MANOWAR To Embark On 40th-Anniversary Tour In 2021

MANOWAR will embark on its 40th-anniversary tour in 2021. The trek will kick off in April in Germany and will include shows in The Netherlands for the first time in many years. The tour will be bigger than ever, featuring orchestra and choir, Viking reenactors, stunning visuals and a powerful set list full of immortal classics.

"All of us, everywhere in the world, are living in a very challenging time right now," said bassist Joey DeMaio. "But we will get through this, standing together, stronger than ever! Music is a universal power! It guides us through tough times and unites us! And when it is time to celebrate again, we will raise our hands in victory, with the greatest fans in the world!"

The 40th-anniversary tour 2021 will be a celebration of everything metal fans love about MANOWAR: Songs that unite and inspire, epic imagery, outstanding sound and a gathering of like-minded friends under the Sign Of The Hammer.

Tickets will go on exclusive pre-sale on Tuesday, June 2 at 10 a.m. CEST on Eventim Germany and Eventim Netherlands. General ticket sale will start on other ticket outlets on Friday, June 5 at 10 a.m. CEST.

A limited number of Ultimate Fan Experience upgrades, for the most personal fan experience ever, will be available on this tour. These upgrades work in conjunction with any ticket for the respective event. Fans should secure their admission tickets now and can purchase an Ultimate Fan Experience once these upgrades go on sale.

Back in May 2016, MANOWAR revealed that it would say "thank you", "farewell" and "goodbye" to its fans on a world tour that would be "bigger and beyond anything" the group had ever done. Calling the tour "The Final Battle", MANOWAR said that the fans who come to see the veteran metal act perform would "be left with an eternal memory; having witnessed the band that has dedicated their blood, hearts, souls and every moment of their career to true heavy metal."

Naturally, most fans assumed that MANOWAR would never play again after the completion of "The Final Battle", but DeMaio has since clarified that the band has every intention of continuing for years to come.

In an interview with Summa Inferno, conducted ahead of MANOWAR's appearance at the Hell & Heaven Metal Fest, DeMaio addressed the band's future activities, explaining that he and his bandmates have grand plans for the coming months.

"People had the wrong idea about 'The Final Battle' tour," he said. "When we announced the name of the tour, people immediately thought, 'Oh, no. They're gonna break up. They're gonna stop forever,' which, that was never the intention. The intention was for sure to take a break for some time because we're working on a big rock opera — and I mean musical rock opera; however you wanna look at it. But it's gonna be a big epic story. And so that takes time. We can't put that together like that. And the last EP, songs that were released, will be part of this massive big epic story. So when we announced that, there was a confusion and people thought, 'Oh, no.' But that's not the story. We're here in Mexico for the first time — but not the last time."

A year ago, the 65-year-old bassist said that he was "too young to retire" and blamed "some journalists" for "reinterpreting" MANOWAR's 2016 "farewell" tour announcement in order to "sell magazines." He told Bulgaria's Z Rock Radio: "Journalists make their money by what they write and photographers make their money by having a 'wow' picture. But I'm very protective over our fans, and when people write shit that ends up affecting and causing problems for our fans, I get mad."

In a 2017 interview with "Outdoor Adventures With Jayson", MANOWAR singer Eric Adams said that he would "miss the big stage" after the band completes its final tour. He said: "This is it. We've got one last tour coming up… But all good things have to come to an end at some point."

MANOWAR released a new EP, "The Final Battle I", in March 2019. At the time, the band said that parts II and III of the trilogy would arrive at a later date, inspired by MANOWAR's adventures on the remainder of "The Final Battle".