Well, thank goodness for Nanowar. I shall attempt to avoid spoiling the jokes contained within this album, but needless to say it is a good 40 minutes of parody and satire of some obvious targets in the world of metal – Manowar and Rhapsody certainly – as well as some genuinely entertaining songs – ‘Tricycles of Steel’, ‘Metal La-La-La’ and ‘Entra L’Uomo Di Sabbia’ (Enter Sandman in Italian), to name three.

Anyone with a funny bone who has listened to Manowar, Rhapsody or similar bands, will delight in the fun poked at these bands and their over-dramatic style. Even as a hardened Rhapsody fan I cannot deny the potential for satire in their music – which is cleverly exploited here by Nanowar.

At times the satire is of the highest calibre – ably demonstrated in the short, but to the point, track ‘Power of the Power of the Power (of the Great Sword)’. At other times, Nanowar retreat to simple parody of Manowar – arguably the most egotistical metal band to ever walk the earth – which provides ample territory for knocking DeMaio and co. down to size.

However, where the album fails is in its scope. Rather than going for the jugular of the self-inflated Manowar ‘kingdom’, or even providing a scathing satire of the wider world of European metal, the album falls somewhere in between.

As well as the tracks intended to cut Manowar down to size, there are more straight-forward comedy tracks – ‘The Number of the Bitch’ is a superb parody that I’m sure Maiden themselves will laugh along with. Nanowar’s fitting recognition of Burger King’s place in the world of European metal festivals [usually on the heads of metal fans in the shape of paper crowns] is another treat; as are the intros and outros to the album – which no ‘True’ metal album is without.

The problem with the album is that Manowar are easy targets for parody and satire. In fact – to plenty of metal fans – most of what Manowar do is pretty hilarious anyway. The same goes for those not-so-appreciative listeners of Rhapsody and their ilk. Much of what is being performed on this album has already been joked about by developed metal communities everywhere. Nanowar have ‘simply’ taken these jokes and extended them into Manowar-esque parody tracks and Rhapsody-inspired satirical lyrics. All credit to the album’s creation – the jokes are funny, but people will tire of them in time.

Still – kudos to Nanowar for self-producing this album and for taking the much needed piss out of the overblown-ego-driven world of Manowar and its followers. If Nanowar move on and parody more and more of the metal world, then they have the potential to be a truly successful act – rather than just ‘that band that takes the piss out of Manowar’. As for the Rhapsody mickey-taking? Well, I’ll let them off: Just this once…

Standout Tracks:  Metal La-La-La, King, The Number of the Bitch.