Manowar - Fire and Blood DVD
SPV
True Heavy Metal

Release year: 2003
Manowar, SPV
Reviewed by Ben

Manowar's new 2 dvd set is here and man it is massive. With tons of footage Fire and Blood is almost five hours long and takes several viewings to fully digest. One thing is for sure Manowar doesn't shirk in their duty to pleasing their fans.

Disc 1 is Hell on Earth part II. It contains backstage footage, live versions of songs and all sorts of sheer insanity that Manowar is known for. I noticed that this dvd is like a companion to Hell on Stage in the sense that they both cover songs that have gone unnoticed for awhile whereas Hell on Earth part I had songs that were more known, the hits if you will just like Hell on Wheels was a greatest hits live package. Ok if you're still with me after all that this documentary is a fun and enjoyable two hour plus journey through the life of Manowar. One of my favorite scenes is where the band brings up a fan to play guitar on The Gods Made Heavy Metal. I dont know if these people are planted or not but the look on some of their faces make me think at least some of the fans they brought on stage were real and not plants. Other live performances include, Bridge of Death, Army of the Immortals, Dark Avenger, Hatred and more. Bonus features on disc 1 include a live version of Thor and a French version of Courage, the making of and full version. Also included is a medley of cutting room floor footage that shows the band doing things like working out, being tourists, and several Joey DeMaio speeches, and clips of the band playing even more songs including a part of Achilles Agony and Ecstasy.

Disc 2 contains the full performance of Manowar's set at the 1998 Monsters of Rock in Brazil. I have some problems with this. A, the concert is question is almost five years old at this point and B, the bonus footage here has live performances of Warriors of the World and House of Death from a RECENT concert and they kill! I just really wish that the band had showed the Ringfest performance instead of a show that is already outdated. That complaint aside the show is a fine performance by the Kings of Metal but it is not without its flaws. The crowd doesn't seem as crazy and wild as I thought it would be and hardly get into most of the songs at all. The band is in good form, the sound is good and its pretty exciting to watch but the excitement or lack therof of the crowd just kinda kills the mood. Really, I just have to wonder why this particular show was chosen to be released as opposed to the Ringfest performance or another venue with a better crowd. Other than the two previously mentioned performances from the Ringfest festival, other bonus features include an alternate version of Sign of the Hammer interviews with journalits and crew members at Monsters of Rock and a review of the festival. Also both dvds are in 5.1 Dolby Digital.

I like Fire and Blood. Notice I said like, not love. I feel that Fire and Blood is a pretty good dvd set that had alot of care and attention put in it but in the end it just isn't as good as I was hoping. To put it another way, I watched Hell on Earth part I for about a month straight after I got it, Fire and Blood took me about a month to wade through about two times. Bottom line, if you are a Manowar fan you will enjoy this, if not, you most definitely wont have your opinion altered after viewing this. Try before you buy.

Killing Songs :
The insane life of Manowar
Ben quoted no quote
Other albums by Manowar that we have reviewed:
Manowar - The Lord of Steel reviewed by Olivier and quoted 59 / 100
Manowar - Gods of War Live reviewed by Jeff and quoted no quote
Manowar - Gods of War reviewed by Jeff and quoted 70 / 100
Manowar - Sons of Odin (EP) CD ONLY VERSION reviewed by Jeff and quoted no score
Manowar - Hell on Earth, Part IV - DVD review reviewed by Alex and quoted no quote
To see all 14 reviews click here
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