Sign of the Hammer by Manowar

Sign of the Hammer, Manowar's fourth album, hit the racks in October 1984 on 10 Records and Virgin, and by guitarist Ross the Boss's account some of it came out of the same Toronto sessions at Phase One Studios that gave them Hail to England, with Jack Richardson producing. The Auburn, New York, crew are in full battle dress: Eric Adams howling, Joey DeMaio's bass rumbling through the floor, Ross slashing away and Scott Columbus pounding the kit.

DeMaio's "Thor (The Powerhead)" sets the Norse god loose on the world's evils, a taste of the mythology the band would keep mining, while "Guyana (Cult of the Damned)" goes somewhere darker, to Jim Jones and the 1978 mass suicide at Jonestown. That same year Guinness logged Manowar for the loudest performance on record, so "All Men Play on 10" reads less like a joke than a creed. Classic Rock later called it gonzo metal, and that's about right.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.