MANOWAR's JOEY DEMAIO 'Can't Wait To Get To Court' In Band's Dispute With HELLFEST Organizers

MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio says that he is looking forward to presenting his case in court in his dispute with the Hellfest organizers over the cancelation of the band's concert at the 2019 edition of the French heavy metal festival.

It was reported on June 21, 2019 that MANOWAR's performance at the annual event in Clisson was called off just hours before the veteran metal group was supposed to take the stage.

The Hellfest organizers later issued a statement saying that the MANOWAR members "decided to leave the site" and insisting that the cancelation was caused by "reasons beyond our will."

MANOWAR disputed Hellfest's version of the circumstances that led to the band's non-appearance at the event, claiming that the Hellfest organizers canceled the show after they "chose not to honor their contractual obligations."

In July 2019, DeMaio announced during MANOWAR's concert in Istanbul, Turkey that he and his bandmates had filed a lawsuit against the Hellfest organizers, explaining that "we don't fuck around. People try to fuck with our fans… Nobody's gonna push MANOWAR around," he said. "We're not gonna give our fans less than a hundred percent. We don't take shit from anybody. And yes, we would rather give a hundred percent or nothing."

DeMaio discussed the Hellfest legal dispute during a new appearance on Germany's "Metal Hammer Podcast". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think about it every day. I can't wait to get to court. I can't wait. And I hope all the people that were stupid enough to piss on me and the band and call me an asshole and say that I canceled, not one of them can find a cancelation on my web site. I never canceled. It's a fucking dream. It's a lie. They canceled — not me. Why would I show up in France with all my trucks and 50 people if I wasn't prepared to play and wanted to play?

"But don't worry — we're going to court, and on that day, it will be the day of deliverance," he promised. "People will find out what really goes on in this business. So I invite anybody who's out there, when the day comes, come and watch me in action when I get a chance to tell my story to the judge. And I hope everybody who condemned me will use that same energy to apologize. Not to me — I don't give a fuck — but apologize to the fans that believed in the band and stand behind us."

When DeMaio first announced MANOWAR's lawsuit against the Hellfest organizers, he said that he wanted "the world to know the fucking truth, exactly what happened over there. It was the promoters that caused every fucking problem — not MANOWAR."

He added: "I believe we will win this lawsuit, and when we do, we're gonna take some money and we're gonna find a country and we're gonna find a city in that country that will have us, and we're gonna play a free concert, and the whole fucking world is invited. You have my fucking word that that will happen… And don't listen to these fucking ass-kissing motherfuckers on the Internet talk shit about MANOWAR and their rumors. None of those fucking assholes were even there. Do they have a copy of our contract? Were they backstage? Did they see what happened? No. They've got nothing better to do than play with their fucking little dicks and type on the fucking Internet and talk shit about people. But we're the band that showed up there with eight fucking trucks, or however many we had, ready to play. And guess what? We never canceled. Yeah, that's right. The announcement came from them, on their site. But it was nice for people to say we canceled so they wouldn't have to listen to the fans bitch. So maybe those people should ask these fuckers some questions about what really happened."

MANOWAR has just released a new song called "Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell" dedicated to the band's loyal German fans. Check out the official lyric video below.

"Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell", which translates into "Loud And Hard Strong And Fast", is an anthemic mid-tempo hymn in the vein of MANOWAR's classic "Warriors Of The World United" that invites fans to sing along and raise their hands in celebration of their favorite genre and band.

"Laut Und Hart Stark Und Schnell" was first released digitally on February 10 on all major platforms and will be available during MANOWAR's German tour. The European retail release is scheduled for February 24.

Five months ago, MANOWAR announced that it had recruited Michael Angelo Batio, a veteran both in the studio and on stage, to play guitar for the band on its 2023 "Crushing The Enemies Of Metal" tour. The news came in the wake of guitarist Evandro "EV" Martel's announcement that he was taking a break from touring for a while for "personal reasons".

Although MANOWAR has released a couple of EPs in recent years — including "The Revenge Of Odysseus (Highlights)", which came out in June — the group hasn't issued a full-length effort since 2012's "The Lord Of Steel".

MANOWAR's two "secret" warm-up shows in June 2022 at Jovel Music Hall in Münster, Germany marked the band's debut live appearances with new drummer Dave Chedrick, who has previously played with RAVEN and KILL RITUAL, among others.

Chedrick joined MANOWAR as the replacement for Anders Johannson who announced that same month that he would be unable to join MANOWAR on the band's "Crushing The Enemies Of Metal Anniversary Tour '22/'23" due to "family commitments."