Fighting the World is the fifth album by the American heavy metal band Manowar, released in 1987. This was the first Manowar album to feature artwork by long-time collaborator Ken Kelly, and also one of the earliest heavy metal albums to be recorded and mixed entirely on digital equipment.[citation needed] Since Fighting the World, all Manowar album covers have been painted by Ken Kelly.
| Fighting the World | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art by Ken Kelly | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 17, 1987 | |||
| Recorded | 1986–1987 | |||
| Studio | Universal Recording, Chicago, Illinois, US | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 34:31 | |||
| Label | ATCO | |||
| Producer | Manowar, Jason Flom | |||
| Manowar chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Fighting the World | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 9/10[2] |
The song "Defender" features a speech by American actor Orson Welles. The album was released two years after Welles died. The recording of Welles' speech was re-used from the original 1982 demo of the song.
Track listing
editAll songs written by Joey DeMaio.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fighting the World" | 3:50 |
| 2. | "Blow Your Speakers" | 3:39 |
| 3. | "Carry On" | 4:12 |
| 4. | "Violence and Bloodshed" | 4:00 |
| 5. | "Defender" | 6:02 |
| 6. | "Drums of Doom" | 1:15 |
| 7. | "Holy War" | 4:44 |
| 8. | "Master of Revenge" | 1:34 |
| 9. | "Black Wind, Fire and Steel" | 5:15 |
| Total length: | 34:31 | |
Cover versions
edit- "Fighting the World" was covered by German power metal band Mystic Prophecy as a bonus track on their album Regressus.
- "Black Wind, Fire and Steel" has been covered by Brazilian heavy metal band Immortal Choir, by Swedish punk band Venerea and by Spanish rock/punk band Reserva Dos, this last under the name "Viento negro, fuego y acero" (in Spanish).
References in popular culture
edit- The cover is parodied in the Metalocalypse episode "Dethfashion". In the episode, Dethklok is visited by a sadistic fashion designer who is upset that their measurements for their fashion line were not reflective of their actual physiques. The designer used a cover of the band's previous album as a reference for his designs, and like the cover of Fighting the World, the band is standing shirtless on a pile of stones. The cover had been airbrushed to make the band members look much thinner and more physically fit than they actually were.
Personnel
editManowar
edit- Eric Adams – vocals
- Ross the Boss – guitars, keyboards
- Joey DeMaio – four- and eight-string bass
- Scott Columbus – drums
- Orson Welles – guest voice on Defender
Production
edit- Richard Breen – engineer, mixing, Synclavier programming
- Vince Gutman – digital programming, recording and mixing supervision
- Howie Weinberg – mastering at Masterdisk, New York
- Jason Flom – executive producer
Charts
edit| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[3] | 15 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[4] | 27 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Germany (BVMI)[5] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[6] | Gold | 50,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. Fighting the World at AllMusic
- ^ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 213–214. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Manowar – Fighting the World". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Manowar; 'Fighting the World')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- ^ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 953. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved August 23, 2019.