Manowar

Known for their sword and sorcery imagery, Manowar are an American heavy metal band formed in 1980 in New York by vocalist Eric Adams, guitarist Joey DeMaio, keyboardist Ross Friedman and drummer Carl Canedy. The line-up has gone through several changes since then; Canedy left after one year and Friedman in 1989. Other musicians who have played with the band include drummers Donnie Hamzik, Kenny Earl Edwards and Scott Columbus (who died in 2011) and guitarist David Shankle. The current line-up features Adams and DeMaio along with guitarist Karl Logan, who joined in 1994, and drummer Marcus Castellani, who joined in 2017.

They released their debut album 'Battle Hymns' in 1982 followed by 'Into the Glory Ride' the following year. 'Hail to England' went to number 83 on the UK Albums Chart in 1984 and 'Sign of the Hammer' reached number 73 the same year. Several albums followed and they went on to tour internationally. 'Warriors of the World' went to number 42 on Billboard's Independent Albums Chart in 2002 and 'Gods of War' (2007) reached number 46. They released 'Kings of Metal MMXIV' in 2014 and in 2016 they embarked on a world tour that was to take them through to 2019 when they planned to retire.