''Sign of the Hammer'' is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band

Manowar Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythology (particularly Norse mythology and Greco-Roman mythology), as well as n ...

, released in October 1984 by 10/

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

Background

According to guitarist Ross "The Boss" Friedman, some of the songs for ''Sign of the Hammer'' were recorded at the same sessions that produced the preceding album '' Hail to England'' at Phase One Studios in Toronto, Canada between 1983 and winter 1984 with producer Jack Richardson.

Songs

"Thor (The Powerhead)" is about the Norse god

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

destroying what he considers evils of the world. Written by Joey DeMaio, it is one of the songs from Manowar that explores Norse mythology, which would be recurring throughout their repertoire. Some members of the band, including Friedman, have expressed enthusiasm for the titular character. "Guyana (Cult of the Damned)" is a song about the 1978

mass suicide Mass suicide is a form of suicide, occurring when a group of people simultaneously kill themselves. Mass suicide sometimes occurs in religious settings. In war, defeated groups may resort to mass suicide rather than being captured. Suicide pacts ...

led by

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

of the

Peoples Temple The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, originally Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church and commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was an American new religious organization which existed between 1954 and 1978 and was affiliated with the C ...

group, at

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, an American religious movement under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became in ...

, northwestern

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

Release and reception

''Sign of the Hammer'' was released on October 15, 1984 by 10 Records and

. Writing for ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'', Ken "Sleazegrinder" McIntyre was favorable, calling the album "gonzo metal", highlighting tracks like "Guyana (Cult of the Damned)", "All Men Play on 10" and "Animals". McIntyre observes that in "Guyana", Eric Adams treats the "sordid affair" as a "night in the opera". McIntyre considers "Animals" a glam metal track, which he asserts that it challenges the ethos of "true metal" that Manowar championed. Similarly,

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...

wrote that ''Sign of the Hammer'' contains accessible compositions and called the guitar works of Ross "The Boss" Friedman "excellent", rating the album three out of five stars. Reviewing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Eduardo Rivadavia highlighted and was receptive to songs like "Thor (The Powerhead)", "The Oath" and "All Men Play on 10", but observed that the production of the album "sounded flat", and considered some of the songs to have "uneven songwriting". Writing for '' Rock Hard'', Frank Trojan asserts that ''Sign of the Hammer'' was a return to form for Manowar, comparing the album to their debut album ''Battle Hymns'', highlighting the title track "Sign of the Hammer" and "Animals". Trojan observed that Manowar was becoming "too commercial" with the song "All Men Play on 10", but has praised the overall musicianship of the band. In 2005, ''Sign of the Hammer'' was ranked number 418 in ''Rock Hard'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''.

Track listing

All songs written by

Joey DeMaio Joey DeMaio (born March 6, 1954) is an American musician who is the bass player and main songwriter for the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Manowar which he founded in 1980. He is also the founder and CEO of Magic Circle Music. Biography ...

, except where noted.

Personnel

Manowar *

Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer who has served as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City P ...

– vocals *

Ross the Boss Ross Friedman (born January 3, 1954), also known as Ross the Boss, is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of both the Punk rock, punk band the Dictators and the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Manowar (band), Manowar. Hist ...

– guitars, keyboards *

– bass,

bass pedals Bass pedals are an Electronic instrument, electronic musical instrument with a foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a Pedal clavier, pedalboard and analog synthesi ...

Scott Columbus Scott Columbus (November 10, 1956 – April 5, 2011) was an American drummer, best known for his long period of collaboration with heavy metal band Manowar. Biography Columbus began to play the drums at age six. Later on, during his 20s, gr ...

– drums, percussion Production * Jack Richardson – producer *

Tony Platt Tony Platt is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his work with a diverse mix of artists, including, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Bob Marley, Shy, Buddy Guy, Foreigner, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sparks, Jazz Jamaica All ...

– producer in "Sign of the Hammer", mixing *Arun Chakraverty – mastering *Rian Hughes – sleeve design *Lucifer Burns, Anthony "Chio" Chiofalo, Armand "The Arm" Biondi – technicians *Jay Bergen – management (representation)

Charts

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Authority control 1984 albums Manowar albums Virgin Records albums Albums produced by Jack Richardson (record producer)