• Voto:
Si può idealmente dividere in due parti abbastanza distinte la discografia dei Manowar. Da una parte il l'oscuro Epic Metal degli esordi, dall'altra l'Heavy Metal del successo, molto più assimilabile .
"Sign Of The Hammer" esce nel 1984, dopo "Hail To England" e prima di "Fighting The World", e si colloca quindi tra i due estremi. La produzione, come sempre è stato nei primi lavori dei Manowar, è piuttosto approssimativa, ma a mio parere non riesce a intaccare minimamente questo capolavoro, come non ci riescono i primi due brani, veri e propri fillers.
Il primo, "All Men Play On Ten" è un'inno alla label del momento, la 10 records, e al non abbassarsi a un livello più commerciale per vendere di più, cosa che comunque i quattro Kings faranno poi con "Fighting The World", poco tempo dopo, mentre il secondo, "Animals", è un'altro inno, stavolta alla vita selvaggia, di cui penso nessuno sentisse il bisogno. Superato lo scoglio di due tracce non proprio esaltanti, inizia lo spettacolo e arriva "Thor (The Powerhead)", dove De Maio si ispira nel testo alla mitologia nordica, tema sicuramente ricorrente nel Metal, e nell' Epic in particolare. Thor combatte i giganti in quella che sembra essere la battaglia finale dove, secondo la mitologia nordica, gli Dei troveranno la morte e dove il mondo avrà fine, il Ragnarok. Adams fa sfoggio di una prova vocale e interpretativa a dir poco impressionante, che culmina in un acuto finale di ben 31 secondi, che rappresenta probabilmente l'urlo di morte del dio.
"Mountains" è una ballad maestosa, caratterizzata da diversi cambi di ritmo, da un atmosferico lento al mid-tempo fino alla marcia. Adams dimostra di avere anche una bella voce calda, oltre che dei bei polmoni, e anche qui dà al brano un'ottima interpretazione. Un tuono seguito dal basso di De Maio e da un urlo di Adams introduce la title-track, una cavalcata caratterizzata da un chorus che pur essendo piuttosto semplice resta tra i più belli mai scritti dalla band, dove le tastiere disegnano un coro che dona una carica e un'epicità incredibili al tutto.
Dopo la cavalcata si continua a accellerare con "The Oath", brano di ottimo speed metal americano, forse un po' meno drammatico e epico delle tre precedenti tracce, ma comunque molto trascinante, con un ottimo screaming di Adams. La seguente "Thunderpick" è il solito assolo di basso di De Maio, e dà uno stop deciso alla velocità frenetica di "The Oath", fungendo se cosi si può dire da intermezzo, una breve pausa dove si può prendere fiato prima del gran finale, "Guyana ( Cult Of The Damned)". Quest'ultimo brano, il vero capolavoro dell'album, parla del suicidio di massa della setta del reverendo Jim Jones, nel 1978: convinto che la fine del mondo fosse vicina, o semplicemente voglioso di testare il suo carisma sulle masse, il reverendo Jim Joenes ordinò ai 911 membri della sua setta, riuniti nel santuario di Guyana nelle foreste del Sud America, il suicidio, che avvenne tramite la bevuta di un intruglio a base di cianuro. E non solo adulti consezienti col cervello lavato dalla suadente voce del reverendo, ma anche bambini ricevettero l'intruglio, e ne morirono a loro volta. La mesta marcia finale, aperta da un arpeggio di basso, condita da chorus drammatici e effetti di tastiera lugubri, cala perfettamente nei panni di un adepto sul punto di eseguire l'ultimo macabro ordine, e riesce a far rabbrividire rendendo perfettamente l'idea dell'orrore di quei fatti, grazie soprattutto al solito ispiratissimo Adams, che interpreta il ruolo dell'adepto, e al testo, che, c'è da dirlo, è davvero bellissimo e quasi commovente.
In conclusione "Sign Of The Hammer" rappresenta la fine di un'era per i Manowar, ma anche la sua massima espressione. La band ha raggiunto un alto livello di maturazione, lo dimostra il mix di pezzi lenti e veloci che caratterizza il lavoro e che riesce a non scadere mai nella banalità.
