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.
Eye of the Storm
Manilla Road Lyrics
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By western man of any creed
Searching for a place to be free
From Christian hate and blasphemy
Sky turns black as dark clouds form
Tempests blow the sails are torn
Come the waves in thunderous roar
Underneath protection of Thor
Directed by a distant horn
Voyager makes way to shore
Sailing through the eye of the storm
The lyrics of "Eye of the Storm" by Manilla Road portray the journey of a group of people sailing south in search of a place where they can be free from Christian hate and blasphemy. The lyrics suggest that this group is made up of non-Christians who feel ostracized and discriminated against in Christian-dominated societies. As the voyage progresses, they encounter the wrath of Old Man Sea as tempests blow and waves rage in thunderous roars. However, they find protection and guidance in the god Thor, symbolizing their pagan beliefs, as they are directed by a distant horn. Eventually, they sail through the eye of the storm, symbolizing the triumph of their journey despite facing numerous challenges along the way. The lyrics of "Eye of the Storm" can be interpreted as a commentary on religious tolerance and freedom, as well as the resilience of those who seek to challenge societal norms in the pursuit of their beliefs and values.
Line by Line Meaning
Sailing south to waters never seen
Embarking on a journey towards uncharted territories.
By western man of any creed
Which has never been done by any person from the western hemisphere.
Searching for a place to be free
Looking for a place where they can be free from any kind of oppression.
From Christian hate and blasphemy
Particularly looking to escape from the persecution and ridicule of the Christian religion.
Sky turns black as dark clouds form
The weather starts to deteriorate and a strong storm is brewing.
Tempests blow the sails are torn
The strong winds are damaging the sails of the ship.
Come the waves in thunderous roar
The waves become louder and more violent.
Old Man Sea brings about his scorn
The sea becomes angry and merciless.
Underneath protection of Thor
The crew feels protected by the Norse god of thunder, Thor.
Directed by a distant horn
The ship is guided by a horn which is heard from a distance.
Voyager makes way to shore
The ship continues its journey towards the shore.
Sailing through the eye of the storm
The ship successfully navigates through the most intense part of the storm.
Contributed by Kayla C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
resuractor
still true to epic metal all these many years!
Manny Ruiz
Love the acoustic stuff. Still heavy......🤘
Erni Santana
Sailing south to waters never seen
By western man of any creed
Searching for a place to be free
From Christian hate and blasphemy
Sky turns black as dark clouds form
Tempests blow the sails are torn
Come the waves in thunderous roar
Old Man Sea brings about his scorn
Underneath protection of Thor
Directed by a distant horn
Voyager makes way to shore
Sailing through the eye of the storm
Nyckel
If I were to make a MR greatest hits album I would put this in front of March of The Gods. It kind of fits doesn't it?