When they were young, they were living the rock'n'roll dream: they were a metal band that set out to conquer the world, and they weren't even content with being among the greats, they wanted to be the greatest (it seems to me that at the time, they were still quite serious about that). Whether or not they pulled that off is a matter of taste, but they did obviously accomplish a lot.

These days, I get the impression they see it more as a business than anything, and that they aren't even interested in putting out quality, substantial material; or at the very least, that is a low priority. They pretty much have turned Manowar into a rock circus; it's almost more like a musical than an actual rock show. The music they put out obviously reflects that.

How that change of mind came about - who knows? It was surprisingly abrupt in any case; the shift in sound - and, if you look more closely, image (e.g., the KISS-inspired cover) - from Sign of the Hammer to Fighting the World is very noticeable.

Obviously they can do whatever they want, and if they're making good money and feel good about what they're doing, then more power to them (heh). Personally, I'm not particularly interested in their new material though.

I don't know if you guys know, but they have release the song "El Gringo" complete, and can be hear on Youtube for example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B6U_4BYEHs

Basically it is the same that we heard before, as when you hear the complete song, you realize that they only composed like 1 minute and then they repeated that until they got a 5 minutes song.

I am a huge fan of the band (until Louder than Hell mostly), but I think that this is completely ridiculous. I mean, they spent years from album to album, and the quality of the composition is so poor, that I really wonder what they do with their time, as they are not playing with other bands or so.

I like the song of "El Gringo", I have the "melody" stuck in my head, but if I am objective, the song is pretty bad and boring.

this new song is pretty much shit. i can't say it's bad, because it's just not opinion-inspiring enough.
and it's annoying, because that EP they put out like last year was great (minus "father", eew).
hopefully they keep up their usual standard of 2-3 decent songs per album, that's all i really need (and all they've seemed to do for over 10 years)

BUM BAM BUM

EL GRINGO

I think it's a decent song, but I'm not impressed with it either. It's definitely not the quality I expect to hear on an album that took 5-6 years to write. This song is Manowar playing it really safe and only putting in the bare minimum of their talents as songwriters and performers. That may be because it was written for a movie, but regardless, it's not the best way to introduce their fans to a new Manowar album coming out.

Loin cloth Manowar is only Manowar I like, without Rooss The Boss on guitar they have not had a catchy riff or lead. Either they get Ross the Boss back or they will continue to make boring non discript music until Joey dies, I honestly believe that if Eric Adams died Joey would find a replacement. New song is laughably bad, the lyrics are hilarious, the song has no riff, the drumming is dull, the guitar playing pointless.

Wow that bass solo fucking songs. And the drums/guitar at that point sounds like fucking midi
And I thought the production on Shadowmaker was bad. Fuck!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1bdnxo2 ... re=related

This Manowar parody is actually better than the real deal. Not that it's hard to do something better than El Gringo!!!

The vocals are pretty much spot-on, the production is way better. I would rather listen to an album with this guy than the real Manowar.

On the other hand we have Majesty, who does it quite good as well

It was ok, but i was expecting something better. That's very simple coming from Manowar, but catchy nonetheless. I hope more variations on riffs in the next songs.

Yeah... I'm as big a Manowar fanboy as anyone out there and even I can't defend the rough mix of "Expendable." My only prayer is that by "rough mix" they mean "practical joke to be immediately discarded." Otherwise, things could get awful dark for this next album. The comparison's to Disturbed's awful "warrior anthem" tracks are painfully apt.

"El Gringo" isn't as bad, but it certainly isn't good either. It's Gods of War filler material at best.

This sounds better than the rough mix, but still it sounds like the new album is going to disappoint.

Edit: And the band just posted on their Facebookpage that the new album is called The Lord of Steel and will be released June 16th....

https://www.facebook.com/manowar/posts/237901899647736

And here I was thinking that Gods Of War was too generic a title...

El Gringo sounds like a fun junk food track that could grow on me though it's a little too grandiose for a set of lyrics that are aiming for a Battle Hymns mentality. That and the guitars are seriously lacking; is Karl an unskilled guitarist or is he just restricted by Joey's writing?

Hahaha...The Lord of Steel. That sounds like something they came up with in 30 seconds. I mean, it is Manowar, so I expected a goofy title...but that one is pretty lazy and uninspired, even for them.

Hammer of the Gods was a much better title. Too bad they scrapped that.

I am disappointed with the album title. I love Manowar, but The Lord of Steel? Come on. There will be a song called Hail, Kill and Die! as well... I really wonder what's going on with them.
Anyway, looking forward a lot to this, it will at least be interesting to hear brand new Manowar songs. The newsletter said that “…this album is all about brutality and raw power!" and that they're givng Donnie room to stretch out. I hope it's true, Donnie's a really good drummer.

Anyway, hope their next album won't be titled Louder Than England.

I like it!

Everyone here should know that The Voice of Steel will always be a better album in every single way than The Lord of Steel.

I think their next album might be titled Into Retirement Ride, haha.

don't get me wrong, the voice of steel is one of the absolute best albums of the last few years, hands down... but manowar only needs to get it right once or twice per album and that's enough to keep my boat afloat. sure, el gringo is obviously a stinker, but if there's one or two good tracks...

i suppose a good example is the thunder in the sky EP - the title track sucked, there was that absolutely HORRID "father" crap, and some write-off called "god or man" as well. but THEN they added a re-recording of "the crown and the ring" that truly sounds better than the original, "die with honour" (which isn't exactly the intellectual pinnacle of heavy metal but so what), and this absolutely fucking OUTSTANDING song called "let the gods decide" that's basically them ripping off judas priest, but doing it better than priest have done since the early 90s. so in essence, half an EP was total shit but it only takes that tiny bit to make it all ok with manowar. when they're on, they're ON.

hating how much of a fanboy i am right now

I feel your pain, we all are.

I even like Gods of War, with Sons of Odin and Sleipnir, and all.

Your fanboy-ism is feeding Manowar's mediocrity, but not just you - all those that think like this, as well. With guys like you around settling for products like that, it's no wonder why they don't try harder. Your standards are too low, and their standards are too high in the wrong way.

I don't think El Gringo is that bad, really. I think? I dunno. Thinking about it there's definitely a lot wrong with it; the rhythm guitars, the drums (the drums!! You could program something that sounds exactly the same in 15-ish minutes?), the fact that it builds up to the solo and then doesn't go anywhere for the remainder of its' time. Meh. The lead guitars do well, and I think those synths and those cheesy man "hah" (bear. force. one.) things in the background fit it, and Eric sounds in great form. If it's a filler track we could be in for a treat of an album. If it's the best song on the album, well, yeah. All in all could be worse. I'm still looking forward to the album, sort of.

"El Gringo" was a pretty average song, not "new Running Wild" bad or anything...just average. Eric Adams sounded good, but the instruments were muted and pretty boring - but then again it is a soundtrack song, so eh, it's excusable. I don't get why they're putting it on the album then, though.

Here a list of the title tracks that they will include:

Annihilation
El Gringo
Expendable
Hail, Kill And Die!
Righteous Glory
Touch The Sky

I really think that they have a software with a small database of around 15 words, and the software generates random titles for their tracks. I prefer to think that than accepting the truth of ManOwaR post Louder than Hell.

And really, the drums? I have programmed better drums for recording my guitar at home.