An interview with Joey DeMaio to the Greek Metal Hammer magazine by Chakos Pervanidis!

CP: Hail Joey. I hope no one of your family is buried under the ashes of the World Trade Center in New York.
Joey DeMaio: Hopefully nobody brother. What happened to my country was really tremendous but this is something that many countries have lived and with this strike we came back to our places and we understood things that it was unfamiliarly for us until then.

CP: Let's start our interview. Your label told us that we would talk only for the DVD and the re-issues of your first 3 albums. So, the DVD will be more 'liberal' than the video?
Joey DeMaio: Yes, there will be a bonus material at the DVD.

CP: Most of the bands present scenes from gigs and clips at their videos. Manowar in reversal also include a lot of scenes from your activities backstage. Why is that?
Joey DeMaio: Many fans, during all those years, told us that they have never had the opportunity to see Manowar off stage. If the world wants to know which is the real heavy metal way of life, then they can watch it on this video. Still there are some fans in countries like China that they have never seen the band performing live. With this video they have the chance to be with Manowar in every stance of our tour.

CP: Would you say that the real identity of Manowar reflects on this video?
Joey DeMaio: I think that in this video reflects only a part of Manowar 's way of life. Our real identity reflects when we are on stage and perform live. Our parties and our affinities with our groupies comprises part of our lives, but the heavy side of the band appears when we preparing for a show and when we actualize it.

CP: Have you ever thought to include some early days material in video? Wouldn't be a good idea at "Hell On Earth Pt.II" also contains some early material?
Joey DeMaio: Undoubtedly!! We are working on a book and a DVD which we will include the full history of the band. Includes our history before the creation of the band and comes until now. Of course, this is something that needs time to realize and it's not something that will realized soon.

CP: What's the title of the book? And who is the writer?
Joey DeMaio: It's too early to speak about titles. I will be the basic source of the book and probably I will cooperate with a writer.

CP: Ok, let's move to the re-issues now. Metal Blade released again your first3 albums. How came up this co action?
Joey DeMaio: Brian Slagel, Metal Blade's boss, is a friend of mine and a true heavy metal fan. Brian and I also cooperating in another level, since Metal Blade has undertaken the albums allocation of my record company, Magic Circle Music. Our contact had as result the re-releases of our 3 first albums. From my label and through Metal Blade will be released the album of a band called Bludgeon. Remember this name, brother! It's about a band from Chicago, which plays incredibly, real heavy metal. Their album will be released in March 2002 and it will bang us.

CP: You have also attended the production?
Joey DeMaio: Yes. This is the first time in my career that I am producing for a band expect Manowar. They don't remind anyone, they have their own style and it's metal.

CP: What kind of releases we have to expect in future from Magic Circle Music?
Joey DeMaio: We are looking for bands, which play music from their hearts. This is only what matter.

CP: Usually the re-releases, apart from the digital sound, increased with bonus tracks. Why didn't you include some extra material?
Joey DeMaio: We don't have any overages. Manowar are not like the bands that write 30 shit-songs and then add to the albums the less piteous. Manowar writes only good material and we add it all to our records.

CP: Ok. Let's travel to past now. How the name Manowar came up?
Joey DeMaio: The name Manowar came up from the people which, in their heart and in their mind they are true warriors.

CP: I have the following question. Have you ever play a cover song? Manowar are maybe the only big band that has never record music of another band. Why is that? Have you played cover songs in early days?
Joey DeMaio: You will never see cover songs from Manowar. Sometimes we played cover songs, like in Dynamo festival, which we performed a song from Golden Earring. But in our early days we never played music of other bands.

CP: So, who were your influences?
Joey DeMaio: It's still the same, classic heavy metal. Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. But listen brother, we have to talk about the DVD and the re-releases that's what my record company told me.

CP: But we are talking about this. We are talking about how Manowar were when they released album like these.
Joey DeMaio: You are right, but we have to talk about the re-releases and the DVD.

CP: You are the boss. Do you think that those re-releases could accost to the new age of the metal fans?
Joey DeMaio: Sure! They give to today's fans the opportunity to hear the classic heavy metal that Manowar played and still continue to play all these years, contrarily with other bands that they have changed their music style, fuck their fans and today play bullshits. Manowar will always be true to their fans and we will never betray them.

CP: How came up the cooperation with Orson Wells in your first two albums? ("Defender" was planed to released in "Into Glory Ride")
Joey DeMaio: For the songs "Dark Avenger" and "Defender" we need a narrator. My opinion is that, never again will be a better voice for narration, in the whole earth, than Orson Wells. Some people from the record company gave him the narration scripts and he thought it were genius. So, he came to the studio by him self and he record this words.

CP: So, since "Defender" belongs to "Into Glory Rides" sessions, why didn't you add it to the re-release?
Joey DeMaio: Because the copy that I had at my place was destroyed and I had to find the original masters and re-mix them again from the beginning. But the time was forcing us and we choose to leave it outside. In the future you will see it someplace.

CP: Why did you dedicate "Hail To England" to your British fans?
Joey DeMaio: Because they were the first who believed in us back in 1983, when we performed for the first time in England. We had to do something about them, as we also did in "Triumph Of Steel" for our Greek fans. I cannot wait the time to be back in your country and you can be sure we will return.

CP: Thank you Joey.
Joey DeMaio: Thank you brother, Hail & Kill !