Eric Adams (musician)

For other people named Eric Adams, see Eric Adams (disambiguation).
Eric Adams
Background information
Birth name Louis Marullo
Born (1954-07-12) 12 July 1954[1]
Auburn, New York, United States
Genres Heavy metal, Power metal
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Vocals
Guitar
Keyboard
Years active 1965–present
Labels Magic Circle Music
Associated acts Manowar
HolyHell

Eric Adams (born Louis Marullo, July 12, 1954) has been the singer of the American heavy metal band Manowar since its inception in 1980. Previously, he sang for a group called LOOKS, a band which also included future Manowar bassist and childhood friend, Joey DeMaio.

Early life

Louis Marullo was born in Auburn, New York, United States. He first showed interested in music when he was nine years old, playing the guitar and forming his own garage band in 1965 called The Kids. This group, formed by him and his classmates, would perform shows in the mid-1960s, with songs generally focusing on childhood love. The band released a song entitled "Lovin' Everyday" in 1965, which was released as a single for their 1966 album Class of '66. Adams was 11 years old at the time.

In 1980, he joined the newly founded band Manowar and has been the lead vocalist since. His stage name is a combination of the names of his sons, Eric and Adam. He also has a daughter.

Personal life and relationships

Eric is a passionate fan of hunting. In an interview with Metal Rules, he stated, "I'm a big time bow hunter and I'm a New York State instructor for bow hunting."[2] When asked about the band's relationships with present and former band members, he remarked that previous band members remain on good terms with the band, sometimes even contributing instruments to new albums.

When asked about his musical training, he said, "I took one voice lesson in my life. (Laughs) He taught me the correct way to breathe and from there I took off and I went to “the school of hardknocks” and took the rest of my lessons myself!"[3]

Voice, musical style and other talents

He is known for holding high note screams for over 40 seconds at Manowar shows. Adams's main vocal influence is Ian Gillan; Adams declared in an interview that he used to go to every Deep Purple show as a young man because he loved Gillan's voice.[4] However, he has also worked to create his own, personal style. His voice covers 4 octaves from bass B1 to the soprano C6. As Adams has aged, his vocal high end has decreased, so recent Manowar albums are tuned lower than earlier albums. Adams can also play guitar and drums; in his hunting DVD, "Wild Life and Wild Times," he plays guitar in the soundtrack.

As a singer and showman, Adams has gained respect and appreciation even from critics who do not express particular esteem for the band. In July of 2011, Adrien Begrand wrote about him: "They (Manowar) have one of the most likeable, charismatic frontmen in the genre".[5]

Performances out of metal genre

Although Adams has essentially devoted his artistic life to the metal genre, he can sing other genres as well. One of his most interesting and unusual exploits was singing the aria "Nessun Dorma" (from Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot) live in Milan in 1999 as a tribute to the Italian Manowar fans, and later recording the song for the Warriors of the World album in 2002. The same album also contains "An American Trilogy," which Adams first performed at the Popcom. While touring in 2007, he sang "The Phantom of the Opera," the famous duet from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical of the same title, with Maria Breon of HolyHell. A live recording of this song was included on HolyHell's first studio disc, Apocalypse (Magic Circle Music). Adams has also sung the Christmas carol "Silent Night".[6] He also recorded the song "Where Eagles Fly" with world's best-selling soprano, Sarah Brightman, for her album Harem, although this song has never been officially released. Finally, on June 30, 2007, Adams sang the Bulgarian national anthem "Mila Rodino" during Manowar's concert in Kavarna, Bulgaria, as a tribute to the Bulgarian fans. It was recorded for the Magic Circle Festival DVD. He did this the next year, again in Kavarna.

Discography

For the main list see Manowar Discography

Outside of music

Adams is an accomplished bow hunter and a qualified bow instructor. Together with Chester Moore, he produced, and featured in, the outdoor DVD Wild Life and Wild Times (2006). The soundtrack was composed by Adams himself, who also plays guitar and keyboard.[7] He was also featured in several hunting radio shows and magazines. He is a regular columnist in Texas Fish & Game Magazine as the Bow Hunting Editor. When asked about his personal flavour about music, he says that he likes classical music. In an interview he stated he is not much of a KISS fan. Adams has also said the band is friend with many other performers, especially in the metal sphere, so they know a lot of musicians and styles of music.

Musical influences

Adams has confirmed in various interviews about his musical influences. His strongest influence was Ian Gillan, stating that it was his screaming that made him what he was in his early days. He was mostly recognizably influenced by Gillan in Manowar's first few albums, until creating his own stage style. When asked about Robert Plant and Ozzy Osbourne, he says that "they are great too, but for me it was definitely Gillan. I was the guy sitting in the tents all night and waiting for Purple to appear." He has also made it clear how when Gillan sang "Child in Time", it "blew his mind away".

See also

References

  1. ↑ "How old is eric adams of manowar? – kgb answers". Kgbanswers.com. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  2. ↑ "Eric Adams of Manowar interview". Metal-Rules.com. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  3. ↑ "Critical Mass Recordings". Criticalmass.se. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  4. ↑ "Interview With Eric Adams of Manowar". Metal-Rules.com. 2002-05-12. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  5. ↑ "Columns". PopMatters. 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  6. ↑ "Manowar Silent Night - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  7. ↑ "Magic Circle Music : Homepage". Magiccirclemusic.com. Retrieved 2014-07-16.

External links

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