New Metal Leader

A good 20 years after the original 6-string lord of the 4 winds retired from Manowar, there was a sudden rekindled interest in cutting down all of the poseurs, culminating in a tribute band turned full time new project. Arising from such circumstances, one can naturally expect a similar barrage to what the New York based originals were known for, expectations thus corresponding to one's enjoyment of albums such as "Battle Hymns" and "Fighting The World". These expectations prove to be true, though the quality of the final product proves to be a cut above the bloated, overly ambitious character of the contemporary Manowar offering "Gods Of War", as well as a somewhat more NWOBHM oriented twist on the original.

The bulk of this album walks a thin line between the epic heroism and rudimentary heavy metal formula of the early days, as well as the somewhat more posh and commercial character of the latter 80s work heard on "Fighting The World" and "Kings Of Metal". Bringing up the epic side of the coin with a thudding riff set and a majestic mix of keyboards and vocal harmonies is the fist pumping "I Got The Right", listening along somewhat similar lines to the coasting landscapes of "Battle Hymns" and maybe just a slight hint of Bathory's "Hammerheart". Likewise, the old school speed metal mayhem comes alive with crunchy cookers like "Death & Glory" and "Blood Of Knives", the former becoming somewhat reminiscent of the gritty, rock based character of Motorhead's early 80s speeders, while the latter smashes the skull with more of a hook-driven character ala Saxon.

As stated previously, while this album does carry a good deal of similarities with Ross' earlier past exploits, there are times when things take on more of a mainline NWOBHM feel. Part of this can be attributed to vocalist Patrick Fuchs' sleazy vocal croon, which is much more in line with Billy Byford than that of Eric Adams' blustering shouts and lion roars. Nevertheless, a quick listen to "Plague Of Lies" and "May The Gods Be With You" will reveal something that is quite rocking and bluesy in character, much more so than even the radio-oriented material on "Fighting The World". These songs are outwardly catchy in a way that is much more indicative of early Tygers Of Pan Tang works, touched up just a bit by present production practices, but still inviting one to party like its 1981 in a manner even more obviously than the steel clad cliches of Hammerfall.

While definitely not something that can touch the sheer intensity of the earliest Manowar albums, fans of said band as well as the bulk of the general early metal crowd will find quite a treat here. Ross' guitar work has lost none of its edge since he first ripped out that feat of sheer genius that became the guitar solo of the "Battle Hymns" title song, and the whole of this album definitely showcases a level of versatility and growth that will keep things interesting after several listens. If anything, it's biggest flaw is probably the heavy level of early rock influences that seep into several of the songs in a fashion not all that different from Saxon's past few albums, but most who remember the shorter songs found in Manowar's early archives will note a similar trend, though much more rugged and dirty in demeanor. Raise the hammer for the metal kings once more, for their former brother is back on the battlefield.

Looking back on Manowar’s biography, it seems Ross Friedman (frequently dubbed “The Boss”) was the only member that departed and actually contributed concrete substance to the band other than metal clichés and homoerotic man-tits before he turned in his wheel of cheese at the crack of 1988. He (“The Boss”) formed and joined old and new projects alike, with his kinda-solo project, Ross the Boss, being on the high-end of his post-Manoboob career. I guess “New Metal Leader” is a bit nostalgic in a lot of ways despite the newborn-status of this faction, because you can call this album “Nu Metal Leader” if it isn’t the most metallic thing Ross has done in years. All in all, “New Metal Leader” accurately provides a handful of classic heavy/power metal tunes just as you’d expect, minus the man-tits, thankfully.

Think of this project as a Ripper-movement in reverse: four guys from a Manowar tribute band jammed with Ross, and then a child was born with sword in hand and fifteen-inch biceps. I guess this return (I can call it that, right?) to metal for Friedman is about as good as it’ll ever get based on his various abilities: his riffs are an excellent concoction of speed and heaviness with enough fast and mid-paced material to please any metalhead, the songs are masterfully written, and his solos are absolutely blazing and fun. The group’s identity is what you’d expect: slaying heavy/power metal. Obviously, the record has an overt Manowar vibe to it, but also a smudge of hard rock influence with all that meaty heaviness; it’s quite an interesting mixture, albeit a great one.

