Into Gay Pride Ride

What do Louis Armstrong, Blind Guardian, Guns 'N Roses, Jennifer Lopez, Manowar, Ennio Morricone, Pink Floyd, Pitbull, Rhapsody of Fire, Shaggy and System of a Down have in common? That's right, all these artists and bands are made fun of on Nanowar of Steel's highly entertaining ''Into Gay Pride Ride''. The band's creativity, energy and humor seem to be boundless on this outstanding release that might be the funniest metal record ever released.

Especially the longer tracks offer one hilarious idea after another. Let's take the incredible ''Blood of the Queens'' that is close to eight minutes. The track features sound samples of crashing cars and howling dogs to underline its unbound manly energy since the track obviously makes fun of Manowar's immature antics. Senseless lyrics about tricycles of true metal of steel are absolutely mandatory here. The surprising break featuring a parody of Louis Armstrong's ''What A Wonderful World'' is the cherry on top of the cake. All humor aside, the band is absolutely convincing on a musical level. This fierce heavy metal song with thunderous riffs, majestic choirs and a heavy and concise rhythm section is better than all songs Manowar have released in the last ten years combined. That's sad but true.

Another killer anthem is ''Odino & Valhalla'' that makes fun of the legendary ''The Good, The Bad, The Ugly'' soundtrack by Ennio Morricone before it evolves into a galloping classic heavy metal track with an absolutely silly but undeniably catchy chorus with excessive sing-along passages. The guitar solo and choirs in the vivid middle section are a parody of Jennifer Lopez' and Pitbull's collaboration ''On the Floor'' and make an exchangeable original song absolutely memorable in this version. Serj Tankian gang shouts add even more punch to the mixture before a calmer break offers a mixture of Pink Floyd's ''Another Brick in the Wall, Part Two'' and Ennio Morricone's legendary sounds. This change of style might sound strange and overwhelming but it somehow manages to fit in this incredible song. The track ends with its glorious chorus and leaves the listener speechless after an incredible ride through numerous musical genres throughout six powerful minutes.

The great thing is that Nanowar of Steel don't just write excellent heavy metal songs inspired by numerous bands but also add their own ideas and are able to convince in other genres. The opening band anthem ''Nanowar'' is a top class hard rock song that invites you to take out your dusty leather jacket and raise your fists into the air. The weird mixture of rhythm 'n blues, rap and electronic music with high-pitched power metal vocals in ''RAP-sody'' is also pure gold and kills it despite a running time below two minutes. The band's numerous interludes consisting of short parodies or radio play dialogues are also highly entertaining and a special shoutout goes to ''RadioGrafia 2'' that manages to make fun of the three legendary metal bands Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Metallica in less than a minute.

One important element of this record are obviously the lyrics which are mostly performed in English but also feature a few Italian parts. While each song is very amusing, a honorable mention must go out to the epic hard rock track ''Surprise Love''. Lines like ''Surprise load, is what I found between your legs - A bald chicken, a black nest, with two big eggs...'' are pure gold. Other bands play, Nanowar are gay! And they absolutely rule.

Nanowar offer amazing parodies, funny lyrics and tons of honest energy on one of the most entertaining metal albums ever released. If you have a remote sense of humor, you will worship this record. Get your hands on this output, crank up the volume and get your party started. Bottoms up!