Manowar have revealed the front cover of their upcoming double album Kings Of Metal MMXIV, an evolution of the original 1988 cover by Ken Kelly (see below).
“Ken has always been able to perfectly capture the essence of Manowar in his art. These covers, the two new ones and the one he created in 1988, visualize what Manowar, our music and our fans stand for! Just look at these paintings and the story they tell: People have tried to
keep this warrior down, attacked him and attempted to destroy him. But he stood tall, no matter what! He fought for true metal in country
after country. And he will continue the march and fight for his brothers and sisters all over the world, until all enemies of true metal have been crushed!” explained Joey DeMaio.
“This collaboration has been an incredible experience once again,”said Ken Kelly. “We didn’t know where the journey would lead us. The art literally takes over and the music and the lyrics guide us. I truly believe the Manowar fans are going to love this series.”
Kings of Metal MMXIV is a completely new recording, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the release of Kings Of Metal.
The Kings of Metal release in 1988 and the following world tour in 1989 catapulted Manowar into a new sphere. Songs like Heart of Steel, Kings of Metal, Hail and Kill, and Blood of the Kings became instant classics, celebrated since by metal fans all over the world.
For Kings Of Metal MMXIV, Manowar have recorded these timeless metal anthems with new arrangements and their signature “larger than life” sound that sealed their place in heavy metal history.
The album will feature nine main songs, plus 10 bonus tracks with over 45 minutes of additional music.
The spoken word track The Warrior’s Prayer MMXIV features celebrated British actor Brian Blessed, a renowned Shakespeare and
character actor who has starred, among others, in Kenneth Brannagh’s Henry V, in King Lear, and as Prince Vultan in the cult movie Flash Gordon.
Kings Of Metal MMXIV will be released in retail on February 28th as a two Disc CD with two 24-page booklets and new cover art by legendary fantasy artist and longtime collaborator Ken Kelly, and will also be available as a digital double album.
The Kings Of Metal MMXIV world tour, featuring the complete new album and many other classics in a completely new stage production starts on February 7th with a long-anticipated U.S. tour and will then resume on March 18th in Europe. All tour dates can be found at manowar.com/tour.
Kings Of Metal MMXIV Track List (not final):
Disc 1:
Blood Of The Kings MMXIV
Hail And Kill MMXIV
Heart Of Steel MMXIV
Kingdom Come MMXIV
Kings Of Metal MMXIV
Sting Of The Bumblebee MMXIV
The Crown And The Ring MMXIV (Orchestral Version)
The Warrior’s Prayer MMXIV
Wheels Of Fire MMXIV
Bonus Tracks:
Heart Of Steel MMXIV (Guitar Instrumental)
The Crown And The Ring MMXIV (Metal Version)
Disc 2:
Bonus Tracks:
Blood Of The Kings MMXIV (Instrumental)
Hail And Kill MMXIV (Instrumental)
Heart Of Steel MMXIV (Acoustic Intro)
Heart Of Steel MMXIV (Orchestral Intro)
Heart Of Steel MMXIV (Instrumental)
Kingdom Come MMXIV (Instrumental)
Kings Of Metal MMXIV (Instrumental)
Wheels Of Fire MMXIV (Instrumental)
Kings Of Metal MMXIV World Tour – Confirmed Tour Dates:
Fri, February 7, 2014 – Royal Oak Theatre – Royal Oak, MI, USA
Sat, February 8, 2014 – Concord Music Hall – Chicago, IL, USA
Sun, February 9, 2014 – Mill City – Minneapolis, MN, USA
Thur, February 13, 2014 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA, USA
Sat, February 15, 2014 – House Of Blues – Houston, TX, USA
Sun, February 16, 2014 – House Of Blues – Dallas, TX, USA
Tue, February 18, 2014 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO, USA
Thur, February 20, 2014 – Regency Theatre – San Francisco, CA, USA
Sat, February 22, 2014 – Fox Theatre – Pomona, CA, USA
Tue, March 18, 2014 – Olymp Palace of Sports – Krasnodar, Russia
Fri, March 21, 2014 – Luzhniki Palace of Sports – Moscow, Russia
Sun, March 23, 2014 – Yubileyny Sports Palace – St. Petersburg,
Russia
Tue, March 25, 2014 – Rock Café – Tallinn, Estonia – SOLD OUT
Thur, March 27, 2014 – Rock Café – Tallinn, Estonia – SOLD OUT
Sat, March 29, 2014 – Teatro Arena – Vilnius, Lithuania
Sat, May 17, 2014 – Spodek – Katowice, Poland
Wed, May 21, 2014 – Hangar 11 – Tel Aviv, Israel
Sat, May 24, 2014 – Metal Summer Festival – Istanbul, Turkey
Fri-Sun, June 13-15, 2014 – Legacy Open Air – Weismain, Germany
Fri-Sat, July 25-26, 2014 – Magic Circle Festival – Helsinki, Finland
Wed, January 14, 2015 – Grugahalle – Essen, Germany
Fri, January 16, 2015 – Zenith – Munich, Germany
Sat, January 17, 2015 – Jahrhunderthalle – Frankfurt, Germany
Watch a trailer for Kings Of Metal MMXIV below.
5 Responses
Awesome!!! Manowar!!!!!!
I love Manowar. And Kings of Metal was a fantastic album. But am I the only one who thinks that this is an underwhelming package? “Kings of Metal re-recorded, PLUS- 17 different versions of Heart of Steel!”
No kidding….where are some unreleased tunes? Well these guys have never had surplus of material. Stop re recording already perfect albums. Bring in some outside writers and make a classic. Always will love manowar though.
This cover is amazing so are the bonus tracks! Comes out the day after my 40th Birthday so this will make for an AWESOME gift!
Two discs and really only 9 songs. Hope they don’t charge more than $10 for it. Who on Earth thought this was a good packaging idea? Oh well, still love listening to Manowar.