Hard Vision

Manowar

"Hell On Earth Part 3" DVD (disc 1)
(SPV/Steamhammer)
by Jonathan Mariante

The undisputed Metal Kings unleash a third Hell On Earth (which is heaven for Manowar fans!) onto the world! The first disc kicks off with the band playing "Manowar" in Brazil, and for the rest of the disc, they take us on a trip through Europe, Manowar style, covering many of the Western countries, and even going deep into former Iron Curtain territory, where, in Russia, the fans have waited twenty years for Manowar to come to their country! Those Russian fans were going off-the-charts insane and who can blame them? After all those years of living under communism, they gotta be a bunch of unchained animals, especially when a band like Manowar rolls in! The guys in Manowar probably were like tame little tabbies compared to some of those Russian fans! Anyway, as for the rest of the disc, it features many onstage performances, including them performing "Nessum Dorma" in Milan, Italy (along with "Kings Of Metal" and "Return Of The Warlord", during which they ride their Harleys on stage), and playing "Fighting The World" at the Dynamo festival in Holland. Manowar sound great on stage, and are in fact an extremely talented band, who play great and write good songs, proving there's more than just volume, chest thumping, and Conan-inspired lyrics to this band. And singer Eric Adams has a hell of a set of pipes on him! We also get to see the band off stage and backstage, having a grand old time, partying with their fans and entourage, and seeing the sights of Europe. There's one part where Eric marries a Manowar couple on stage at a show in Belgium! This part is a real kick! They also talk about guitarist Karl Logan's obsession with dirt biking, and how he broke his leg once in an accident, and still played on stage with a broke leg! And they saved the best for last, as the disc concludes with "Brothers Of Metal And Sisters Of Steel", where Manowar babes get naked on stage throughout all the European stopovers! But it actually doesn't end there There's a bunch of bonus material too, which includes some live performances, excerpts from interviews ("Moments Of Truth"), one of which includes Joey De Maio being interviewed with Ronnie James Dio and Lemmy, "Moments Of Time" which shows many highlights of their tour(s), onstage and off, and the band hanging and partying with their fans and followers, the story behind them doing "Nessum Dorma", and the band's bus having an accident with a moose! Counting the bonus material, there is almost three hours of stuff on here. And that's just the first disc! How's that for value?

(disc 2)
The second disc begins with Manowar's live performance at Ringfest in Cologne, Germany. The concert was taped at an actual Cologne street, which had to be closed off. The performance is almost an hour long, in which Manowar play some of their classics, and throw in some tunes from the "Warriors Of The World" album which had just been released at the time. This performance was actually meant as a taster for the upcoming tour in support of that album. Following this is all the video clips Manowar has ever made, including "Gloves Of Metal" (the original and special versions, the latter containing some deleted material), "Blow Your Speakers", "Metal Warriors", "Warriors Of The World United", "Return Of The Warlord", "Courage", and "I Believe". Finishing up the main part of this disc, is "Secrets Of Steel", a short documentary about the band. Then there's the bonus material, most of which is "making of's" for the videos, a behind the scenes look at their production, an animated skit based on "The Warrior's Prayer", made by a fan, and a behind the scenes look at the Ringfest performance, from the bands arrival, to setting up, to commentary from the fans, crew, and entourage (some of which is in German), to the actual performance. This is the last of the bonus material, but there is one "Easter Egg" I came across, which is a humorous look at the "Gloves Of Metal" video, done like a parody of a historical documentary, with commentary from a "historian". I got a kick out of this, as I'm sure most Manowar fans will! To view it, simply go to the bonus menu and wait for a second, it will start automatically. This a great DVD! Two discs with tons of Manowar material, more than you can shake a stick at! Over six hours in all! A must for all Manowarriors!

http://www.manowar.com