After the release of their debut album Battle Hymns, Liberty Records and Bill Aucoin dropped Manowar due to negative press and complications in marketing the band.

[9] The song starts with two people making love, but are quickly disturbed by the girl's parents including a broken escape by the young male protagonist.

[9] Some authors claim that Manowar in "Warlord" channels the essence of a working-class biker, which may have likely resonated with metal fans of the time.

[15][9] Phil Freeman, writing for Burning Ambulance asserts that biker culture is one of Manowar's primary themes in their music.

[15] "Secret of Steel" represents the continuation and refinement of the power metal style, that Manowar first explored with the eponymous closing track to their 1982 debut album Battle Hymns.

[5][17] The song also draws on the imagery of sword and sorcery's barbarians and heavy armored army slowly marching forward.

[21] The music video features shots of leather-clad warriors riding on horseback through the forest, Manowar miming the studio recording as if it was a live performance, and fighting and victory scenes.

[5][18][13][17] Some music writers consider Manowar to be pioneers of Viking metal, calling them "forefathers" due to the lyrical content of "Gates of Valhalla" among other songs.

[13][25] Music writers have described Eric Adams' screams in "Hatred" as "merciless" and the song as "sluggish", and full of "aggressiveness" and "measured grind" with its gory lyrics.

[25] The song features archetypical heavy metal characteristics such as a galloping rhythm and was described as having an "almost majestic atmosphere" by some music writers.

note the recurring theme of "rape and pillage" being very prominent in the song, quoting the lyrics: "maim and kill them, take the women and children".

[14][13] Into Glory Ride was released in July 1983 by Megaforce Records in the United States, and Music for Nations for the rest of the world.

Members of the band, dressed in barbarian warrior attire in a similar manner as the promoted album's artwork, took questions from an audience of teenagers, parents, and grandparents.

In November 1983, Metal Forces writer Bernard Doe describes the album as "weak and quite tame" compared to the "tough macho image" the band portrayed.

[30] While lauding the musicianship of Eric Adams and Ross the Boss, naming "Warlord" and "Revelation (Death's Angel)" as exemplary tracks, Doe noted that Into Glory Ride is an improvement from their previous debut album Battle Hymns.

[30] Writing for AllMusic, Steve Huey described Into Glory Ride as "murky and unfocused" but observed that some songs are strong enough to be "Manowar standards".

Reviewing for the Imperial Edition, Metal Invader asserted that the 2019 version "deserves to be next to the classic since it brings to the surface many new elements in terms of sound.