«Kings of Metal» is Manowar‘s sixth record. It came out on November 18, 1988 via Atlantic Records, was recorded at Universal Recording Studios in Chicago and runs 48 minutes. It’s the record that gave the band its most recognizable tracks and its first gold in Germany.
Country: USA
Genre: Heavy metal, power metal
For fans of: Black Sabbath, Saxon, Iron Maiden
In the 34 years that have passed, the album has reached 250,000 copies in Germany alone, with a gold award. In 2017 Loudwire placed it at number 13 on its list of the best power metal albums of all time, and in 2014 the band re-recorded it as «Kings of Metal MMXIV».
It’s the last record with founding guitarist Ross «The Boss» Friedman, who later returned to The Dictators. Scott Columbus left the band at that point, returned for «Louder Than Hell» in 1996 and stayed until 2008. Among the tracks are the title track «Kings of Metal», «Wheels of Fire», «Heart of Steel», «Hail and Kill» and the instrumental «Sting of the Bumblebee», an arrangement by Rimsky-Korsakov.
Our take
The record closes an entire era: it’s the last album with Friedman and at the same time the one that gave Manowar the anthems still sung today, almost four decades later.
See also
Manowar – Fighting the World · Manowar – The Triumph of Steel · Manowar – A tribute to the discography · Manowar and Hellfest 2019: The cancellation that became legend