I also have to say Patrick Fuchs is one of the most surprising singers in metal, although you’ve probably never heard of him unless you already jumped the gun and bought yourself a copy of “New Metal Leader.” You could say his performance is fantastic, but it’s the originality in his voice that makes him a great fit for Ross’ style. His mega-high falsetto, however, kind of derails his usual glory because he sounds like a soon-to-be-adolescent getting kicked in the nuts, but it isn’t anything to worry about overall; he’s a great vocalist at day’s end. Everything else? Well, it’s just good heavy metal. I get a tingling sense that a lot of this album is just straight-up fun without a single thing to prove or redefine. Metallica put it best: nothing else matters.

My choice cuts are definitely “Death & Glory” and “Matador,” with the former representing power metal at its finest and the later giving a menacing edge to mid-paced catchiness; overall, two fantastic pieces that deserve a solid mention. “New Metal Leader,” though, is a clear rival that easily matches, if not surpasses, the current beef you’d expect to taste after Friedman put in his resignation notice with Manowar. That’s pretty damn impressive for a tribute band that luckily caught some lightning. Overall, this is far from special or mandatory, but it certainly deserves a shout-out for being consistent, fun, catchy, and metallic to the bone.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com

There is a certain time and a place that would be most beneficial for listening to particular bands and albums and the same could be said for reviewing them. The feel of Heavy Metal Pride™ contained within "New Metal Leader" is so exuberant and damn glorious that really I am doing it a disservice sat at home on a Sunday night reviewing it; of course I should be sat in a field in a town called Wacken blasting it to all passers-by and judging it's mark on the number of comments and devil horns flashed by passers-by. "New Metal Leader" is a summer Metal album - it is happy, it is proud and it makes the Metal in every Metalhead want to stand up and be acknowledged for what it is. Oh, and have I also mentioned this is the solo (?) band of ex-Manowar axe-wielder Ross "The Boss" Friedman, hence extra reason for wishing to blast it in the Metal Holy Land.

Quite what ol' Rossy has been doing since he left those shitheads in Manowar (before you write in to complain, I LOVE Manowar, I'm just speaking the truth) in 1988 is anyone's guess but "New Metal Leader" pretty much carries on from where he left following his departure after "Kings of Metal", the album that probably holds no.1 spot as my favourite Metal album, ever. Here we have the big chorusses, the Metal-soaked riffs that only certified Kings of Metal hold the appropriate licenses to play, and of course songs about strength, glory and killing (poseurs....probably). As much as the obvious Manowar feel is that of their Swedish equivalents Hammerfall, most notably in the vocal department where Patrick Fuchs puts in a commanding performance despite at times sounding like he has his balls in the proverbial clamp. "Plague Of Lies" delivers on solos so Metal your identikit Metalcore band will have to revise what is was they thought they were getting themselves into when they discovered Metal 3 weeks ago. "God Of Dying" has nailed the "The Crown And The Ring" ("Kings Of Metal") epic-synth to a tee, so much so that it could be a carbon copy, but frankly I don't care ‘cos that song is the best of the bunch here. "May The Gods Be With You" is camp-cheese extraordinaire not much beyond Bon Jovi in every department, so a future German classic it most certainly is. "Constantine's Sword" begins with THE same riff as a Marilyn Manson song, "The Beautiful People" I believe, surely something the self-appointed Kings of Metal would not approve of, but then they did cover an Elvis tune not so long ago, so tough luck guys. "Blood Of Knives" quite simply makes me want to hear it in the settings of the Metal club/karaoke at Wacken, surrounded by Metal, beer and more Metal. Explaining it's individual positives is pointless as Ross The Boss have intended this as the opener proper and therefore every box for a classic Heavy/Power Metal tune is ticked, then bolded, and finally underlined for good measure.

