Manowar has announced plans to embark on a "farewell" tour. The band says in a statement: "The "Gods And Kings" tour was a groundbreaking moment in our career. The stage, sound, video and you,' our fans, were magnificent!

"Coming off such an amazing tour, it was clear that the next time we must go even bigger and beyond anything we have ever done; something that will fulfill every Manowarrior's dreams. Then that will be the ultimate moment to say 'thank you' and farewell!

"The final battle will begin in Germany and take us all over the world to say goodbye to all of you. If you know metal, you know Manowar. If you know Manowar, you know metal!"

"Those who join this tour will 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.

"We are calling all Manowarriors to prepare yourselves now and to join us for The Final Battle!"

Manowar's "Gods And Kings" world tour celebrated "Kings Of Metal MMXIV", which many fans hadn't had a chance to experience live yet, as well as the upcoming anniversary of "Gods Of War", which was unleashed on the world in 2007. The setlist was packed with fan favorites from both albums, plus many other classics and special surprises.

In a recent interview, Manowar bassist Joey DeMaio stated about the "Gods And Kings" world tour: "We've added tons of new equipment and power amps, for even more power than ever before. Most of our equipment is custom-made, so it is a really intense and time-consuming process getting everything done in time, and meeting our specifications. Those who saw our 2015 tour know that we worked with videos on our gigantic LED screens. We have flown in our video designer from Europe to work with us on new video elements that will be played during the songs and, of course, the LED screens will be bigger and of higher quality than ever - over 150 m² and 6k resolution to be precise. Nothing but the latest and best technology for our fans will do!"

Speaking about the tour concept, Joey DeMaio said: "The previous tour celebrated "Kings Of Metal MMXIV". It was a terrific experience for fans, band and crew. The production was big and featured elements that we had not done before. It was more of a multi-media experience, with videos linking the songs and their conception, telling the story of our fans and our lives, capturing the energy on stage and off! When we started planning the new tour, we soon agreed that we wanted to keep the best of this previous tour, but of course add on to it, make it different and even bigger. And, believe it or not, the 10-year anniversary of "Gods Of War" is upon us: The album was released in 2007 but we started working on it in 2006. But more importantly the question was: Who should join our Kings in battle? The answer was: the Gods Of War! So this is how the "Gods And Kings" concept was conceived. Naturally, the "Gods And Kings World Tour 2016" [is]more massive than the "Kings Of Metal MMXIV Word Tour"! The 2015 tour was big. But nothing compared to what you'll experience on the 2016 tour!"