Serious question. I see their album covers get made fun of a lot, and it seems they were pretty over the top. Are they serious, or are they a joke/satire band?
Is this the metal band? They're serious. I don't like them -- I find them a bit too silly, in both subject matter and execution, but I know at least one person who is a major fan of their work.
I've always assumed it was tongue-in-cheek, but if so, it's one of the longest cons in the business. At this point, I don't know for sure.
Calling Anton from Moscow... Anyway, I think they have to be at least a bit tongue-in-cheek, as I don't see how a band could be so ridiculous - including in interviews - and totally mean every bit of it, man.
They're no worse than any of the 80's "Sunset Strip" bands, they just fixate on different aspects of heavy metal culture.
I had always assumed they were spoofing Iron Maiden. I wondered if they were doing it so well that everyone missed the joke and thought they were serious.
I wouldn't be surprised if Andy Kaufman was somehow secretly still alive and been their manager all these years.
They reason they seem silly and ironic and funny is because they are one of the bands that metal spoofs are making fun of. But they themselves are quite "serious." By that I mean, of course they are being theatrical and having fun with it, but they're not like Spinal Tap or anything. Basically like Iron Maiden, with their horror-movie trappings or whatever. Comic book silliness is a key part of metal, they are no different.
I think it also helps that where they are popular and tajken seriously happens to be where English is not the first language context, tone and nuances get a bit lost
I saw Manowar on their first tour when they opened for Pat Travers and Ted Nugent in 1982. Before the show, one of their roadies came out and was talking to me (why he chose me I don't know; I was a stupid 16 year old), but he was telling me how DeMaio was a "master" and how he had trained himself to cut himself with a sword but could "will" himself not to bleed. I got no sense of irony or humor from this guy when he was talking to me. He assured me the band was the real thing. You're talking about a band that dresses, acts, and lives the part (they set up their own camps -- medieval style at festivals and whatever else). I get the impression they are quite serious about what they do and their true fans have the same notion. It might be all a big joke and Adams and DeMaio get a laugh as they sit in their living rooms when not touring wearing their Jets jerseys and pounding Coors Light, but somehow, I don't think that's the case.
They do what they do, and they do it good... for all these years Still great live, but capable of making max. 2 decent tracks per album recently.
They got freaking Orson Welles to appear on not one, but two different albums! You've got to have a soft spot for anyone who managed to pull this off.
Why the question? They are professional musicians. They've put an impressive catalog collection and performed tons of great concerts for their fanbase
I did a search on "Manowar joke band" and here's Kerrang's non-commital opinion: "MIGHTY THEWED kings of true metal, or embarrassing boneheaded oafs? It's been suggested that a band as gloriously preposterous as Manowar could only be a Spinal Tap-style satire ('Gloves Of Metal' anyone?) but if this is a joke they've been telling it for more than 25 years without ever cracking a smile." I get the impression they think Manowar "means it" due to that last line...
No, because Spinal Tap were intended to be a parody band from the first time Manowar were never a parody band of any form There're still a lot of predujices on this forum