October 15 marks the release anniversary of Sign Of The Hammer – a testament to our unbreakable determination to pursue our vision..
The year was 1984. We had “Battle Hymns” and “Into Glory Ride” under our belt.
We had tasted the good and the bad of the music business, but we were determined to continue to play and record, no matter what. Nothing and nobody would stand in our way!
With a very limited budget, and not knowing if and when we would be in a studio again, we decided to record as many songs as possible.
In those days, it was common for bands to record with everyone together and having poured all our frustrations with the “suits” into rehearsing nonstop, we were so well tuned that most of the tracks for what would become “Hail To England” and “Sign Of The Hammer” were recorded in one day! 13 tracks, to be precise. The only song we could not finish was “Guyana”, which in addition to being the most difficult song on the album was also the last track to be recorded.
Our co-producer, Jack Richardson, insisted, after a long day, that we call it a night and get some well-deserved sleep. We’d nail the song in one take the next day. Well, Jack was right—we recorded the instruments for “Guyana” in one take.
Ultimately, we released “Hail to England” with Music For Nations and then toured again. While in London, one of the A&R guys of 10 Records, a subsidiary of Virgin Records, approached us, wanting to sign the band. We said “perfect! We got a record ready to go!” We did sign, but during the discussions, the label guy said it would be great to have one more track.
Always up for a challenge, Joey sat down and wrote it, right there, right then. And so, “Sign Of The Hammer” came to life—recorded at a former hunting lodge, “The Manor”, owned by Virgin Records, along with some overdubs for some of the other tracks.
We all felt this additional song had the right energy to represent the album and so it ended up being the title track. And the rest, they say, is MANOWAR history!
With this album, the Sign Of The Hammer logo was introduced. Nobody could foresee that soon it would become a symbol for our loyal Army Of Immortals, a mark that represents Power, Brotherhood, and Determination.
A symbol recognized by Manowarriors around the world, often carried on their bodies in amazing tattoos. A privilege and honor that we cherish greatly.