The Absolute Power

This is a pretty odd old thing. Stating the bleeding obvious here, but Manowar tend to either absolute fucken nail it- the entire first album for example, or they're completely awful, like Fighting the World or Louder than Hell or Lord of Steel or the Battle Hymns remake or the other remake or etc etc etc. Anyway, turns out on DVD format it's the same thing but magnified about a thousand fold.

Throughout this live set, Manowar are either unbeatable or unwatchable, and they swing between the two with manic enthusiasm. One would have to be dead inside to not lose it when Manowar drop a supremely energetic Metal Daze/Dark Avenger back to back midway through the set, and likewise, surely even the most desperate eastern European metalhead would find it hard pressed to enjoy rubbish mid-era dross like Outlaw, the "bad hard rock but with lyrics about metal" of Metal Warriors, or to sit through one of DeMaio's rants, so on and so forth.

It's a pretty interesting watch this DVD- I don't mean the quality of the tunes, necessarily, just that it lends itself well to a whole bunch of vaguely autistic Manowar analysis. Certainly, it's hard not to feel a lot of regret that Ross the Boss left, as his rawer, sloppier approach to guitar is light years more entertaining than Logan's dry, mechanical, far-too-precise approach, and his tone is light years ahead as well. Joey has a really weird stage presence, the shittiest looking bass ever made, but is undeniably super necessary for the band. He's kinda like Lars Ulrich in that yeah, maybe he sucks a bit but he's as important to Manowar as Lars' kinda shit drumming is for Metallica. Battle Hymns with every ex Manowar guy on stage- a massive success, a surprisingly tight take on a classic... A masturbatory, vaguely lame take on a tune whereby 10 50-odd dads stand onstage and do a bunch of "dads living their wet dreams" dad things? Well, can it be both?

And that's the kicker I guess, because it kinda is both, but if you're not a cynical asshole you'll get a lot out of this. That's the gist of it really- are you a the kind of person that likes Radiohead and thinks too much about coffee, or are you a man of culture, and thus a Manowar fan? Call to Arms is, instrumentally, extremely boring, but with Adams' forceful, enthusiastic vocals and the band clearly enjoying themselves immensely it's impossible to deny. Hail and Kill is just immense heavy metal- most bands would kill to write a single song as good; Manowar have done maybe 10? and most of them are here at full force. The aforementioned Battle Hymns is brilliantly over the top and the long, super super drawn out coda would've been fantastic live, Blood of My Enemies etc etc etc.

It feel like it would serious effort for anyone - literally, anyone- to insist that they don't like any of this. There's a few utterly fantastic tunes, the whole band is in pretty good shape, the sound production is pretty killer, and whoever shot it did in a nicely over the top way that fits the music perfectly. Just skip whenever DeMaio talks and when they get the orchestra out. Easy! All up well worth anyone's time.

Ah yes, another home video release from the "metal kings" Manowar. This is a recording of their performance at the Earthshaker Fest in Germany. If you've ever watched or been at a Manowar concert, you understand what it's about. It has to be loud, bright, and loud. Did I mention it has to be loud up to Manowar standards? You get the point. This band likes it loud and if you're in the crowd, you've got no choice but to hear it that way.

The camera work is beyond fantastic here. Over 25 camera's exist, so you'll get many angles of the band performing, which is great. It's also in HD, if your picky on video quality, this also fills a void.Now, Manowar has decided to do something, that quite frankly, no other band has ever done before. Gathering former members to play on signature songs the performed on. Very interesting if you asked me. This band does things for there fans, they listen to them, and they deliver things that they want to see. The set list itself is typical Manowar.

They start of "Manowar," a fan favorite and played well here. "Son of Death" is a guitar solo from Karl Logan, and a dam good one at that, entertaining the crowd while the rest prepare for "Kings of Metal," which is one of the cheesiest songs ever, but the play it off well. "Sign of the Hammer" is one of the coolest tracks on this list, I've always considered it one of the bands best and I'm glad the play it here, it seems to be missing from modern set-list. Eric sings to the crowd and gets them fired up, he shows off why he's been the bands singer thoughout there existence. Next they play the "Hail to England" duo they normally perform, "Blood of my Enemies" and "Kill with Power." Eric sings with all he's got on these songs and does a fantastic job. After these two tracks, Joey DeMayo introduces the "Triumph of Steel" line-up. Now Karl Logan and Scott Columbus take they're seats and let these two show what they've got. It's not everyday you see a band and they're former members actually get along, and play on stage together! That's a feat I suppose Manowar owns single handily. David Shankle is a very solid player with tons of energy (an understatement), and Rhino seems like he hasn't missed a beat whatsoever. "Metal Warriors" and "The Glory of Achilles" are the two tracks played with this line-up. Manowar almost plays nothing from there 30 minute epic, so it's cool to dust of that song and play something from it. The next little set are both songs from Battle Hymns, but before those tracks Joey preaches a bit then introduces Ross the Boss and Donny Hamzik, both the drummer and guitarist from that album. "Metal Daze" and "Dark Avenger" are played. "Dark Avenger" is kind of a blah track, it's not the best, but "Metal Daze" kicks ass, very catchy and rarely played. Actually both songs aren't played much, so it also cool to see them here. Once these blocks of songs are completed, the current line-up comes out and performs staples like "Outlaw" and "House of Death." Two of the best Manowar tracks really.

