Manowar Concerts Setlist

Manowar is an American heavy metal band. They were formed in 1980 in Auburn, New York. The founding members were bassist Joey DeMaio (born in 1954 in Auburn, New York) and guitarist Ross “the Boss” Friedman (1954, New York City, New York).

DeMaio and Friedman met while both working in the background for the legendary British metal band Black Sabbath’s 1980-1981 tour. DeMaio was doing bass tech and pyro effects for them, while Friedman played the guitar in their back-up band. The two bonded over their similar taste in music, and eventually decided to form a new band. They met up in DeMaio’s hometown of Auburn, and hired drummer Donnie Hamzik and singer Eric Adams, DeMaio’s childhood friend, to form the original line-up of "Manowar". The word “man-of-war” was military jargon for a 16th-century warship. However, according to founder DeMaio, the band’s name is a portmanteau word made up of the words “mannish” and “war”.

They produced a demo tape, which turned out so great that it immediately landed them a contract with the label Liberty Records, who immediately started the production of their debut album. That record, “Battle Hymns” came out in June 1982. While it failed to become a major commercial hit, the band did get to go on their first Manowar concert tour promoting it, opening for rock star Ted Nugent.

In 1983, Manowar and their label agreed to a deal with another label, Megaforce Record - the Manowar members signed the contract with their blood, as a statement against the music industry they felt slighted by, accoring to an interview Friedman gave to a YouTuber decades later.

The superstitious stunt somewhat worked, as the band found its dedicated core audience that supported them and “kept them in business” over the years. Interestingly, they were mainly from Europe, and not from Manowar’s home country of the United States. No Manowar record has ever entered the Billboard 200 chart in America (two have entered Billboard’s Independent Albums chart: "Warriors Of The World" from 2002 peaked at #42 and “Gods Of War” from 2007 peaked at #47). However, the band's albums have charted in countries like Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Overall, Manowar has put out a total of 11 studio albums over their careers. The best selling one among them is “The Triumph of Steel” from 1992, which sold around 300,000 copies worldwide. Meanwhile, the latest new Manowar album is “The Lord of Steel”, released in June 2012.

The biggest hits in the Manowar setlist to date are “Heart of Steel” (1988), “Fight For Freedom” (2002), and “Warriors of the World United” (also 2002). The band’s current line-up is made up of co-founder and bassist DeMaio, as well as lead singer Eric Adams, guitarist Michael Angelo Batio, and drummer Dave Chedrick. The band holds the record for the longest heavy metal concert ever held, with a 2008 Manowar concert in Bulgaria lasting 5 hours and 1 minute.