MANOWAR at Oslo Spektrum (Oslo, Norway)
February 22, 2023
by Jorge Patacas
The metal legends Manowar returned to Norway four years after their last tour where they had played in cities like Hamar, Stavanger, Bergen and even Longyearbyen, Svalbard (check out a documentary about it here), but not in Oslo. This time, their only show in the country was in the capital city in a really good venue called Oslo Spektrum located in downtown and it was very special because they were celebrating over forty years as a band as well as anniversaries of eight of the band’s most celebrated studio albums including “Battle Hymns” (1982), “Into Glory Ride” (1983), “Kings Of Metal” (1988), “The Triumph Of Steel” (1992) and “Warriors Of The World” (2002).
But also the band has a new lineup now. In addition to the original members, Eric Adams (vocals) and Joey DeMaio (bass), drummer Dave Chedrick and guitar virtuoso Michael Angelo Batio joined last year, so there were high expectations to see them in action.
With no opening acts and an impressive stage design, the band went on stage at 19:30 with the song “Manowar” from their debut album “Battle Hymns” to the delight of the fans of all ages who were eager to see the legendary Americans. Classics like “Kings of Metal” and the catchy “Fighting the World” with its great riffs followed, while some in the crowd attempted to take photos and videos, but due to the strict policy of the band, they were asked to put their phones down by the security guys.
“Holy War” from the “Fighting the World” album (1987) was the next one before the vocalist Eric Adams addressed the audience for the first time talking about their successful last tour in the country and how cold it was up in the north. After cheering from the crowd, he introduced then a new song called “Immortal” from their latest EP “Highlights from the Revenge of Odysseus” released last year. They got a good response on that one, but the highlights definitely came later with “Heart of Steel” where Adams vocals stood out incredibly despite the fact that he is already 68 years old, and then the metal anthem “Warriors of the World United” whose chorus was sung along by everyone!
After a guitar and bass duet by Batio and DeMaio, they continued with the celebrated “Hail and Kill” while the cover art of “The Triumph of Steel” album now served as the stage backdrop. The band was in a great mood interacting with the fans (the Manowarriors as they call them) creating an incredible atmosphere.
“King of Kings”, “The Power” and “Fight Until We Die” were performed before they left the stage for the first time. An eagle similar to the one in the “Battle Hymns” album cover appeared behind the drum kit covering the backdrop when DeMaio returned to the stage to speak to the audience. He made some jokes and tried to speak Norwegian thanking everyone for over forty years of support. Then the other members joined for the encore which consisted of “Battle Hymn” and “Black Wind, Fire and Steel”. After 1 hour and 45 minutes, the band put an end to a great heavy metal evening where they promised to return. The Manowarriors will be waiting to hail and kill once again!
Note: This review has no photos due to band’s policy mentioned above.