Un album consigliato agli amanti dei suoni più classici dell'epic e dell'heavy metal, ma che potrebbe risultare poco accessibile ai neofiti del genere e della band.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 All Men Play on 10 (04:01)
Original lyrics
I made a rock'n'roll sin
When I tried givin in to
Make money had to turn down low.
They said, "why be proud, don't play so loud,
Be like us and get a sound that's real thin.
Wear a polyester suit, act happy look cute,
Get a haircut and buy small gear"
That's when I turned to them and said,
"hold it, right there!"
Well it's more to me than just a job,
And while I'm playin' you won't get robbed.
Nobody tells a man how to play,
It just ain't that way hey, hey, hey,
Can you hear me say...
All men play on ten,
Never gonna turn down again.
All men play on ten,
Never gonna turn down.
I'm jet fuel honey, plug me into 220
Step back and let my fingers fly
While I'm burning up my gear
There's a fire in your ear
That won't stop until the day you die.
I really put it to the floor when I hear the crowd roar
Oh it's music to my ears when they scream
Then I run back to the power rack
And deck all of my gear.
Well it's more to me than just a job,
And while I'm playin' you won't get robbed.
Nobody tells a man how to play,
It just ain't that way hey, hey, hey,
Can you hear me say...
02 Animals (03:33)
Hear The Call Of The Wild In Us All
It Waits For The Night To Fall
I'm Getting Hot, I'm Ready For The Night
No Holdin' Back, Let's Ball
I'm Gonna Give All You Can Take All Night
And Leave You In The Morning Feeling Right
I'm An Animal, There's An Animal In Me
Gonna Set It Free
I'm An Animal, There's An Animal In Me
Gonna Set It Free
I've Been Looking, You've Been Watching From The Side
There's Something You Just Can't Hide
Oh, Your Getting Wet, Your Working Up A Sweat
Your Hairs Standing Up On End
Your Skin Is Screaming, Glad We Met?
Tonight's One Night You Won't Forget
I'm An Animal, There's An Animal In Me
Gonna Set It Free
I'm An Animal, There's An Animal In Me
Gonna Set It Free
03 Thor (The Powerhead) (05:23)
Black Clouds On The Horizon
Great Thunder And Burning Rain
His Chariot Pounding, I Heard The Heavens Scream His Name
I Watched As He Shouted
To The Giants who Died That Day
He Held Up His Hammer High
And Called To Odin For A Sign
Thor The Mighty, Thor The Brave
Crush The Infidels In Your Way
By Your Hammer Let None Be Saved
Live To Die On That Final Day
Gods, Monsters And Men
Will Die Together In The End
God Of Thunder, God Of Rain
Earth Shaker Who Feels No Pain
The Powerhead Of The Universe
Now Send Your Never Ending Curse
I Watched As He Shouted
To The Giants Who Died That Day
He Held Up His Hammer High And Called To Odin For A Sign
Thor The Mighty, Thor The Brave
Crush The Infidels In Your Way
By Your Hammer Let None Be Saved
Live To Die On That Final Day
Gods, Monsters And Men
Will Die Together In The End
Swing Your Hammer To Crack The Sky
Lift Your Cape So That You Might Fly
Back To Odin And The Gods On High
And Leave This Mortal World
Thor The Mighty, Thor The Brave
Crush The Infidels In Your Way
By Your Hammer Let None Be Saved
Live To Die On That Final Day
Gods, Monsters And Men
Will Die Together In The End
04 Mountains (07:39)
So Tall, Silent Against The Sky
Up Through The Clouds Where Eagles Fly
Wind And Rain Beat Down On One So Strong
They Cut But Never Change, What Stood So Long
Tall As A Mountain, I'm Gonna Tear Through The Sky
Life's For The Takin'
Like A Man Is A Mountainside
Greatness Waits For Those Who Try
None Can Teach You, It's All Inside
Just Climb
I Am In The Ground, I Am In The Air, I Am All
I Live In The Hearts Of All Men
I Am The Call To Greatness
Not All Can Hear
I Awaken The Creator, In Those Who Dare
And The Day Will Come, When We All Must Die
