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.

Shadow
Manilla Road Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Upon the slab
Mortis of flesh
Drink to the past
Wake for the dead

Too late the heroes
The voices' sorrow
Comes from the shadow

Have I gone mad
Lost in this dream
The shadow casts
A thousand screams

Too late for heroes
The voices's shadow
Guards well the portal

Too late the heroes

The voices' sorrow
Comes from the shadow

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to the song Shadow by Manilla Road seem to be about being consumed by the past and the dead. The opening lines "Upon the slab, mortis of flesh" paint a clear picture of death and the body. The next line, "Drink to the past, wake for the dead" suggests that the character is attempting to connect with their own past or possibly that of those who have passed away. The following lines "Too late the heroes, the voices' sorrow, comes from the shadow" could suggest that they are unable to move on and are instead haunted by the past, represented as the shadow.

The following lines "Have I gone mad, lost in this dream" suggest that the character is questioning their own sanity and may be unsure of what is real and what is not. The shadow is then described as casting "a thousand screams", again reinforcing the idea of the past being filled with sorrow and pain. The next two lines "Too late for heroes, the voice's shadow, guards well the portal" suggest that there is no way back from this state of mind, the portal being a metaphor for an escape but now guarded by the shadow.

The final lines "Too late the heroes, the voices' sorrow, comes from the shadow" are repeated, further emphasising the idea that the character is stuck in the past and unable to move forward.

Line by Line Meaning

Upon the slab
Lying on a stone slab

Mortis of flesh
Death of the body

Drink to the past
Remembering the past with a drink

Wake for the dead
Waking up for those who have passed away

Too late the heroes
The heroes are no longer needed

The voices' sorrow
The sadness in the voices

Comes from the shadow
Originates from the darkness

Have I gone mad
Am I insane?

Lost in this dream
Confused in this imaginary world

The shadow casts
The darkness creates

A thousand screams
Many cries of agony