I’m not going to talk you through this release track by track, or with three CDs, I could write a book. But I will gladly share the hilarious listening experience these give. Starting off with the first records, which includes 14 tracks. After an Italian intro, we get Sober, a pirate metal song that’s about, you’ll never guess it, water. Mineral water to be exact. And also some ginger tea and pineapple juice. This all on top of a pirate metal melody. In the next song, Nanowar tells you all about the great achievement of the band, like suggesting the title of Manowar‘s album to be Gods of War, or tell Japanese people that you say cheese when you take a photo, or a million other things, it was all Nanowar. A heavy metal song that’s fun and high pace.

The hilarious song Disco Metal also appears here. Having seen the band live myself in multiple countries, this song is always great live with one of their most iconic dances. This song gets sometimes hated on on the internet because it wouldn’t sound metal enough. But if you ask me, metal has many sides and this is one of them. The Power of Imodium has a crazy intro with fast shredding guitars and pounding drums. For a second, the song goes folk and then goes back to heavy metal again. It’s a very smooth switch and greatly executed live on stage. This CD ends with Barbie, MILF Princess of the Twilight. First of all, can you think of a more amazing title for your song, I can’t. It’s a metal song about Barbie, and it sounds amazing in power metal style.

The first CD contains songs sung in English and Italian. It’s awesome how you hear the crowd humming the verses in the background, admiring their national hero’s. It has other artists in it as well; Alessandro Del Vecchio and Maurizio Merluzzo. It’s humorous, and you can hear the joy through your speakers. Both from the band and from the crowd.

The second CD starts off with one of my favorite songs: Ironmonger (The Copier of the Seven Keys). Helloween has a song ‘Keeper of the seven keys’, but Nanowar copies those keys and tells the story of how you can do things yourself and master all kinds of tools. It’s a calmer melodic heavy metal song with sounds of tools mixed into it. It sounds very harmonious live, and the sounds give it that extra effect. And let’s not forget that this song is all about David Hasselhof! RAP-Sody is like the title says, a rap song. The beat drops and the electric guitars stay down for this song. Although it sounds totally different, it fits perfectly in with all the rest of the songs. The thing is, if you are able to laugh with others, but also with yourself, you can do pretty much anything. Which is what Nanowar are proving with their music and with this live set.

Pasadena 1994 is a Sabaton parody. In the studio version, Sabaton lead singer Joakim Brodén himself joins in on the song. He didn’t sing in this live version, but the two lead singers of Nanowar of Steel, Carlo Alberto Fiaschi and Raffaello Venditti, do a perfect job showing off this song on their own. Norwegian Reggaeton is loudly wanted by the crowd. They scream of joy, and they are right, because this live version sounds even better than the studio version. It’s more alive and the interaction with band and crowd is something that’s hard to capture on a studio CD, but Nanowar did it. A song with calmer verses and a rock chorus, that is very catchy and stays in your head for the rest of the day. Uranus, probably I don’t have to explain this one. It is what you are thinking about, even if you had some doubt, yes, a song about the planet Uranus on a bed of power metal. And yes, the other planets are in there too. A very normal song about planet.
Another personal favorite: Valhalleluja. It’s a Christmas song about Ikea. Usually when they play this live, they put an Ikea table together on stage, and it will crowdsurf for a while and then returns to stage if it isn’t destroyed by then. Amazing. Another power metal song with some fast drums in it. In the studio version, Thomas Winkler of Angus Mcsix takes the role of Odin, and he was actually here on stage! Amazing, again.

Both live CDs show the passion that was there during this concert. The devotion from the band to their music and the fans, but also from the fans to the band. They captured their live sound very nicely, which isn’t always the case with live CDs. But with these CDs, I imagine the performance in front of me while my ears get to enjoy the sound. It’s joyful, it fun and recorded in a very good quality.

The studio album contains 2 new tracks, Stormwarrior of The Storm and HelloWorld.java.. Let’s check those out first, conveniently, as they are also the first two tracks of this CD. Stormwarrior of The Storm takes the form of fast guitars and faster drums. The chorus is low and strong. It repeats weather conditions now and then, so you’ll definitely know it’s storming. HelloWorld.java is a script that is sung out in a song. My boyfriend who works in IT confirmed that there were actually no mistakes made in the song, which proves the effort Nanowar of Steel puts in their songs. They do their research especially well.

Afraid to Shoot Into the Eyes of a Stranger in a Strange Land is a parody on Iron Maiden. The moment the song starts, you recognize the Maiden vibes, and you wouldn’t think it’s a parody song. Besides the sound, there are so many Iron Maiden references in it. If you are a big Maiden fan, I challenge you to find them all. Good luck and tell me how many you found! Armpits of Immortals is great fun to listen to and dance along. They explain in the song what you have to do to be part of the armpits of immortals, and you can dance along.

Das Rote Pferd is a cover of a German party song with once again genius dance moves. I’ve heard it so many times, and I have to laugh every time I hear it and do the dance. Not quite sure which genre I will put on this song. Geman schlager rock sounds about right. And also, how many languages can this band speak?
El Baile del Perrito (Wilfrido Vargas Cover) is a song I didn’t know before this CD. It has Spanish vibes, sun and beach vibes with electric guitars, which is more of the beach party I’d like to go to. Brave Margot (Georges Brassens Cover feat. Nils Courbaron) All names I don’t know and a song I don’t know, but it’s a party song sung in French and has the Nanowar of Steel Party vibe.

We’re Going to Tortuga! (Venga Boys Cover feat. The Rumpled) A song I do know another version off (We’re Going To Ibiza by the Venga Boys), I also know that Nanowar of Steel did another collab with The Rumpled called Bikini Pirates. Mix all these genres and thoughts in your head, and this sounds exactly how you think it would.

I love that all their covers really are dipped in the Nanowar of Steel vibe, but you can also still recognize the original one. You just get to hear the trip the song has taken and how it comes back home after the vacation.
Gabonzo Robot Japanese Version, again, how many languages can this band speak? This song originally released in Italian, as they sang it in their live show. But this, as the title says, is the Japanese version.

This 3CD release is a great summary of what Nanowar of Steel is capable off. It is almost just as fun on CD as it is at a concert. Of course, not exactly as fun, as you can’t see the dances and replicate them. But you can hear the sound of joy in the voices of the crowd and also in the voices of the band themselves. If you haven’t seen them, I would highly recommend it. When they come to your neighborhood, you should grab the chance and join the fun for yourself. Until then, enjoy these 28 live tracks and 9 studio tracks to rock out to and laugh to. Laugh with others, laugh with yourself, and you will see that Nanowar of Steel makes this world a little happier with each song.

Edoardo Carlesi – Bass
Carlo Alberto Fiaschi – Vocals
Raffaello Venditti – Vocals
Valerio Storch – Guitar
Alessandro Milone – Drums

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