Year: 2022
Total Time: 14.17
Label: Magic Circle Entertaiment
Starting to talk about this new EP coming from the “Kings of Metal”, I knew from the first moment that it’s not going to be just another MANOWAR release. I realize from the first second I heard it that this is a different venture from MANOWAR’s mastermind Joey Demaio. It should be noted that we are not talking about a complete album but about a so-called thematic one.
The EP deals with the saga of the adventures of the mythological hero Odysseus who struggles to get back to his wife and son.
Allow me to clarify that Ι can’t say or analyze much musically about the release as it has just over 14 minutes long, consisting of five tracks, where only two of them are songs and the other three are narrations.
Sakis Tolis edited the translation of the lyrics not just in the modern Greek language but in the ancient Greek. The EP begins with an orchestral or even operatic track, an ode to Athena, Goddess of wisdom, strategy and war.
It continues with a narration by Konstantinos Kazakos in the role of Telemachus son of Odysseus and Sakis Tolis in the role of the seer Alithersis, entitled “Telemachus, Pt. 1”, which is basically the intro of the track “Where eagles fly”. A majestic power ballad where Eric’s voice is perfectly combined with the angelic voice of Chiara Tricarico.
For the translation of the texts, the great Greek actor Kostas Kazakos was also recruited, who has the role of Odysseus in “Odysseus and Calypso – The Island of Ogygia” narration. This narration leads us to “Immortal”, the only Manowar-like track of the record.
Heavy and epic as it should be, with depth and dynamics. At one point the track briefly turns into a ballad and we enjoy Eric’s voice accompanied by a piano in the background, until the moment Joey’s bass takes over and continues powerfully until the end.
That’s it… It’s over…And the truth is that we are left with a bittersweet taste. Sweet because it has two nice compositions, a ballad and a strong, solid track and bitter because it lasted too short. Rumor has it that it’s a prelude to the band’s upcoming full-length record. So we will be waiting…
Anyway, we are glad that a band of such greatness showed interest in Greek history and mythology, something that they have done before, and as it is well known they have a soft spot for our culture.
Rating: 7/10
Editor: Marios Tsampazoglou
Related Link: MANOWAR – Official Page
