Hi Eric. I am representing metalgospel.com in this interview. I suppose I was picked to do this because I am such a big MANOWAR fan. I jumped at the chance. I know you have been doing these all day so I'll try to make this as painless for you as possible.

Hey Peter, that's cool. I'm sorry you had to wait a few minutes but I'm ready now. I don't view these interviews as a chore, I like doing them!

OK, I prepared some questions so lets go…

The new album is at #1 in the German metal charts. I have had the album since early June and was wondering about the sequence of tracks. How did the sequence come about?

Yeah, the album is doing great in Germany! The sequence is different than usual. We tried to simulate the order of a live performance. We always start with a bang and then slow things down. Then we end with lots of power and a bang bang bang end. We know that no other band would do this kind of thing and we are pleased with the way it came out.

I sense a very US patriotic theme running through the album from cover art, American trilogy, and Fight for Freedom. How much did the events of 9/11 affect you and the band?

Sorry, brother, but most of the tracks were written and recorded before 9/11. We polished it after that. Fight for Freedom is dedicated to the victims of 9/11. I was in Manhattan for a promotion on that day and man it was tragic. It was devastating, just devastating for me. But, what are you going to do?

I noticed that the German flag was the second largest flag on the cover:

Yeah, well, Germany is our strongest nation so it is intentionally on there in that way.

The band has been consistent over the years but has also changed style somewhat. In particular I sensed a style change between Kings of Metal and Triumph of Steel. Does this have to do with the change of guitarists?

**laughs** You are right on the money, brother. It is really a progression of sound and music. And the guitarists are a factor. We have had three guitarists over the years and they are all a little different.

I note that Ross the Boss used to write a lot of songs in his time but that the newer guitarists like Karl Logan seem to write less. Is this accurate and if so, why?

You are right on the money, brother. Ross used to be very involved in songwriting. Now Joey does 90% of it since KOM. But, he gets our input. Unfortunately it's usually at 3:00 in the morning when he calls me and asks me about keys and if this works for my vocal lines. All of us put in our 2 cents worth for all songs for every album.

Does Ross the Boss still have contact with MANOWAR?

Hell yeah! Ross is a good friend. He was up here not long ago signing autographs for the silver edition releases. He is in a blues band now, his real true passion. We are all very cool with him.

If you could pick a favorite MANOWAR album, which would it be? Favorite song to perform live?

Wow, that's a hard hard question. I know this is going to sound like bullshit, but nothing I tell you is bullshit. My favorite album is Warriors of the World and I'll tell you why. The new album is probably the most vocally intense of all of our albums. I do a lot of singing. Also, it has broad appeal. A lot of people like it. It's still ass-kicking heavy metal. And it's our biggest seller to date.

What about favorite live song?

Hmmm, another hard one but I'd have to say that "Black Wind Fire and Steel" is my favorite song to perform live.

How many songs off the new album do you plan to do live?

Hard to say. We already have "Warriors of the World in our set list. We did Nessun Dorma live in Italy. But we don't want to put too many new songs in the set list because some people may not know them. People come to see MANOWAR to get their ass kicked and hear true fucking heavy metal. Fans want to hear their favorites.

Tell me why you are not playing any German festivals this year.

We are going back to play a headline tour in Germany in the Fall. We thought it would be better to stick to the headline tour and not worry about festivals this year. Why play for an hour or so when we can lead a full tour through Germany and Europe?

Last year at Wacken there were as many MANOWAR shirts as any other band. I was thinking it would be very cool if MANOWAR just showed up and played with no prior announcement. Just surprised the crowd…

**laughs** You know that is a damn fucking good idea. That would be cool for us to just go on and start playing without being announced. That is a cool idea I'm going to talk to Joey about that. We can't do it this year, but maybe next year.

A question on the metal scene in general. Do you listen to any other metal bands? Have you heard anything out there that you find good true metal? Can I ask you opinion on some other newer more popular acts?

I don't know, brother, I don't really want to talk about other bands…

That's cool, just say nothing about them if you have not heard them or whatever...

OK, we have a new label where the band BLUDGEON is signed to, great band. I listen to them a lot.

Hmm, I have not heard them, let me ask you for comments about some specific bands:

Blind Guardian,

I have heard and I like them...

Iced Earth,

Excellent band!

Sacred Steel,

Doesn't ring a bell...

Seven Witches,

Hmmm, I have heard of but I don't now them that well...

Eric, the metal scene in Europe if far bigger than in the US. To what do you attribute that?

Radio, MTV, and record labels in the US don't promote true heavy metal. They are into Rap which sells a lot and requires no skill.

You just finished a US tour (I saw 2 shows) with IMMORTAL, CATASTROPHIC and HAVOCHATE as openers. Why not have openers who play a more similar style such as a DIO, SACRED STEEL, ICED EARTH, etc?

Hey, we'll play with any band any time. We played a tour with Ronnie Dio and Motörhead in Scandanvia a couple of years ago. It was fantastic. Before this last tour we asked a bunch of bands to hook up but we had no takers. It's all about business really. Putting MANOWAR on the bill as an opener is a problem because we'll go out and kick the crowds' ass. No one wants to come out after MANOWAR. Plus, we have a lot of gear that bands don't want to deal with as an opener.

Any side projects? I have read where both Scott and Karl have been considering something along that line.

Uh, that is supposed to be confidential information…

I read it in the latest Heavy Oder Was !? and another interview with Scott…

Well, we have our own label now, "Magic Circle of Music" and Rhino is going to be putting something out. David (Shankle) is also planning to put something out. So, the opportunity is there and that's all I'll say about it.

Lastly, when do you see an end of the road for MANOWAR? Is there a point in the foreseeable future where you guys will "retire"?

Wow, I really don't see an end. This is not a job, I love this. I can truly not see an end to this for us at any time. You know, MANOWAR is about true fucking heavy metal and MANOWAR are brothers. We love touring and kicking ass.

I believe that MANOWAR has the most dedicated and rabid fans of any metal band on earth and I'm one of them. Shit, I even have a Louder Than Hell tatty on my arm...

Really? Cool you need to send it in to the web-site and we'll put it up… There is a girl in Germany that has our faces up and down her arm. This other girl has an album cover all over her back. And there is another who had MANOWAR covering her chest. The fans are our brothers and sisters. We do this because we love it and I truly can not see any end to it in my future.