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.
Midnight Meet Train
Manilla Road Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I slept upon the midnight train
I woke to horror and demise
What I now call end of the line
The Butcher's here
The bodies hung and all fileted
Inside this Midnight Meat Train
I killed the Butcher with his own knife
Pale cannibals with filed teeth
Had come as every night to feast
They ate the tongue within my mouth
I am the one to serve them now
I serve the Fathers of New York
Midnight Meat Train
The lyrics of "Midnight Meat Train" by Manilla Road tell the story of a man who falls asleep on a subway train in New York City, only to wake up to a horrific scene of butchery and cannibalism. He discovers that a serial killer known as "The Butcher" is responsible for the twisted murders, and he takes matters into his own hands by killing the killer with his own knife. However, he soon realizes that the true horror lies in a group of cannibals - the "Fathers of New York" who feed on human flesh every night. The man is forced to become their servant, effectively becoming a part of the twisted cycle of murder and consumption.
The lyrics are a commentary on the dark, gritty underbelly of New York City - a place where human life is cheap and depravity lurks around every corner. The metaphor of the subway train is powerful, as it represents both the literal journey the man takes and the metaphorical descent into madness and horror.
Overall, "Midnight Meat Train" is a chilling and thought-provoking song that confronts the darkest aspects of human nature and the city that breeds them.
Line by Line Meaning
Inside the Big Apple's subway
In the underground transportation system of New York City
I slept upon the midnight train
I was on a train that was running at night and I fell asleep
I woke to horror and demise
I woke up to a scene of death and destruction
What I now call end of the line
I realized that this was the final destination of the train
The Butcher's here
The person responsible for the deaths is present
The bodies hung and all fileted
The corpses were strung up and cut into pieces
Inside this Midnight Meat Train
This train is used for transporting and slaughtering humans
I killed the Butcher with his own knife
I used the weapon of the perpetrator to end his life
But the true horror had not died
The real terror had not been eradicated
Pale cannibals with filed teeth
Emaciated individuals with sharpened teeth
Had come as every night to feast
They arrived to consume the remains, as they do nightly
They ate the tongue within my mouth
They removed and consumed my tongue
I am the one to serve them now
I have become a servant to these cannibals
I serve the Fathers of New York
I am a willing participant in the macabre operations of those who hold power in the city
Midnight Meat Train
This is a train that is used for transporting and slaughtering humans, under the cover of darkness
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind