Manilla Road is an American heavy metal band from Wichita, Kansas, USA, for… Read Full Bio ↴Manilla Road is an American heavy metal band from Wichita, Kansas, USA, forming around its master of lead guitar Mark 'The Shark' Shelton (vocals and guitar). They are considered to one of the early pioneers of the epic metal subcategory of traditional heavy metal and one of the most influential bands in that style.

Manilla Road was created by Shelton in 1977 with high school friends Benny Munkirs, Rick Fisher and brothers Robert and Scott Park. After playing in local bars, the group first gained attention with their song "Herman Hill," inspired by the Herman Hill riot. Their first album "Invasion" was released in 1980 on the band's own label, Roadster Records. Between this time and their next release the band recorded material for an album to be titled "The Dreams Of Eschaton", however this was not released until 2002 (under the name "Mark of the Beast") as they were not happy with the sound. Shelton has been quoted as saying the music was "not metal enough" and "sounded like shit." Despite this "Mark of the Beast" was critically well received when it was eventually released. These early albums have more in common with progressive rock and proto-heavy metal than the band's later epic metal sound.

The next record was "Metal" in 1982, which began to define the future musical direction of Manilla Road. Their "classic" sound was solidified with the epic release of "Crystal Logic" in 1983.

The next five Manilla Road albums (along with a live release, "Roadkill") featured new drummer Randy Foxe, who had more of a thrash-oriented style than original drummer Rick Fisher. Along with "Crystal Logic" (1983), the new lineup's first two albums, "Open the Gates" (1985) and "The Deluge" (1986), are generally considered to be classics in the field of epic heavy metal. It was on these three albums that Manilla Road's style became fully formed. Lyrics typically feature fantastic elements from Norse mythology, Arthurian legend or other literary sources. These are often combined in one setting, the concept album "Atlantis Rising" (2001), for example, features a war between the Æsir and Cthulhu, centered around the city of Atlantis.

"Mystification" (1987) suffered from exceptionally poor production resulting, ironically, from the substandard equipment at a new studio the band hoped would improve their sound. The recent re-release has fixed this problem to a large extent. After Mystification came "Out of the Abyss" (1988), widely criticised at the time for its thrash metal influences. The band released one more album, "The Courts of Chaos" (1992), described by Shelton as "the first true Manilla Road masterpiece" before splitting up because of personal and musical disagreements between Scott Park and Randy Foxe.

In 1992 Mark Shelton recorded "Circus Maximus" with Aaron Brown and Andrew Coss. Despite having never been intended as a Manilla Road project, the album was released under this name at the record company's insistence.

Manilla Road re-formed in 1994 and released "Atlantis Rising" in 2001, again with Mark Shelton as the only original member. On this occasion, however, the sound was much more consistent with the Manilla Road of old and it was the band who decided to continue using the name. Their latest albums are "Spiral Castle" published in 2002, "Gates Of Fire", in 2005, and "Voyager" in 2008. In May 2009 they released their second live album called "After Midnight Live", which was recorded live, on the air, at KMUW radio studios, Wichita, Kansas in December of 1979 shortly before the release of their debut album "Invasion". The album "Playground of the Damned" was released in 2011, followed by "Mysterium" in 2013, "The Blessed Curse" in 2015, and what was their final release, "To Kill a King" in 2017.
Mark "The Shark" Shelton died in Germany from a heart attack at the age of 60. Manilla Road were on tour at the time of Shelton’s death; he had performed at Germany’s Headbangers Open Air Festival the previous night.

Blood Eagle
Manilla Road Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Death and Honor - Drive them onward
Out of Iceland - Butcher's sail
Unto Greenland - Then to Vineland
Search for true faith - No avail

In this outland - Known as Vineland
Faith's conversion - Still prevails
Holgar's Vikings - Slay the Skraelings

Vineland's Bishop - Screams and wails

Bishop Eric curses the old ways
Taking Thor and Odin's name in vain
Demanding conversion of Holgar
Condemning the crew of Voyager

For Odin
For Asgard

Holgar proclaims
His judgement

Overall Meaning

The song "Blood Eagle" by Manilla Road is a historical account of the Viking voyages to the New World. The song opens with the phrase "Death and Honor - Drive them onward," which sets the tone for the rest of the song. The Vikings, driven by a sense of duty, traveled from Iceland to Vineland in search of true faith, but found no avail. The conversion of faith still prevails and nothing has changed.

The song takes place in Vineland, which is described as an outland. The Vikings, led by Holgar, come into conflict with the Skraelings, whom they eventually slay. Holgar proclaims his judgment for Odin and Asgard, and the Bishop Eric curses the old ways, taking Thor and Odin's name in vain. He demands the conversion of Holgar and condemns the crew of Voyager.

The song portrays a clash of cultures between the Vikings and the Bishop who represents Christianity. The Vikings, true to their beliefs, fought for their gods, while the Bishop represents the encroachment of Christianity into the pagan world. The song reflects a historical record of the Viking voyages to Vineland and their encounters with Native American tribes that opposed them.

Line by Line Meaning

Death and Honor - Drive them onward
The soldiers move ahead with the intentions of dying honorably

Out of Iceland - Butcher's sail
The soldiers left Iceland with the determination to butcher the enemy

Unto Greenland - Then to Vineland
They further march onto Greenland and then into Vineland

Search for true faith - No avail
In the search for true faith, they find none

In this outland - Known as Vineland
They find themselves in a foreign land known as Vineland

Faith's conversion - Still prevails
Despite the absence of their search for true faith, the conversion continues to happen

Holgar's Vikings - Slay the Skraelings
Holgar's soldiers kill the Skraelings

Vineland's Bishop - Screams and wails
The Bishop in Vineland cries and screams

Bishop Eric curses the old ways
Bishop Eric condemns the old ways of worshipping idols such as Thor and Odin

Taking Thor and Odin's name in vain
Bishop Eric uses the names of Thor and Odin in a disrespectful manner

Demanding conversion of Holgar
Bishop Eric insists on Holgar's conversion