«Gods of War» is Manowar‘s tenth record. It came out on February 23, 2007 via Magic Circle Music, produced by Joey DeMaio, and runs 73 minutes — their longest album along with «The Triumph of Steel».
Country: USA
Genre: Heavy metal, symphonic power metal
For fans of: Black Sabbath, Saxon, Iron Maiden
It’s a concept album around Odin, the king of the gods and the main god of war in Norse mythology. It was designed as the first in a series of records dedicated to gods of war from different mythologies, but the ones that followed never came out. The album booklet contains texts written in the runic alphabet, while its relationship to Richard Wagner’s «Der Ring des Nibelungen» tetralogy is deliberate, as DeMaio’s interviews also show.
The music has a strong symphonic presence, with keys, choirs and orchestra, and the cover art is again by Ken Kelly. It’s the last studio record with drummer Scott Columbus, who died in 2011. Among the tracks, «Sleipnir», «The Blood of Odin», «The Sons of Odin», «Overture to Odin» and the title track «Gods of War» stand out.
Our take
It’s a record that asks for patience: long running time, narration, orchestras and an idea that was never completed. Those who entered the story, though, found the band’s most ambitious work after 1992.
See also
Manowar – Warriors of the World · Manowar – The Lord of Steel · Manowar – A tribute to the discography · Manowar and Hellfest 2019: The cancellation that became legend
