Death tone
1982 · Liberty LBG 30349 · USA
- Artist
- Manowar
- Title
- Death tone
- Release
- Battle Hymns
- Year
- 1982
- Label
- Liberty # LBG 30349
- Format
- LP · Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Genre
- Metal · Metal
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
Manowar, an American Heavy Metal / US Power Metal band, formed in 1980 in Auburn, NY, with a revolving line-up, but consistently headed by the lead singer Eric Adams and the bass and keyboard player Joey DeMaio. Battle Hymn (Liberty Records # LBG 30349), the first album they recorded, included a couple post-war Vietnam related songs. Also note that their 1987 album Fighting the World, discussed below, featured the Vietnam song "Violence and Bloodshed", which referenced P.O.W.s. Firstly, the song "Death Tone", narrated in the first person, told the story of a Vietnam veteran wounded in the war: "ridin' on two wheels". The veteran complained that while others "were sittin' at home", he "got sent to Nam" - presumably a reference to the draft. Back home he struggled to find work and needed assistance: "my social worker's got me on a chain, keeps me out of jail". He said that his "unemployment checks run out next week" and would thus be living on the streets again. So the song portrayed the struggles of a wounded Vietnam vet, trying to re-adjust to society outside of the army and surviving / adapting to life with a major disability. Secondly, the album included the song "Shell Shock"…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Draft Songs
Manowar, an American heavy metal band, formed in 1980 in Auburn, NY, with a revolving line-up, but consistently headed by the lead singer Eric Adams and the bass and keyboard player Joey DeMaio. Battle Hymn (Liberty Records # LBG 30349), the first album they recorded, included a couple post-war Vietnam related songs. Also note that their 1987 album Fighting the World, discussed below, featured the Vietnam song "Violence and Bloodshed", which referenced P.O.W.s. Firstly, the song "Death Tone", narrated in the first person, told the story of a Vietnam veteran wounded in the war: "ridin' on two wheels". The veteran complained that while others "were sittin' at home", he "got sent to Nam" - presumably a reference to the draft. Back home he struggled to find work and needed assistance: "my social worker's got me on a chain, keeps me out of jail". He said that his "unemployment checks run out next week" and would thus be living on the streets again. So the song portrayed the struggles of a wounded Vietnam vet, trying to re-adjust to society outside of the army and surviving / adapting to life with a major disability. Secondly, the album included the song "Shell Shock", which also looked…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
American heavy metal band formed in 1980 in Auburn, New York, by Joey DeMaio and Ross the Boss. [Source: Wikipedia]