For better or for worse Manowar have long left this territory of rampaging glorious denunciation to Metal, leaving a gap that Hammerfall have exploited and Ross The Boss are now aiming to get a piece of. I'm not usually one for being kind to Heavy/Power Metal but I simply cannot dislike "New Metal Leader", something so heavy in it's Manowar-isms, for every Metalhead needs some cheese in their diet. Perhaps the album Manowar should've released instead of the overweight pompous "Gods Of War", Ross The Boss have delivered an album that could in time see them rise to the level of new Metal leaders, at least in Germany. Listen, drink, enjoy.

Originally written for Rockfreaks.net

I’ll be honest here, I absolutely hate reading promo sheets, and not in the sense that you think. I do actually find myself reading them all the time, I just dislike reading them before I do a review, because I feel that any knowledge about a band beyond the music taints the review. I did my best to resist this time, however I did find out that “New Metal Leader” is a solo album from an original member of Manowar. What I didn’t know was that the band name isn’t actually a band name at all, as the former Manowar guitarist actually goes by Ross the Boss.

Considering how over-the-top Manowar is (and often laughably so, but don’t worry guys, we’re laughing with you, not at you), “New Metal Leader” is a picture perfect portrait of metal making its transition from rock into early 80’s heavy metal, with soaring power metal vocals. There’s keyboards here and there with choirs, but they blend in so well you don’t really notice. What you would notice is the flamenco guitar near the end of the song “Matador”, which was a welcome addition to this traditional style of metal.

In order to make a retro album work though, a band needs a near perfect execution, hooks and passion, which “New Metal Leader” has plenty of. Catchy crunchy guitar riffs, and instrumentation played with such conviction that force is exerted through the record all topped off with soaring, wavering vocals singing about such subjects as swords and glory. The vocals and lyrics both have a tendency to wallow in the cliche, as the vocals warble in such perfect pitch and time that they’re almost more robotic than human, and the lyrical standpoint is both cliche while being put out as serious. Somehow the feeling comes out that this band can’t really laugh about themselves, which actually pulls the emotional impact of the recording down. Think about it - if you were to see Ross the Boss in concert, you’d expect people dressed up like Vikings with plastic axes and swords. While the large majority of the audience might not get dressed up so much, it’s part of the charm and the fun. If this could've gotten a chuckle out of me, it would've been an album to reach out to many fans in metal, especially the new ones.

Originally posted at www.waytooloud.com

Just like his successor in Manowar, David Shankle, Ross the Boss spent most of the 90s out of the metal scene and has now, a few years after Shankle, also made his return in the form of a self-titled band. The similarities end there, however. While Shankle spent his time away from metal bands refining his neo-classical shredding to an utterly absurd level of technicality, Ross was back playing in punk and hard rock outfits, apparently a lost cause.

Now, after a couple of brief onstage reunions with Manowar and a return to somewhat heavier climes in Brain Surgeons, he has issued a solo CD that sees him returning to his roots with an unexpected bang. Having always been one of the great underrated guitarists, the quality of his playing was never going to be in question, but it remained to be seen how good a batch of metal songs he could pen, especially after so long out of the game.

Having always been a secondary songwriter in Manowar after Joey DeMaio, it was always going to be interesting to hear the results of Ross penning a full CD on his own. The songs he has written (2 of which originally appeared on the most recent Brain Surgeons CD) have turned out to be a mix of rock-hard 80s metal with the odd bit of classic rock here and there. In fact, some may find a few of the cuts just a little too close to existing Manowar songs for comfort – the classic rock riff opening "Plague of lies" is very reminiscent of "Shell shock" and the centrepiece epic "God of dying" sounds, right down to the plucked bass intro, like an attempt to redo the classic "Battle hymn".

This lack of originality shouldn't be confused with a lack of quality however, as 'New metal leader' is packed with classy traditional metal efforts from start to finish, and the familiar-sounding songs are among the best. A few weaker moments along the way lower the quality overall, but as both a debut and a comeback CD it is a resounding success.

