So... Manowar are finally bringing out a new album after five years, though it was promised in 2009. Recently they have posted a preview of a new song called "El Gringo".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JOqDxJ5trY

Seems they are letting go off Norse mythology and it's awesome. The only thing that worries me on that preview are the drums, too generic like in their latest records, now that they have Donnie back in the band drumming should be insane on the album. I really hope it's not the final version of the song and I also hope they stick to the massive production they got in Battle Hymns MMXI.
I'm almost sure it won't be called Hammer of the Gods either.

Don't know what you guys think, but I'm way too excited about this.

Sounding good. I'm thinking the drums are perhaps sort of just place-holders - perhaps Donnie is going to go over his tracks later and record stuff with fills and that, now that rhythmically everything is down pat. Sounds far too simple for them to think it sounds good.

I'm digging the lyrical direction, too. Sounds a bit more like a lot of the more rock n' roll/traditional metal themes touched on initially with stuff like Shellshock and Death Tone.

So much for 'The Asgard Saga' then. So much hype and so very little content. And I say that as an avowed fan who owns all their albums.

You heard the drums on Gods of War, right? Manowar are definitely willing to use the most boring drum sounds/playing imaginable nowadays. New Manowar? Eh, it doesn't really have any good riffs, does it?

The preview sounds very boring. Oh how I wish we could still hear the more clever and idiosyncratic songwriting like in Gates of Valhalla or Secret of Steel. Sigh.

I think I saw one guy in the crowd on the left moving his leg a bit to the...beat.

What I could make out of that one minute, was that it reminded me most of Louder Than Hell. In any case, I'll be glad if the album doesn't contain any would-be epic interludes as Gods of War did. And it looks like Hammer of the Gods has been abandoned, I suppose that's a good sign.


And I agree with OP that it will be a good thing if they let the Norse mythology slide.

Write faster songs.

Derp.

I feel that sufficiently sums the entire debacle up.

Strange, guys..not even giving us a full song, or anything really grandiose to grab onto, but the most typical of descending progressions with the vocals following the guitar and bass precisely in terms of melody used. I didn't actually think that was bad; reminded me a little of the beginning of "Revelation, Death's Angel" or something, but as a tantalising teaser/appetite whetter/excitement builder this is pretty much useless. They should hire a new PR person....

I agree with the post above.
The song sounds a bit like a follow-up to 'Outlaw'. The reason I'm hyped about this is because Manowar is my favourite band, so that can never be bad

Hope Joey sticks to the "the album will sound like somebody put gasoline on your balls and lit it" thingy.

Maybe the other parts of the song are more interesting, but this minute teaser is dull beyond belief for me. Manowar are at their best when they're writing stuff like Wheels of Fire, Animal, and or Fight Until We Die. Aggressively in your face and powerful. The last album didn't do much to impress me and this one likely won't be either.

Considering that those are Manowar fans in that clip..though their in a studio and not an arena,I'd expect at least some fist pumping and head banging.Most of them just stood there as if they were thinking,"I came all that way for this"?

Nah, in order to truly comprehend the massive endeavor that a Manowar song is one must first relax, close their eyes and feel the music. Afterwords comes the head banging and fist pumping.

Same. I was listening and thinking the fans, hand picked fans and press, and they weren't showing any emotion. Like showing your best friend this awesome song you know he'd like and then it's just staring at the ground.

A terrible song from a band that has been terrible for a long time now

It didn't quite grab me but it sounds somewhat promising. After the boredom of Gods Of War and the solid Thunder In The Sky EP, I'm at least curious to see how this turns out.

Seems like they're going for a more Louder Than Hell feel, which certainly beats Gods of War or their last EP. I like new Manowar (does new Manowar count from Kings of Metal onwards? 'Cause that seems to be when they really changed their sound from old-school USPM) for what it is, cartoonishness and all, so if Manowar cuts down on the pomp and gratuitous filler tracks and just releases 7 or 8 solid new Manowar tracks I'll be a happy guy.

This is Manowar you're talking about...

i'm not interested unless they drop all the opera shit... gods of war was boring as all hell

Pff, you're dumb.

Anyway I'll check this out, been a huge Manowar fan and I have to see what my favorite American Vikings are up to.

Hence "cut down" instead of "eliminate." I'm not that crazy optimistic.

Sounds good, and not surprising, it sounds very similar to the songs on their last two albums. El Gringo doesn't sound like a very "Manowarish" title though.

If a song with title and lyrics like El Gringo is on the album, I doubt we're getting something pompous. It can't possibly be a concept album, and interludes, intros, intros to intros and outros would be out of place on such an album.

I am worried about the use of synths, though.

I'd be more worried about how Manowar don't write riffs anymore. Seriously, their music has been laughably devoid of decent rhythm guitar parts for a very long time now.

This. The verses are often very predictable and seem almost like an afterthought. Something to contrast the BOMBASTIC CHORUS that later day Manowar is all about.

