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.
Queen of the Black Coast
Manilla Road Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of Vilayet, to my Queen
No kingdom hers, but for the Sea
A coastal curse, a pirate's dream
Scourge of the West coast
Hellcat of my Dreams
The Tigress sailed, the South so vast
The Queen was hung from her own mast
My hardened soul, from the grave
Funeral pyre forever
Burning out to sea
Queen of the Black Coast
Watch as the heads roll
In the song "Queen of the Black Coast," Manilla Road portrays the infamous pirate queen Bêlit. The lyrics of the song depict the singer's longing to return to his lover, referring to Bêlit as "my Queen." Bêlit's kingdom was not on land, but instead, her rule was over the sea, making her the "coastal curse, a pirate's dream." She was the "scourge of the West coast" and "The Tigress sailed, the South so vast." However, Bêlit's ferocious rule came to an end, as she was executed and hung from her ship's mast.
The singer, who has been saved by Bêlit from "winged death," speaks of the "funeral pyre forever burning out to sea." Ultimately, the lyrics of "Queen of the Black Coast" celebrate the legacy of a powerful and daring woman who insisted on living life on her own terms, regardless of how it may end.
Line by Line Meaning
Take me back, across the Sea
I want to go back to where I was before, across the sea
Of Vilayet, to my Queen
To my Queen in the land of Vilayet
No kingdom hers, but for the Sea
The sea is the only kingdom she has
A coastal curse, a pirate's dream
To pirates, she is both a curse and a dream, because she controls the coast
Scourge of the West coast
She is a threat to the West coast
Hellcat of my Dreams
She is a dangerous woman who haunts my dreams
The Tigress sailed, the South so vast
The pirate ship Tigress sailed in the vast South
The Queen was hung from her own mast
The Queen was executed by hanging from her own ship's mast
From winged death she did save
She saved me from certain death at the hands of a winged creature
My hardened soul, from the grave
My soul, which had become hard and unfeeling, was revived
Funeral pyre forever
The Queen's body was burned in a funeral pyre that will last forever
Burning out to sea
Her ship and body were set alight and pushed out to sea
Queen of the Black Coast
She is the Queen of the coast that is shrouded in darkness
Watch as the heads roll
Be prepared to witness executions and bloodshed
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rimantasandriukaitis2730
Queen of the Black coast
Take me back, across the sea
Of Vilayet, to my queen
No kingdom hers, but for the sea
A coastal curse, a pirate's dream
Scourge of the westcoast
Hellcat of my dreams
The tigress sailed, The south so vast
The queen was hung from her own mast
From winged death she did save
My hardened soul, from the grave
Funeral pyre forever
Burning out to sea
Queen of the black coast
Watch as the heads roll
@rimantasandriukaitis2730
Queen of the Black coast
Take me back, across the sea
Of Vilayet, to my queen
No kingdom hers, but for the sea
A coastal curse, a pirate's dream
Scourge of the westcoast
Hellcat of my dreams
The tigress sailed, The south so vast
The queen was hung from her own mast
From winged death she did save
My hardened soul, from the grave
Funeral pyre forever
Burning out to sea
Queen of the black coast
Watch as the heads roll
@unclejackluminous1470
⚔️ Crom Count the Dead ⚔️
@Metallic_Sam
You just can't get enough of this song.
@kareliask
One of their best early songs, fun to play alongside the later stuff.
@jellybeans8744
Loved the man. Grew up on him.
@SouthsideGar42
R.I.P. Mark, the (Shark) Shelton. Epic Metal lost an architect.
@tournication
actually it's best one!
@mannyruiz1954
Mark was a Metal God. RIP
@UpIrons777
One of the very few Conan songs in the music world.
@unclejackluminous1470
⚔️ Crom Count the Dead ⚔️