"Herz Aus Stahl" is performed for the German crowd, and is truly a cool thing to do. They also use the orchestra they hired to their full potential here and on the next few tracks. Then Joey begins to rant about Wagner, telling the Germans they own Heavy metal (which to be honest is true). Then, the rejection Manowar got from Wagner's grandson. Now, the orchestra that Joey hired performs "Prelude to Act 3." This is a cool thing, but not really anything that enjoyable. It eventually molds into Manowar's newest track at the time "King of Kings" (which was in fact really one of the few good songs from that album "Gods of War"), the crowd eats it up and it should please you for sure. The last three songs with the current members are all played in style, "Warriors of the World," "Hail and Kill," and of course "Black Wind, Fire, and Steel." This would normally end a Manowar concert. However, that isn't the case. Manowar has a surprise in store for the fans. Remember those short, quick little showings from former members, well, they all return to play the epic track, Battle Hymns." This is a feat beyond recognition really. All three guitarist and all three drummers playing the same notes at the same time without really missing a note or beat. Every guitarist gets his shot at a solo here, which is awesome considering all of them have an immense amount of talent. What a way to end an already legendary concert.

Yes, this is a fantastic show, but your also greeted with a ton of extras. How the entire concert was all set up, interviews, guitar and drum clinics, random competitions, even a stage show. Everything you could possibly imagine is here. This dvd is defiantly worth the money you pay for it. No band puts together such a great package. Amazing visuals, great performance, fantastic bonus material, get this if your a Manowar fan. If you are a Manowar skeptic like me, this will keep you quiet throughout. Pick it up, highly recommended.

Manowar is a band known for putting on legendary live shows that literally shake the very ground they walk upon, and now the world has a chance to witness their awesome performance power. Back in 2005, the loudest band in the world arrived in Germany with a camera crew to tape their headlining performance at Earthshaker Fest. The appropriately titled “Absolute Power” captures Manowar’s sensational live show at Earthshaker Fest that was filmed with high quality equipment to produce the mother of all live DVDs.

The tracklist for this DVD is the most incredible live set a Manowar fan could ever imagine. Everything from "Sign Of The Hammer" to "The Crown And The Ring" is played on this monstrous disc, which is filled with twenty two different tracks from Manowar's lengthy catelog. The most surprising part of this DVD is when Manowar warmly welcomes former members to the stage to play songs like "Metal Warriors" and "Dark Avenger" for this great performance. An orchestra was also added to help enlighten several songs like "Herz Aus Stahl." The orchestra isn't a fantastic part of the show, but it does help maintain the live energy of some of these songs. Manowar manages to remain a true live powerhouse as guitarist Karl Logan nails every solo with ease and singer Eric Adams relentlessly hits incredibly high notes. In terms of live shows and music, this is the Valhalla of DVDs.

Even though the music and live presence of Manowar is great, there is one thing that remains untouchable here: the fans. I've watched several live DVDs before, and never have I seen a group of fans so loyal and excited to be at a live show. Not only do the several camera angles show Manowar's fans singing and moshing to their songs, Manowar constantly gets the crowd involved in songs as they stop and let the group of metalheads sing along to the tracks. I never really believed Manowar's rants about having the greatest fans in the world, but after viewing this DVD, it's clear Manowar has a unique bond with their fans that most other bands don't.

The bonus disc for Manowar's performance at Earthshaker Fest is a nice addition to the DVD package. The extra DVD contains information about the location of Manowar's show at Earthshaker, the sound and camera equipment used during the concert, footage of Manowar's rehearsal sessions that involved all the band's former and present members, and a massive documentary about Manowar's fan club convention. The fan club documentary shows a huge group of Manowar fans from all over the world gathering for a monstrous convention. The convention has everything from Viking battles to guitar lessons taught by Karl Logan. The bonus disc is a worthy addition to this fantastic DVD.

I honestly have never been this impressed by a live DVD before. This is essential Manowar fans and those who enjoy live DVDs.

This review was written for: http://www.Thrashpit.com