Political and ethical values of the music of manowar

Abstract

The object of the article is the musical production of Manowar, a heavy metal band from the United States. The study aims to show how the music of Manowar has a high political and social relevance, especially within the recent history and cultural perspective of the USA. Firstly, I present a general overview on the band’s music style, lyrical topics, stage imagery, fan behavior, and so forth. Secondly, I focus on the semiotic analysis of the song The Fight For Freedom, which features on the album Warriors of the World (2002), through the popular music semiotics categories given by Stefani and Predieri in Una Strategia di Pace: la Difesa Popolare Nonviolenta [A Strategy of Peace: the Non-violent Popular Defence] (1993). As a result, I point out how the music of Manowar conveys a twofold message. From one point of view, The Fight For Freedom is strongly related to the Twin Towers attack on 11 September 2001, and Manowar invite all their fans to fight against those who want to take their freedom away. On the other hand, the music of Manowar is also a “battle hymn” against more general difficulties in life, to which one must not surrender, but rather find the necessary strength to live a life full of experiences and courage.