And Enter The Mountainside
Tall As A Mountain, I'm Gonna Tear Through The Sky
Life's For The Takin'
Like A Man Is A Mountainside
Greatness Waits For Those Who Try
None Can Teach You, It's All Inside
Just Climb
I Have No Fear
Death And Glory
Both Draw Near
Like A Man Is A Mountainside
Greatness Waits For Those Who Try
None Can Teach You, It's All Inside
Just Climb
05 Sign of the Hammer (04:18)
The Spell Has Been Broken, The Curse Has Been Lifted
Black Is The Wind On The Heels Of The Gifted
Four Sworn To Vengeance, See The Hate In Our Eyes
Called By The Gods And Given A Sign
Onward Pounding Into Glory Ride
Sign Of The Hammer, Be My Guide
Final Warning All Stand Aside
Sign Of The Hammer, It's My Time
Pounding, Pounding, We Are Back From The Dead
Those Who Denied Us Are Delivered Instead
Into The Hands Of Four Sworn To Ride
Now The People Will Triumph And Live By The Sign
Onward Pounding Into Glory Ride
Sign Of The Hammer, Be My Guide
Final Warning All Stand Aside
Sign Of The Hammer, It's My Time
The Spell Has Been Broken, The Curse Has Been Lifted
Black Is The Wind On The Heels Of The Gifted
Four Sworn To Vengeance, See The Hate In Our Eyes
Called By The Gods And Given A Sign
Onward Pounding Into Glory Ride
Sign Of The Hammer, Be My Guide
Final Warning All Stand Aside
Old Men And Young Boys, It's My Time
Sign Of The Hammer, Be My Guide
Sign Of The Hammer, It's My Time
06 The Oath (04:54)
Burning Embers Of The Second Death Will Come In The Night
Priests And Kings, The Alpha And Omega, Poison Bites
False Prophets And Deceivers, Swing From The Trees
Now. Dawn The Age Of Birds
Drunk With Blood, Like Lepers With Disease
Lord Of The Sky, Mercury The Guide
Lord Of The Underworld, I Swear The Sacred Rite
I Will Crucify, Slay Them With Their Tribe
Hear My War Cry
They'll Find No Sanctuary Hidden In Their Ancestral Halls
Let Loose The Knot That Binds
The Spirit And Flesh, Let It Fall
For Only Courage And Heroism Linger After Death
So, Hold Fast Thy Sword, Rejecting Pain, Feel The Dragons
Breath
Lord Of The Sky, Mercury The Guide
Lord Of The Underworld, I Swear The Sacred Rite
I Will Crucify, Slay Them With Their Tribe
Hear My War Cry
I've Sworn The Oath
I've Sworn The Oath
I've Sworn The Oath
Lord Of The Sky, Mercury The Guide
Lord Of The Underworld, I Swear The Sacred Rite
I Will Crucify, Slay Them With Their Tribe
Hear My War Cry
Burning Embers Of The Second Death Will Come In The Night
Priests And Kings, The Alpha And Omega, Poison Bites
False Prophets And Deceivers, Swing From The Trees
Now. Dawn The Age Of Birds
Drunk With Blood, Like Lepers With Disease
Lord Of The Sky, Mercury The Guide
Lord Of The Underworld, I Swear The Sacred Rite
I Will Crucify, Slay Them With Their Tribe
Hear My War Cry
I've Sworn The Oath
I've Sworn The Oath
I've Sworn The Oath
08 Guyana (Cult of the Damned) (07:10)
We thank you for the cool aid, reverend jim
We're glad to leave behind their world of sin
Our lifeless bodies fall on holy ground
Rotting flesh, a sacrificial mound
Were you our God or a man in a play
Who took our applause and forced us to stay
Now all together we lived as we died
On your command by your side
Guyana in the cult of the damned
Give us your word for the grand final stand
Guyana in the cult of the damned
Give us your word for the grand final stand
In the cult of the damned we all worked the land
Too afraid to look up we all feared his hand
Hurry my children there isn't much time
But we'll meet again on the other side
Be good to the children and old people first
Hand them a drink they're dying of thirst
Bigfoot bigfoot thrown in a well
Pulled under water screaming like hell
He told us life was just a hotel
Time to check out when he rang the bell
Mother, mother
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