That's a fair criticism, but Manowar is one of those "exception" bands to me where they can get away with not having great riffs and still make kickass heavy metal. Really, Manowar hasn't been a riff-driven band since Sign of the Hammer or maybe not since Into Glory Ride. Even Kings of Metal doesn't have many strikingly original riffs but it still works as an album and has tons of great tracks like "Hail and Kill," "Blood of the Kings," "Wheels of Fire," etc.

I couldn't finish Gods of War, so I'm approaching this with some level of caution.

I am heartily sick of Mnaowar's EPIC crap and I hope with all my herat they give it a rest and just make a ballsy heavy straightforward heavy metal record.
Eric Adams singing Nessun Dorma, lengthy concept album laden with Norse goodies - I WANT NONE OF THAT!

Agreed, iAmDisturbed. Looks like they're cutting it half way, ditching the concept but still not playing ballsy heavy metal. It seems to me like the path of least resistance for them. They don't have to keep putting effort into things the fans don't want, but they also aren't putting effort into the things the fans do want.

I agree tenfold with ANA's point here, but have to fiercely disagree with your riff further to it, 0kill. Words escape me, as the riff-tasticness of the riffing riffage of this barrage of riffs of this fucking riff-fest of a "not so riff-driven", according to your riff, fucking song riff through my riff-raff ears. Riff you, man, what-the-riff-are-you-even-riffing-about,-man?! Furthermore, let the almighty RIFF be my witness, or just take my riff for it: you riffing well do not want to extend your riff to such riff as this. Don't be rifficulous, now.

Your post amuses me, but it seems odd that when 0kil specifically said "since Sign of the Hammer or maybe not since Into Glory Ride", you attempt to rebuff his point with examples from... Sign of the Hammer and Into Glory Ride.

@ENKC: Okay, just to be on the same page, "since X" = "from X on" = "starting at and including X, and to this day" in my dictionary. What is it like in yours?

If 0kill really meant to say "after Sign of the Hammer", then okay(-ish, still his semi-discarding of KoM's riffs is debatable to an extent, but fine). If he maybe meant "after Into Glory Ride", then the lol's definitely on him and my point stands tall, strong, and full of riffs from the 2 masterpieces that immediately followed IGR.

I was actually looking forward to the Asgard saga. They should use the interludes but fully orchestrate them and write great metal tracks like on their first 4 albums. That would be great. I just prefer their mythology based stuff to their hail metal type tracks.

Sounds awesome! Ive been a fan of Manowar for 4 years now, and though I havent really liked Gods of War that much, this new track is looking good! Im glad they are finally taking a step in the right direction. I suspect a new EP should be released later on this year.

Manowar usually doesn't disappoint as such, they just make albums that go for too long and have too much filler. Joey thinks that every note he writes is a masterpiece so he can't cull anything - they need a manager who can rein Joey in when needed. Anyway, that last EP they made was a step in the right direction, so if they stick with that I reckon there'll be more biker rock-type Manowar this time around. I usually like whatever they put out anyway, so meh

Essentially, I just mean Manowar hasn't been a riff-based band in a long time, but they still work. Their first four albums are masterpieces of riffy USPM (Into Glory Ride has the best riffs of the first four, methinks) and even after that they've released a ton of kickass heavy metal. It's just not really as based on inventive riffs. If you look at Kings of Metal, the main riff of "Wheels of Fire[/i] is just the low E string played super fast and the main riff of the title track is a very Priestly hard rock lick as opposed to those songs you linked. They still are awesome tracks and Kings of Metal is probably my favorite Manowar album, though.

Their last album that I enjoy is Kings of Metal, so I don't have big expectations.

yay more cheesy pop metal

@0kill: I see, well we mostly agree, then; sorry for the semantics misunderstanding. KoM is a bit of a mixed bag to me, not overall on par with the almighty IGR/HtE/SotH trilogy, but it does have several of their all-time best tracks (essentially the 3 you already cited, although the 2 semi-epic power ballads are truly cool in their own way, especially "Heart of Steel"). Riffs such as the main ones off of "Hail and Kill" and "Blood of the Kings" are instantly recognizable and decidedly balls-grabbing in my book, but I agree with your overall point that it's been downhill from there, except for the odd flash of briefly returned brilliance here and there across the scarcer and scarcer, and more and more generic studio stuff they've been putting out in their post-Boss era.

This "Hey, Gringo! don't cha like my coffee?" sample makes no exception. It feels like a Manowar tribute band aimed at capturing the spirit of their most straightforward heavy classics like "Shellshock", "Warlord" or "Animals", or perhaps even capturing the pale and blurry screenshot of those that tracks like "Outlaw" or "The Gods Made Heavy Metal" already were. An ersatz of this side of their style, or an ersatz of their epic side as this "Gods of Odin and Yeah, Call us Manowar of Fire and Steel, now, why the fuck not" mess was... Well, different flavors, same dilution.