Former Manowar and The Dictators guitarist Ross ‘The Boss’ Friedman has died at the age of 72, according to a post shared by the Metal Hall of Fame on Friday.
The statement says that “earlier this year, Ross publicly shared his diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), facing it with the same courage and honesty that defined his life and career. Ross’s impact on music is immeasurable.” Having noticed in the months leading up to the diagnosis, his struggle seemed brief. This was publicly known, with Friedman announcing at the time that “I’m absolutely blown away by the love and support from family, friends and fans. I love you all.”
Born in 1954, Friedman founded punk rockers The Dictators in 1972 aged 18, releasing what many consider to be among the first examples of punk on their 1975 debut ‘The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!’. After leaving the band in 1978, he did some session work before meeting bassist Joey DeMaio in 1980 and forming Manowar. After eight years and six albums, DeMaio fired Friedman, which the guitarist later dubbed “the worst possible mistake ever made”. The reason he gave for his dismissal was that what DeMaio “wanted in his band was puppets… Money and greed, and him not having to have a partner like me, 50 percent partner [is the reason I was fired]. I don’t like airing that out.” Although he later attempted to redact these remarks, they showed the extent to which their feud ran deep.
Ross was part of the Manowar lineup who drew broad attention when, in 1984, they smashed a Guinness World Record for ‘Loudest Performance’. The albums they released after his exit were infrequently highly rated, with several hits emerging but none on the scale of their pre-1988 output.
Following his sacking, Friedman embarked on a long solo career to some success. Occasionally he would be invited to perform individual shows with Manowar or perform the band’s songs under his own name, though this was rare. The Dictators reformed and he toured with them from the late 1990s onwards.
Manowar, though often tongue in cheek and deliberately preposterous, were a landmark band in the evolution of heavy metal in the 1980s. Taking their queue from the developing speed metal and power metal subgenres, they infused riffy aggression with Eric Adams’ soaring vocals and lyrics detailing battles, mysticism and, above all, a love of metal itself. The incarnation of the band who are still touring are yet to release a statement on Friedman’s death.
“Ross will always be the Metal Hall of Fame’s ‘Global Metal Ambassador’ to the world”, the Metal Hall of Fame announced in their statement. “His powerful playing, unmistakable tone, and uncompromising spirit helped shape generations of musicians and fans around the world.” Friedman’s guitar playing was both blues inflected and showcased traditional metal rhythm guitar strength.
