Sign of the Hammer
Encyclopedia
Sign of the Hammer is the fourth album by metal band Manowar
, released on October 15, 1984.
Manowar (band)
Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980 the group is known for its lyrics based on fantasy and mythological topics along with their "loud and bombastic" sound...
, released on October 15, 1984.
Track listing
- "All Men Play on 10" (Joey DeMaioJoey DeMaioJoey DeMaio is an American bass player and main songwriter for the heavy metal band Manowar which he co-founded in 1980. He is also the founder and CEO of Magic Circle Music....
) – 4:01 - "Animals" (DeMaio) – 3:34
- "Thor (The Powerhead)" (DeMaio) – 5:23
- "Mountains" (DeMaio) – 7:39
- "Sign of the Hammer" (DeMaio) – 4:18
- "The Oath" (Ross the Boss, DeMaio) – 4:54
- "Thunderpick" (DeMaio) – 3:31
- "Guyana (Cult of the Damned)" (DeMaio) – 7:10
Song information
- "Guyana (Cult of the Damned)" is a song about the 1978 mass suicideMass suicide- Examples :Mass suicide sometimes occurs in religious or cultic settings. Defeated groups may resort to mass suicide rather than being captured. Suicide pacts are a form of mass suicide unconnected to cults or war that are sometimes planned or carried out by small groups of frustrated people...
led by Jim JonesJim JonesJames Warren "Jim" Jones was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip.Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in...
of the Peoples TemplePeoples TemplePeoples Temple was a religious organization founded in 1955 by Jim Jones that, by the mid-1970s, included over a dozen locations in California including its headquarters in San Francisco...
cult, at JonestownJonestownJonestown was the informal name for the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones. It became internationally notorious when, on November 18, 1978, 918 people died in the settlement as well as in a nearby...
, northwestern GuyanaGuyanaGuyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
. - "Thor (The Powerhead)" is about the Norse God ThorThorIn Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
(as the name suggests), destroying the evil of the world and the Giants (enemies of the Gods) as well. The song often brings about the RagnarökRagnarökIn Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures , the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water...
, with "live to fight on that final day" stated many times. The Norse people believed that at the end of the world the Gods and the Giants would battle for control. It is foreseen that the Gods would lose, and many of their deaths have been foretold before the battle. Regardless, the Gods still will fight on the final day for the right to control Earth. This song has been covered by symphonic metalSymphonic metalSymphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
band TherionTherion (band)Therion is a Swedish symphonic metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. The word "therion" comes from the Greek therion , meaning "Beast," i.e., that of the Christian Book of Revelation...
on the album Crowning of AtlantisCrowning of AtlantisCrowning of Atlantis is the eighth album released by the symphonic metal band Therion. In the beginning it was an EP fleshed out with several covers and live tracks from Vovin Tour '98 that the record label and management insisted be placed on it to make it a full length album.-Track listing:# "The...
.
Personnel
- Eric AdamsEric Adams (singer)Eric Adams has been the singer of the heavy metal band Manowar since 1980. Before he became the band's singer in 1980, he had sung for a group, called LOOKS. In the band was also future Manowar bassist and childhood friend, Joey DeMaio.-Early life:Eric Adams was born on 12 July 1954, in Auburn,...
- vocals - Ross the Boss - guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Joey DeMaioJoey DeMaioJoey DeMaio is an American bass player and main songwriter for the heavy metal band Manowar which he co-founded in 1980. He is also the founder and CEO of Magic Circle Music....
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Scott ColumbusScott ColumbusScott Columbus was an American musician and the former drummer of Manowar. Reportedly he was discovered by a female fan of the band, beating aluminium in a local foundry...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....