«Into Glory Ride» is Manowar‘s second record. It came out on July 1, 1983 via Megaforce Records and Music for Nations, was recorded at Music America Studios in Rochester, New York and is the band’s first record with Scott Columbus on drums.
Country: USA
Genre: Heavy metal, power metal
For fans of: Black Sabbath, Saxon, Iron Maiden
The first album had left the band without a label: Liberty and manager Bill Aucoin let them go over the negative press and marketing problems, with DeMaio calling them «idiots» and saying that for a while Manowar were «unsigned». At Megaforce they signed a contract written in their own blood — which made the cover of the British press and a front page in the July-August 1983 issue — and from this period the phrase «death to false metal» became established. In the record’s notes the band speaks of its return after the «swindlers» who had left it for dead.
The album’s title is a reference to a line in the title track of «Battle Hymns», while «Gloves of Metal» brought to the fore the themes that would follow the band for decades: fantasy, war stories and swords. The reviews were mixed but positive, with several considering the record a point of evolution for their music and important for the course of power metal. Friedman, for his part, has said that as a lover of history he was drawn to the Vikings and ancient Greece.
Our take
Here the band learned not to wait for anyone’s approval: the sound gets heavier, the arrangements grow and Columbus gives the drums a weight that will become recognizable on the next albums.
See also
Manowar – Battle Hymns · Manowar – Hail to England · Manowar – A tribute to the discography · Manowar and Hellfest 2019: The cancellation that became legend
