(Rated this album with 8 out of 10) Reviewed by
doomiteash
from New Mexico, USA
I have to say, when I was first getting interested in Manowar, I listened to clips of this CD before finally deciding on "The Triumph of Steel" as my first Manowar CD. About a year and a half and three more Manowar CDs later ("Battle Hymns," "Kings Of Metal," and "Warriors Of The World"), I finally purchased the "Fighting The World" CD. I'm glad that I did not purchase this CD first. If I had, I would have been traumatized by the band's (normally) heavier than heavy sound on the other CDs I mentioned. Seriously though, there is a lot of good music on this CD, but I find most of it MUCH more subdued than their regular "take no prisoners, in your face, PURE METAL" sound. The title track is a great mid-to-late '80s power anthem. ("FIGHT! For a living... FIGHTING THE WORLD!") "Blow Your Speakers" is kind of on the cheesy side, I'll admit. But it's still a good song (I don't think Manowar could put out a bad song, actually). "Carry On" is good; it has kind of a Def Leppard thing going for it (check out the harmonies on the choruses after the first chorus). "Violence And Bloodshed" reminds me of early Metallica, with its fast, driving rhythm and Eric's voice yelling out the lyrics. "Defender" rocks, plain and simple (As in "Dark Avenger" from "Battle Hymns," Eric's vocals and Orson Welles' narration combine beautifully with the slow ballad style here). Everything from then on is pretty much classic Manowar (read: Hard and HEAVY!). The last four tracks are all hard-hitting power metal gems. All in all this CD is a great Manowar experience, but I wouldn't recommend it for a first Manowar CD, try "The Triumph of Steel" or "Kings of Metal" instead.
