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.

Grindhouse
Manilla Road Lyrics

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Welcome to the mind of a madman
Welcome to the house of pain
Inside this nightmare of slaughter
The reaper always knows your name

Welcome to the chamber of horror
Welcome to the psychic maze
Evisceration and torture

The doctor's in come out and play

Victims before my eyes
The film brings back to life
The evil genius of the grindhouse

The planet terrorized
When living dead arise
No one of death proof
In the grindhouse

Welcome to the circus of chaos
Welcome to the freak parade
By the gun and by machete
Send the dead back to the grave

Victims before my eyes
The film brings back to life
The evil genius of the grindhouse

The planet terrorized
When living dead arise

No one of death proof
In the grindhouse

Overall Meaning

"Grindhouse" by Manilla Road is a song about horror movies and the twisted minds of those who create them. The lyrics start with a chilling welcome to the house of pain and the mind of a madman. The singer invites the listener on a journey into the world of horror where the reaper knows your name and the doctor is waiting to eviscerate and torture you. The song alludes to the idea that the creator of the film is the "evil genius of the grindhouse," indicating that movies that depict violence and gore require a certain twisted genius to create them.

The chorus of the song references the victims that the singer sees in these films, and how the films bring them back to life. The living dead arise and terrorize the planet, creating a sense of chaos and fear. The singer invokes the image of a freak parade and a circus of chaos, where death is both a weapon and a form of entertainment. Throughout the song, there is a sense that the line between reality and fiction is blurred, with the horrors of the film world bleeding into real life.

The lyrics of "Grindhouse" reflect the fascination humans have with violence, horror, and gore. The song paints a picture of the dark side of the human psyche, where the desire to be scared and the desire to inflict pain on others intersect. The lyrics are a warning against the dangers of becoming too consumed by fantasy and the potential consequences of blurring the lines between reality and fiction.

Line by Line Meaning

Welcome to the mind of a madman
Get ready to enter a twisted and demented world

Welcome to the house of pain
Prepare to experience unimaginable suffering and agony

Inside this nightmare of slaughter
You are about to witness a brutal and bloody massacre

The reaper always knows your name
Death is inevitable and you cannot escape it

Welcome to the chamber of horror
Enter a place where terror reigns supreme

Welcome to the psychic maze
Enter a twisted and confusing state of mind

Evisceration and torture
Prepare for gruesome and painful acts of violence

The doctor's in come out and play
The twisted doctor is ready to torment and torture his victims

Victims before my eyes
I am witnessing the suffering of helpless individuals

The film brings back to life
The horrors of the past are being re-enacted before my eyes

The evil genius of the grindhouse
The twisted mind behind these horrors is truly diabolical