The band surrounding Ross are a trio of experienced German power metal musicians, and their instrumental talents should come as no surprise when it is considered that they played together in a Manowar tribute act with the guitarist before being upgraded to a proper band. Vocalist Patrick Fuchs is perhaps a slightly weak link - he certainly has a sturdy set of pipes and generally does a very good job on 'New metal leader', but on a few occasions his lack of range becomes a little apparent. His performance on "Constantine's sword", for instance, deflates the song a little – he is clearly trying to attempt a slightly different vocal style, but ends up just coming across as a little nasally and brings down what is an otherwise excellent cut.

The most unusual song on the CD, hands down, is "May the gods be with you", which, were it not for the distortion and gruff vocals, could be mistaken for something from Poison's early catalogue. I can only envisage the spontaneous vomiting that last sentence must have triggered in the more staunch true metal purists, but as a silly 80s rock song it is pretty entertaining if you have a tolerance for that sort of thing.

The rest of the CD is made of altogether tougher stuff, though. "Matador", brimming with exquisite solos, is built on the foundation of a pummelling main riff, while "We will kill" (with power, presumably) and "I got the right" are typically full-blooded metal anthems. For the speed freaks out there, the rampaging "Death & glory" should provide enough of a fix to hold them over for a CD that is mostly made up of heavy, midtempo numbers.

Ultimately, 'New metal leader' is, warts and all, an outstanding comeback from an often-overlooked legend. Walking over the top of both 'Gods of war' and DSG's 'Ashes to ashes' with ease, this could be just the thing Manowar fans sick of symphonic blare and neo-classical noodling are looking for. Joey DeMaio hasn't been writing this is the sort of music for nearly 25 years now, and Ross the Boss and his cohorts are more than welcome to it if they can keep the level of quality as high they the marker they have set with their debut.

(Originally written for http://www.metalcdratings.com/)

The news about the forthcoming release of this album filled up the houses of the most defenders with the noise of a thousand fireworks: it's been since 1988 that the fans of Manowar have been pretending the return of Ross, without whom the NY band would have lost part of the original class – even if in my opinion Karl Logan is much more deleterious than Ross was fundamental, seen the high quality of the album played with David Shankle at the guitar.

Actually the so long awaited reunion does not seem will happen soon, but it's undeniable lately Ross's interest for heavy metal has been increasing by far, first with some appearances with Manowar on stage, then with the decision to recruit former Men Of War (a German cover band made of members of Ivory Night and Divinus who are still thanking their God for the received grace) to form the Ross The Boss Band.

The written songs with the new group are all the fans of Manowar may expect from him, ten songs of classic American heavy metal with strong epic shades, that recall th style of “Fighting The World” and “Kings Of Metal” (but often very close to some other American power metal hero, like Jag Panzer), and then with little room for the doomish moods of the “Into Glory We Ride” / “Hail To England” / “Sign Of The Hammer” period, and with little concessions to some more r'n'r composition (the nice “May The Gods Be With You”, “Plague Of Lies”).

Unavoidable to compare it with Manowar latest albums: and we can fiercely say that, apart from “Triumph Of Steel”, this “New Metal Leader” absolutely stands all the written stuff by Manowar with Karl Logan. There aren't those moments of huge inspiration that Joey DeMaio can still give occasionally, but it's undoubted that “New Metal Leader” is much more various rhythmically and much better arranged than the albums of the former mates without him.

Sure, at times there's something which is too close to his past (the starting guitar line of “I Got The Right” is similar to “Hail And Kill”, the bridge of the final “Immortal Son” is close to “Battle Hymns”, though these two tracks are very nice), but it was unavoidable some little deja-vu effect to appear, and we might expect for much worse.

And the lyrics? Don't expect too much, the clichés are always the same, but there's some surprising class-filled moment, like for example “Constantines Sword”, not an exceptional track but with an interesting lyric about the totalitarian/religious coup d'etat by the first Roman emperor to turn Christianity into the official state religion. Truly nothing bad for a musician that in the latest twenty years dedicated more to his juvenile passion – punk rock music – than to wearing leather clothes.

Originally written for Silent Scream http://www.silentscreamzine.com/Home.asp?Lang=ENG