Hello, my name is Katja Blackmamba.
For me, Manowar is about more than just their unforgettable music. Through them, I have been able to meet fans from all over the world, many of whom have become real friends for life.
Besides making these lifelong friends, which would have been enough, I was also blessed by finding the “replacement father” that I always wished for.
My childhood was marked by a tyrannical and violent creator (this person never deserved to be called a father). In 2007, I supported my 70-year-old mother in a divorce, that became a war. After more than 50 years of marriage, she finally had the courage to leave my biological producer. While I was facing all these struggles in my life, Manowar held the first Magic Circle Festival in my hometown.
Because of my business, I was able to meet and talk to fans from all over the world and they all had one thing in common: they shared a very deep connection with the band and their music.
This is when I first saw the many parallels to my life and the cohesion and deep loyalty of this fan base, as though they had cast a spell over me.
“Fighting the World” became the anthem to my life, and still is today.
Battles Are Fought By Those With The Courage To Believe
They Are Won By Those Who Find The Heart
– in these meaningful lyrics I recognized myself, my soul.
Each of us Manowarriors has text passages that reflect exactly one part of our lives.
The second Magic Circle Festival was held in 2008. It was even bigger and more breathtaking than the year before. Words cannot describe the spectacle of this festival, for me personally it was a time of rebirth.
I organized a big Fan Meet and Greet Party together with another fan/friend and as I got to know the fans more and more, it became more than just friendship with many, they became part of my family, my brothers and sisters.
In the following years my husband and I were present at almost every concert and eventually we met the band, and Joey also introduced my husband and I to his best friend, and legendary concert promoter, Rainer Hänsel.
From that first meeting, Rainer and I became best friends, on the many tours we spent countless hours together, but also privately, because we lived only a few kilometers apart.
Although I will never overcome his untimely death in 2017, I am deeply grateful that Joey introduced me to the man who became a loving, honest and charismatic surrogate father, and we were able to become the family that Rainer never had.
Joey himself is also one of the most open-minded, helpful, generous people I know, he has a rare sense of honor and strength of character you rarely see in people. A man who gives everything, not only for his family and friends, but also for his fans.
“I believe in metal more than anybody you’ve ever met. And another thing, I’m prepared to die for metal. Are you?” When he says this, you can be sure it’s the absolute truth and not just some empty interview chatter.
I have faced a lot of suffering in my life, with lies being told about me in legal disputes etc. etc., so I always feel very emotional and hurt for Joey and the band when I read bad press, usually filled with lies or when former fans turned against him or the band in numerous comments on the World Wide Web.
But just like in his song lyrics, Joey has never, and will never give up. On the contrary MANOWAR becomes stronger.
“They can’t stop us let them try, for Heavy Metal we will die!”
Manowar is not only unforgettable music and meaningful lyrics, MANOWAR is the truth, MANOWAR is, and always will be a way of life – My Life
Hail and Kill
Katja
#MANOWAR #40thanniversary #manowarriorforlife
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