Kings of Metal
1988 studio album by Manowar
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Kings of Metal is the sixth album by the American heavy metal band Manowar, released on November 18, 1988 by Atlantic Records. The album was the last to feature guitarist and founding member Ross "The Boss" Friedman, who later went on to rejoin punk band The Dictators. Drummer Scott Columbus left the band after this album as well, but rejoined for 1996's Louder Than Hell and remained with the band until 2008.
| Kings of Metal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art by Ken Kelly | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 18, 1988 | |||
| Recorded | Universal Recording, Chicago | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal, power metal | |||
| Length | 47:57 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Manowar, Jason Flom | |||
| Manowar chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 6/10[2] |
In 2017, Loudwire ranked it as the 13th-best power metal album of all time.[3] The album was re-recorded by the band in 2014 as Kings of Metal MMXIV.
Track listing
All songs written by Joey DeMaio except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wheels of Fire" | 4:10 | |
| 2. | "Kings of Metal" | Ross Friedman, DeMaio | 3:43 |
| 3. | "Heart of Steel" | 5:10 | |
| 4. | "Sting of the Bumblebee" (instrumental) | Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (adapted by DeMaio, lyrics transcribed by Bob Piorun) | 2:49 |
| 5. | "The Crown and the Ring (Lament of the Kings)" | 4:46 | |
| 6. | "Kingdom Come" | 3:56 | |
| 7. | "Pleasure Slave" (present only on the US release of the album) | 5:37 | |
| 8. | "Hail and Kill" | Friedman, DeMaio | 5:57 |
| 9. | "The Warriors Prayer" | 4:20 | |
| 10. | "Blood of the Kings" | 7:29 | |
| Total length: | 47:57 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wheels of Fire" | 4:11 |
| 2. | "Kings of Metal" | 3:43 |
| 3. | "Heart of Steel" | 5:10 |
| 4. | "Sting of the Bumblebee" (instrumental) | 2:45 |
| 5. | "The Crown and the Ring (Lament of the Kings)" | 4:53 |
| 6. | "Kingdom Come" | 3:55 |
| 7. | "Hail and Kill" | 5:54 |
| 8. | "The Warriors Prayer" | 4:20 |
| 9. | "Blood of the Kings" | 7:30 |
| Total length: | 42:21 | |
Personnel
- Manowar
- Eric Adams − vocals
- Ross the Boss − guitars
- Joey DeMaio − bass
- Scott Columbus − drums
- Additional musicians
- Canoldir Male Choir directed by Clive Griffiths
- Arthur Whilshire – voices on track 9
- Grant Williams – voices on track 9
- Production
- Richard Breen – engineer, mixing, Synclavier programming
- Elvis T. Gruber – assistant engineer
- Vince Gutman – digital programming, recording and mixing supervision
- Howie Weinberg – mastering at Masterdisk, New York
- Jason Flom – executive producer
Charts
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[4] | 20 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5] | 37 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[6] | 45 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Germany (BVMI)[7] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| Spain (Promusicae)[8] | Gold | 50,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||