Hail To England - Manowar

Advantages: Simplistic and enjoyable classic heavy metal.
Disadvantages: Disappointing lack of progression after the previous album.

...3. Kill With Power 4. Hail to England 5. Army of Immortals 6. Black Arrows 7. Bridge of Death 'Blood of My Enemies' is the primary reason that I still bother with this album, as it's one of my favourite Manowar songs. Unlike the previous album, attention seems to have been made to keep the song lengths more acceptable, with the exception of the monster final track, and the shorter, edited style really works to keep this first song from becoming ...
...incessantly catchy, and Ross "The Boss" puts in some of his best guitar work in the album's trademark Viking song. 'Each Dawn I Die' is less impressive, and begins something of a slump, wrongly placed as a slow song at this early point to suck the energy from the great opener and remaining largely unmemorable even after several listens. The main riff is cool and clanky in the Manowar fashion, accompanied by DeMaio's bass which is more prominent on ... Read review

Advantages: Some of their best material.
Disadvantages: Some songs reveal the rushed production.

...The eighties were an incredible and stupid time, though my own memories are admittedly vague and mainly concern Postman Pat and fish paste sandwiches. Heavy metal bands wearing codpieces and singing about historical battles were unusually motivated in their craft, and most managed to consistently release a brand new studio album every single year while also managing to fit in a painstaking world tour to promote the last one. In 1984, Manowar served up two doses of overkill in the form of 'Hail to England' and its less well-known successor, 'Sign of the Hammer.' While the New Yorkers were obviously heavily driven that year to spread their message of the glory of Vikings and heavy metal, two releases in such a short space of time arouse fears that these records will favour quantity over quality. But could you really get enough Manowar... Read review

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