Following movie and theater legend Brian Blessed (Hamlet, Flash Gordon) MANOWAR have teamed up with another Hollywood veteran, sound designer Hamilton Sterling (pictured below), for 'The Warrior’s Prayer MMXIV' from their forthcoming new album Kings Of Metal MMXIV. Blessed had recorded the epic narration earlier this year and called it “a brilliant piece of writing” and the collaboration with Manowar “completely miraculous and life changing”.

“Brian did a sensational job! He didn’t just narrate the story. He performed it.”, said Manowar bassist and producer Joey DeMaio. “When you listen to the narration, you feel like you are watching a short Hollywood movie. We instantly knew that we had to complement Brian’s outstanding performance with sound effects of the same quality. We searched for another Hollywood heavyweight, and Mr. Hamilton Sterling was the perfect choice!”, DeMaio explained.

Hollywood veteran Hamilton Sterling is a sound effects specialist with numerous credits including action blockbusters like The Dark Knight, Men In Black 3, War Of The Worlds, and Master And Commander: The Far Side of the World, two of which won Oscars for Best Sound Editing.

“My friend, the Grammy Award winning Audio Engineer Rich Breen, contacted me regarding Manowar's soundscape project 'The Warrior’s Prayer MMXIV'. In this case, a previously recorded narrative framework was in place, spoken by the excellent actor Brian Blessed, who I had seen as a young man in Robert Graves’ I, Claudius. His evocative performance was a marvel of emotion, and its dynamic range allowed me the space to move from the most quiet and ethereal sounds to full-on battle. His imaginative performance was an excellent guide, as was Mr. DeMaio’s sense of story and direction.”, said Hamilton Sterling.

Manowar's Kings Of Metal album, a milestone in metal history, was first released on November 18th, 1988, followed by a world tour in 1989. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of these events, Manowar will release a brand new special version of the album, Kings Of Metal MMXIV, followed by the Kings Of Metal MMXIV World Tour.

Confirmed tour dates:

March

19 - Olymp Palace of Sports - Krasnodar, Russia
21 - Luzhniki Palace of Sports - Moscow, Russia
23 - Yubileyny Sports Palace - St. Petersburg, Russia

July

26 - Suvilahti Open Air - Helsinki, Finland

Manowar recently announced their headlining performance at the Magic Circle Festival 2014, due to be held on July 25th and 26th at Suvilahti Open Air in Helsinki, Finland. This will be the first Magic Circle Festival in Finland ever.

Celebrating Manowar's worldwide metal community, the festival is hosted by different countries and has previously taken place in Germany and Slovenia, where it was attended by metal fans from more than 35 nations.

"We are very excited to bring the Magic Circle Festival for the first time ever to Finland," said promoter Hardi Loog. "We are going to have a fantastic festival, with Manowar headlining with their special Kings Of Metal 2014 anniversary show, plus more bands and lots of other entertainment for an unforgettable metal experience!"

In their headlining anniversary show Manowar will perform the entire Kings Of Metal MMXIV album, a brand new special version of their hit album, Kings Of Metal that will be released in spring, along with a Best Of set of other immortal metal hymns in a completely new stage production.

"We are calling all Finnish Manowarriors to get ready to join us for the biggest Metal show of 2014!" announced Manowar bassist Joey DeMaio. "And we are calling the Manowarriors from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, Germany, and from every metal country in the world to get their asses to Helsinki next summer. If you haven't been to Finland before, this is the perfect opportunity! The Finnish warriors will show you how to really drink, party and have a great time!"

Different ticket options, including Ultimate Fan Packages, will be available. Prices start at 75 euros. Tickets will go on sale on November 4, 2013 at Tiketti.fi and Lippupalvelu.fi.

Details about the further line up and additional entertainment activities will be announced soon.