Loincloths and oily chests. That is what I imagine when I hear the name Manowar. It is a name I’ve heard throughout the years, drawing up these images and others with a backdrop of 80s metal anthems. But I’d never heard a note of their music, nor was I necessarily sure that I should. I can hear the Manowarriors screaming “KILL!” as I type this. But I’ve since had this issue rectified by a night filled with the trvest of metal in the form of the world’s first feminist Manowar tribute band, Womanowar!
I hear groans from those machismo-males among you, but if I were you, I’d put away my judgment before experiencing the unbridled ferocity of vocalist and frontwoman, Erica Madams, or the sensual emanations of guitarist Josh the Posh and bassist Jesse DeMayonnaise. And I can all but forget about Dewey Hamsick, who smacks the skins as though he has nitroglycerin running through his veins (or perhaps just too much Jack Daniels). Still, you might notice a few things are different with your favorite songs, and I don’t mean the riding crop that Madams will be stroking down your cheek as she commands you to remove your clothes for her pleasure. Womanowar appropriates all the masculine ideas within Manowar songs and alters them to place women at the top of the hierarchy. “Kings Of Metal” becomes “Queens Of Metal” and…well, I think you get the idea. But before you begin your chants of “KILL!” again, I suggest you see them live. Next thing you know, you might be chanting “HAIL!”
Photos from their show at Baltimore Soundstage on July 28, 2017: