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.
Throne of Blood
Manilla Road Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Spawning a life so insane
Horrors unspeakable name
Haunting my soul again
Three witches told me of this at the start
Thay said it would be the death of my heart
No feeling for life or loss of love
I have raised my voice in anger
Unto the elder gods
Royal blood drips fom my dagger
And I am lost
I strived in lust for power
And stained my path in blood
Now the woods come to devour
My throne of blood
Violence has reigned or'e my life
Sword drawn to combat the strife
Once I had visions of light
Now my fate is but to die
The ghost of the king that I have slain
Comes tormenting me again and again
No power on earth can save my soul
I should have trusted in the gods of old
I have raised my voice in anger
Unto the elder gods
Royal blood drips from my dagger
And I am lost
I strived in lust for power
And stained my path in blood
Now the woods come to devour
My throne of blood
Terror inside my domain
Spawning a life so insane
Horrors unspeakable name
Haunting my soul once again
The lyrics of Manilla Road's song Throne of Blood tells a story of a man who is consumed by his lust for power and the violent path that he has chosen to attain it. The lyrics are dark and haunting, filled with imagery of horror, witches and a throne of blood. The singer of the song begins by expressing the terror within his domain and the insane life that he has spawned. He is haunted by unspeakable horrors that have marked his soul with a frightful stain. Three witches had warned him that his lust for power would be the death of his heart but he ignored their warning and now his fate is to die on a throne of blood.
The imagery presented within the lyrics of Throne of Blood is powerful and vivid. The story unfolds with violence as the singer raises his voice in anger unto the elder gods, royal blood dripping from his dagger. However, his reign of terror is short-lived as he finds himself lost and consumed by the very power he craved. The ghost of the king he had slain comes tormenting him again and again, leaving no power on earth to save his soul. The woods come to devour his throne of blood leaving nothing but horror, unspeakable and haunting, within the domain he once held.
Overall, the lyrics of Throne of Blood are a tragic tale of the consequences of greed, lust, and violence. The imagery presented within the lyrics is dark, vivid and powerful, leaving a lasting impression upon the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
Terror inside my domain
I feel a sense of fear and horror within my own world
Spawning a life so insane
My actions have created a life of chaos and madness
Horrors unspeakable name
The horrors that I have created are too terrible to describe
Haunting my soul again
The guilt and regret of my actions weigh heavily on my spirit
Three witches told me of this at the start
I was warned by three witches in advance of the tragic events to come
Thay said it would be the death of my heart
They predicted that these events would cause the death of my soul
No feeling for life or loss of love
I am numb to the joys of life and love, due to the horrors I have committed
My fate is to die on a throne of blood
My destiny is to die in a violent and bloody manner
I have raised my voice in anger
I have expressed my rage and frustration to the gods
Unto the elder gods
I have directed my anger towards powerful deities who I believe can influence my fate
Royal blood drips fom my dagger
I have shed noble blood in my quest for power
And I am lost
I am consumed by my obsession with power and cannot find my way back to righteousness
I strived in lust for power
I sought after power with a greedy and obsessive desire
And stained my path in blood
I have left a trail of violence and destruction in pursuit of my goals
Now the woods come to devour
Nature itself seems to be closing in on me, seeking revenge for my misdeeds
My throne of blood
My seat of power, built on the ruins of those I have destroyed
Violence has reigned or'e my life
My existence has been marked by non-stop violence and conflict
Sword drawn to combat the strife
I have been forced to wield my weapon to defend myself and my power
Once I had visions of light
At one point I had aspirations for a better life
Now my fate is but to die
My future seems hopeless and inevitable - death is inevitable
The ghost of the king that I have slain
I am haunted by the ghost of the ruler I murdered
Comes tormenting me again and again
The ghost continues to cause me emotional agony and despair
No power on earth can save my soul
There is no hope for redemption or salvation for me
I should have trusted in the gods of old
I regret not relying on the guidance of traditional deities instead of my own thirst for power
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
celestiall
Manilla's most underrated album!
Filipe Oliveira
Great atmosphere, I like this song a lot
Chrys Clenched
🤘 e ai sumido!!
Manny Ruiz
God I love this group.
Christopher Troy
Fenriz brought me here. This song kills!
Christopher Troy
@kakolykia yes.
kakolykia
Fenriz from Darkthrone?
Horia Gug
me 2
Marine Hovhannisyan
me too :D