The Batlord

Some call this the lost gem of Manowar's 80's period. I guess that's kinda true, but there is still a reason why Sign of the Hammer was lost in the first place: it was a noticeable step down from the glory of their first three albums, and added nothing creatively to the sound they had developed on those releases.

The A-side is definitely strong, if not so much as previously. "All Men Play on 10" is gloriously idiotic, and one of my most-played Manowar tracks, but while it bears some resemblance to the heavy, epic metal of Into Glory Ride and Hail to England, the song treads on much more traditional metal ground; the next song, "Animals", backpedals even further. But both tracks also rule, so my disappointment is minimal.

Closing out the first half are "Thor (The Powerhead)" and "Mountains", which are much heavier and atmospheric, conjuring the same Conan the Barbarian vibe as the last two albums. They're also strong, but can't quite touch previous highs. At this point the album is basically just a slightly less good version of what the band had already been doing.

But the B-side is where the band drops the ball: the title track and "The Oath" are pretty nondescript traditional metal, and aren't much more than decent filler; "Thunderpick" is the obligatory ****ty bass solo before the last song on more Manowar albums than I care to think of, and is no more memorable than any of its inbred siblings; and while "Guyana (Cult of the Damned)" is a step up from the last three tracks, it's just a not-quite-as-good version of "Thor" and "Mountains", but at least it ends the album on a semi-strong note (and opening line, "We thank you for the Kool-Aid, Reverend Jim" is pretty hilarious).

There's really not much more to say about Sign of the Hammer. It's a decent footnote in Manowar's discography, marking the exact place where the band started running out of steam, and only really offers four songs of note, which are still no more than a retread of better albums.

__________________