Manowar lament lack of breakthrough bands

Manowar bassist Joey DeMaio says they are among only a handful of artists who are able to generate big crowds.

The band are currently on tour across Europe and when asked what he thinks will happen once they, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden call it a day, he says newer groups will keep metal going – but insists it won’t be the same.

He tells Kaaos TV: “There’s always going to be people that are great musicians – there’s always going to be people who are seen as heroes to their fans. But this generation of musicians that I am from, there will never be people like us again, because we grew up in a different time of music and a different time in metal.

“We were so lucky that we grew up right in the middle of the explosion of metal. There were just so many great bands. I don’t hear another Judas Priest out there. I certainly don’t hear another Manowar or another Kiss.

“Of course there’s going to be metal and rock bands – there’s going to be metal concerts and people are always going to go and have fun. But there’s a reason why the bands that are out there now are the headliners for big shows. There aren’t many of us out there that are able to put 40,000 people on the ground.”

Manowar are on the road on their Gods And Kings world tour and will play Estonia today (February 8). They released live clips of Dawn Of Battle and Heart Of Steel in December.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.