Fan-filmed video of MANOWAR‘s June 22 concert in Athens, Greece during the “Crushing The Enemies Of Metal Anniversary Tour” can be seen below.
Earlier this week, MANOWAR released a new digital EP, “The Revenge Of Odysseus (Highlights)”, via Magic Circle Entertainment. For this project, which is based on “The Odyssey”, Homer‘s tale of the great hero Odysseus and his long and perilous quest to return to his wife and son, MANOWAR went to great lengths: bassist/leader Joey DeMaio traveled to Athens to record a narration with father-and-son team Kostas and Konstantinos Kazakos. Kostas, hailed in Greece for his participation in many movies and as an accomplished theater actor and writer, and his son Kostantinos, who is also a talented actor, narrated a touching dialogue between Odysseus and his son Telemachus. And to honor the historic source material, they did so in Ancient Greek, translated from English by Sakis Tolis of Greek metal band ROTTING CHRIST.
“It was a pleasure and privilege to work with Kostas and Konstantinos, Sakis and everyone else who was involved in this narration,” DeMaio said. “I call Kostas ‘the Greek Orson Welles‘, not only because these two giants share many remarkable talents and outstanding voices, but also for being equally passionate to deliver a perfect narration while being humble and kind at the same time! We can’t wait to share everything with our fans.”
“The Revenge Of Odysseus (Highlights)” track listing:
01. Athena’s Theme (00:57)
02. Telemachus – Part I (with Konstantinos Kazakos and Sakis Tolis) (Ancient Greek) (02:42)
03. Where Eagles Fly (with Chiara Tricarico) (03:27)
04. Odysseus and Calypso – The Island of Ogygia (with Kostas Kazakos) (Ancient Greek) (00:45 )
05. Immortal
Asked in a December 2021 interview with Metal Hammer Greece’s TV show “TV War” if the next MANOWAR release was going to be a full-length album or if it will be the previously planned follow-up to 2019’s “The Final Battle I” EP, Joey said: “That’s a very good question. You’re the first person to ask that. And right now, I truly don’t know what is coming next, because we had the inspiration to write this song, which I was thinking could be a very long normal song — like maybe 10 minutes — ‘The Revenge Of Odysseus’. And it just got out of hand — it just kept growing and growing. It started out with, ‘Maybe it’ll just be in English.’ Then it was, ‘Maybe it’ll be in Greek.’ And then it became not just Greek — ancient Greek. And then something like famous narrators. And then it became, ‘No, we’re gonna take one of the most famous, if not the most famous actor in Greece.’ And then his son is gonna play the part of Telemachus. And it just got bigger and bigger and bigger. And now, when they came into the studio here in Athens and recorded, it just turned out so amazing. And now I’m stuck with a big problem — there’s so much incredible stuff that these guys performed… So the reality, just hearing words has given me the challenge, now how can I match this great performance with music that’s gonna be worthy of these beautiful, beautiful performances? So, it’s a big fucking problem. So I’m looking forward to getting back into the studio and trying to serve this in the best way that I can.”
MANOWAR played the first of two “secret” warm-up shows on June 4 at Jovel Music Hall in Münster, Germany. DeMaio and his bandmates were billed as THE LORDS OF STEEL (performing “the music of MANOWAR“) for the gig, which marked MANOWAR‘s debut live appearance with new drummer Dave Chedrick, who has previously played with RAVEN and KILL RITUAL, among others.
Chedrick joined MANOWAR as the replacement for Anders Johannson who announced earlier that day that he would be unable to join MANOWAR on the band’s upcoming “Crushing The Enemies Of Metal Anniversary Tour ’22/’23” due to “family commitments.”
Based in Los Angeles, Chedrick has been a metal addict his entire life. Early influences include John Bonham, Neil Peart and, most of all, late MANOWAR drummer Scott Columbus. An accomplished studio musician, Dave is praised for his professionalism, easy-going spirit, and willingness to always go the extra mile in the quest for the perfect sound.
MANOWAR‘s “Crushing The Enemies Of Metal Anniversary Tour ’22/’23” celebrates the band’s over-four-decades-long career with focus on four signature MANOWAR albums and their anniversaries: 40th anniversary of “Battle Hymns”, 35th anniversary of “Fighting The World”, 30th anniversary of “The Triumph Of Steel”, 20th anniversary of “Warriors Of The World”.