"Are you happy with the world today?" "We're happy with the Manowar fans!"

Scott Columbus, the heroic drummer of the American kings of metal Manowar, talks about the band's fans, the kick-ass new album "Gods of War", the fans, the world today, the fans, the kick-ass new album, the readiness to die for metal, the fans and the kick-ass new album. And the fans, of course.

Vassil Varbanov: Hey, Scott, how are you?

Scott Columbus: Good, how are you?

V. V.: Good. It's great to have you live with us today! Where are you at the moment?

S. C.: I'm in New York.

V. V.: What's the weather like there?

S. C.: It's crap! it's shit!

V. V.: Well, the main idea of this interview is to talk about your new record, "Gods of War", so are you happy with it?

S. C.: Oh, we're fuckin' thrilled! We think it kills! It's something we've never done before. It's a concept album and it's meant to be listened to from the first track to the last one, and we think it kicks ass.

V. V.: Today, when lots of people don't like the situation that a big part of the planet is at war - I mean American, Bulgarian, English and other people being in Iraq - was it on purpose that you sing about war?

S. C.: Not at all. We decided to do a concept album as a tribute to the Nordic gods and to Odin - that's the whole storyline here. It has nothing to do with what's going on today. People need to get away from what's on TV and in the newspapers and just have something to listen to to take all this shit off their minds.

V. V.: Yeah, but at the same time it's still war... Are you happy with the world today and with what's going on on the planet in terms of war?

S. C.: Well... We're happy with the Manowar fans. They've been waiting for an album for a long time, and we think they're gonna think this album kicks ass just as we do. We're not so much concerned about what's going on around the world, we're concerned about our fans, playing live and putting on a kick-ass show.

V. V.: You said this is the first concept album in the long and glorious history of Manowar. In what other terms this one is different from your previous records? I'm talking about technology, working process and stuff.

S. C.: We always take pride in using the latest technologies, like the best drum sounds, the best guitar sounds... For each album we hope to improve the sound and make it the best we can, so this one is not different. It's a big, epic, huge production, very lavish, very sick... It kicks ass!

V. V.: "Gods of War" is a concept album, but we can see that actually the whole concept of defenders of true metal is said in the best way in the bonus track, "Die for Metal", isn't it?

S. C.: Yeah, I mean... We love our fans, and if it wasn't for the Manowar fans, we wouldn't be here, so... Every now and then we like to write and play a song as a tribute to the true heavy metal fans all over the world, and that's the track "Die for Metal".

V. V.: You know, last year Joey DeMaio said he believes in the fans and in metal more than anybody else, and that he's ready to die for metal. What about you, Scott? Would you die for metal?

S. C.: That's what the song is all about. When you put your heart and soul into the music - that's really what we believe in. Heavy metal! So... Hey, why not?

V. V.: Cool. Which of the other 3 guys in the band is your best friend?

S. C.: We all get along great. That's maybe one of the reasons why Manowar has been together for 10 studio records now. You know, we constantly get this question: Why is Manowar still around and how long will you go? We'll go forever! We're really a family. A heavy metal family!

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock