Todd Michael Hall - 'Sign Of The Hammer' (Manowar live vocal cover)

The spell has been broken, the curse has been lifted
Black is the wind on the heels of the gifted
Four sworn to vengeance, see the hate in our eyes
Called by the Gods and given a sign

Onward pounding into glory ride
Sign of the hammer be my guide
Final warning, all stand aside
Sign of the hammer it's my time

Pounding pounding, we're back from the dead
Those who denied us are delivered instead
Into the hands of four sworn to ride
Now the people will triumph and live by the sign

Onward pounding into glory ride
Sign of the hammer be my guide
Final warning, all stand aside
Sign of the hammer it's my time

The spell has been broken, the curse has been lifted
Black is the wind on the heels of the gifted
Four sworn to vengeance, see the hate in our eyes
Called by the Gods and given a sign

Onward pounding into glory ride
Sign of the hammer be my guide
Final warning, all stand aside
Old men and young boys, it's my time

Sign of the hammer it's my time
Sign of the hammer be my guide
Sign of the hammer be my guide
Sign of the hammer it's my time

Ο Todd Michael Hall έγινε γνωστός στο "μεταλλικό" κοινό λόγω της παρουσίας του στους Riot V (τα τελευταία δώδεκα έτη). Παράλληλα έχουμε ακούσει την φωνή του σε δίσκους των Jack Starr's Burning Starr, Timo Tolkki's Avalon, Reverence κλπ.

Επίσης "τρέχει" και την προσωπική του καριέρα. Σήμερα θα τον παρακολουθήσουμε, σε βίντεο, να αποδίδει (φωνητικά) το υπερπέπος των Manowar "Sign Of The Hammer" (από τον "μυθικό" ομότιτλο δίσκο των Αμερικανών epic metallers που κυκλοφόρησε τον Οκτώβριο του 1984) και να μας λέει σχετικά:

«My brother Rick introduced me to Manowar back in 1984 via the "Hail To England" album and I loved their music and especially Eric Adams' voice. Eric is at the top of my list along with Geoff Tate as one of my two favorite singers.

His huge range and ability to sing beautifully clean as well as with a beast-like grit is simply astonishing. I ended up meeting Joey DeMaio and Eric when my first album with Burning Starr was released on Magic Circle Music.

Getting to perform in front of them, both live and in the studio, is an experience I will always treasure. Joey picked me to be in Burning Starr, so I am indebted to him for rekindling my music career. Special thanks to Eric, Joey, and the guys from Manowar for the incredible music that inspires us to this day.

On the technical side:

I am calling this a live vocal cover, because I sang the song from beginning to end in one take without any vocal overdubs or edits. Eric's ability to add grit to his voice is unique and amazing.

When I met him in person in the studio I asked him how he ever came up with that incredible sound and he said that he thought "what would an animal sound like". Well, he definitely achieved it to my ears.

I cannot replicate Eric's gritty tone, but our ranges match up quite nicely, so I have always enjoyed singing along to Manowar music.

I performed this song about 6 times over two sessions before getting this final take that I thought was worth sharing. The music came from Moises (with just the lead vocal deleted).

I sent my vocal track and the music track to my friend Kurdt Vanderhoof who added some effects to the vocals and blended them in with the music. Special thanks to Kurdt for his assistance.»