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Biography
In the beginning, Joey DeMaio was working as a bass-/pyrotechnician for Black Sabbath. When Sabbath played a show at Newcastle City Hall in England, he hooked up with original Manowar guitarist Ross The Boss, who at the time was playing for Shakin Street, a Sabbath support band. As both shared an all-consuming love for in-your-face-metal, it was not long before they struck on the idea of Manowar. Later, having recruited the ultimate voice of heavy metal, Eric Adams (and drummer Donny Hamzik), Manowar recorded their debut album, “Battle Hymns”. It featured a bone chilling narration by legendary actor Orson Welles on the track ”Dark Avenger”.
When Manowar joined forces with a new label, they signed their recording contract in blood, becoming the first band to demonstrate their commitment this way. Their second release, “Into Glory Ride”, featured the debut of Scott Columbus, a man so viscous with the sticks that standard drum kits simply fell to pieces under his awesome attack; hence the need for custom built, stainless steel drums. Recorded and mixed in six days, Manowar’s third album was titled “Hail To England”. It heralded the band’s debut tour of Great Britain. Not since the Vikings invaded Northeast England in 878 had the Isles seen such all-consuming power. The whole of Europe fell prey to Manowar with the ”Spectacle Of Might” tour as the band slashed and burned their way across the continent in support of their fourth album, “Sign Of The Hammer”. It was then that Manowar entered the Guinness Book Of World Records as the world’s loudest band. On the heels of “Sign Of The Hammer”, the band released “Fighting The World”. Manowar took the whole of Europe by storm yet again in support of this record. All the while, the crowds swelled. Manowar satisfied the teeming hordes by playing wilder, louder and heavier, inviting fans to join them onstage to sing or even play guitar.
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