Rockezine.com interview with Manowar on Dec 20, 2002

with Karl Logan on Dec 20, 2002


		Karl Logan – “most nu-metal is crap” The first leg of the Warriors Of The World-tour is almost finished. Tonight the guys of Manowar play their last show this year. The location is a shabby crap-sounding livestock market in Zwolle. Guitar player Karl Logan looks back on a very successful tour. A lot of gigs were completely sold out and the bands latest offering ‘Warriors Of The World’ is their fastest selling album ever.
		“In Germany we already reached gold, that means over 150.000 discs have been sold. Yeah; I’m pretty happy with that.” The band has been building up its fan base for over twenty years. It’s growing still. “It seems like we’re getting a lot more exposure lately. A slow but steady build-up indeed.
		That’s a good thing you know, a flame that burns twice as bright burns only half as long”, says Logan. This tour is their biggest production yet. “We got over 50 people running around and four trucks with equipment.” A whole new stage-design -with plenty of room for the band’s motorcycles- makes for a finishing touch.
		New album Logan is very happy with the way ‘Warriors Of The World’ turned out. ”The response has been very positive. Many people think it’s our best album since Kings Of Metal (1988). We wanted to make a very broad album. Our previous album was a straightforward metal album. This is more diverse. Joey wanted to make it like a soundtrack. It’s very dynamic.”
		Nu Metal The band may sound rejuvenated on their latest album; it’s in no way inspired by the nu-metal movement. Their influences are still firmly routed in metal and classical music. Karl:“Nu metal? No way. Most of it is crap. Of course there are a few talented bands around but there are too many followers. We are not a band of followers. People follow us,” he says very indignantly. “I won’t name names but sometimes it even gets a bit scary.”
		“Nowadays everyone with a computer can release an album”, he continues, ”sure, it’s cool when you’re 14 to pass around your own CD in school, but this stuff is killing music.”
		He is very much against the other possibilities digital music has to offer. “Napster and that kind of stuff? It sucks! This is what I do for a living. If everybody paid a dime for each download it wouldn’t be that bad. But they don’t. My musical ability is like my college diploma. You need time to learn to play your instrument really well and reach a certain level. When you can’t make a profit, you need to take a day-job. At that point there isn’t enough time to practice. It kills professional music.”
		Lonely Xmas The future for Manowar however still looks bright. Next year they are finishing the tour and recording a new album. Logan laughs, “Yeah it’s pretty fast for Manowar standards. But that’s the only advantage of digital recording techniques.”
		Logan’s own direct future looks a lot less appealing. “I think I’ll drive my dirt bike into the living room and take it apart this Xmas. My girlfriend just broke up with me when we were ten days into the tour. So I’m not really looking forward to the holidays.”
		(Martin van der Linden)