DJ James
A coma stole my name.
I wanted to create a thread where I could post my thoughts on certain albums. Please, give me your input on the album and my writings.
The Metal Archives Page
Manilla Road's Voyager was released in 2008, 31 years after the band's conception. Now it might not come as a surprise that this album upholds the same level of quality displayed on the band's previous 21st Century outputs, what will come as a surprise is the musical direction chosen by the band.
Here we have an all around more aggressive approach to that classic underground croon Manilla Road has honed throughout the years. It's worth taking note here that Bryan "Hellroadie" Patrick is not present on this album; this leaves Mark Shelton by himself when it comes to vocal duties. I find Manilla Road similar to the Canadian thrash metal band Razor in the respect that each one of their albums are usually characterized by a distinctive production job. Razor's debut Executioner's Song had a strained, punk-ish vibe that really fit the Motörhead-junkie's sound. The follow-up Evil Invaders saw Razor mature(citation needed) into the thrashing outfit they are now. Boasting a blocky, Piece of Mind-esque production, Razor's sophomore effort is truly defined by it's production. Very, very similar to Manilla Road's 1983 album Crystal Logic.
A lot of things enter my thoughts when the album Crystal Logic comes to mind, one of those things is the production of the album. That particular album features a warm fuzzy/metallic sound that really fits the overall tone of the album. Voyager can only be described as ancient sounding. It sounds as though Manilla Road are some sort of Viking clan leaders showing off their battle scars to their Viking brethren. The album kicks off with the 9 minute behemoth "Tomb of the Serpent King/Butchers of the Sea". The first four minutes of this song are used to set up the atmosphere of the forthcoming tracks. The atmosphere is bleak, it's mystical, it's tense. During these 4 minutes you can only imagine Manilla Road as some kind of mechanic laying all his tools across a table, carefully selecting the best one for the job. "Butchers of the Sea" is a real kick in the teeth. The bass drum sound on this album is addicting. It's so treble heavy and it really helps Manilla Road sell the whole pseudo-death metal vibe. Mark Shelton's nasal whine is in full swing until the chorus hits and you realize that this isn't your average Manilla Road romp.
Shelton's use of guttural vocals on this album is so fresh sounding. Never on the album do they sound out of place. Tracks like "Tree of Life" and "Voyager" come off as somewhat oddball songs. You really get the feeling that the lost Manilla Road album Mark of the Beast (that finally saw the light of day in 2002) had some sort of influence on these songs.
Now I don't really know what it is about Mark Shelton, but that man could solo for days and I'd be fine with it. "Blood Eagle" is a more power metal laced track, boasting a 2 minute synthetic organ solo at the beginning. After that affair, the songs transitions back into the Manilla Road we all know and love. Not one of my favorite tracks on the album, it could be shorter, but I think that organ solo at the beginning is a much appreciated touch. It's the kind of thing that really makes the song stand out and worth mentioning. The last half of the album feature some of the best music yet. "Eye of the Storm" is a heavily folk influenced song that boasts some of my favorite guitar work on the album so far. There is a tinge of accessibility laced throughout "Eye of the Storm" that is really, really appreciated especially when compared to the ancient, underground vibrations felt through the previous tracks. Great song, one of my personal favorites off the album. This track is also used to set up the epic "Return of the Serpent King".
"Return of the Serpent King" and "Butchers of the Sea" boast some of my favorite vocals by Mark Shelton this millennium. The riffing throughout the album is fantastic; it feels ancient and untouched by any sort of grace. Some songs like "Conquest" and "Frost and Fire" though, come off as too short for their own good and are pretty sub-par tracks(but only two throwaway tracks is pretty good for a Manilla Road album).
I'm really not too sure what possessed Manilla Road to create such a monolith of a metal album. While one does get a lot of viking metal vibes from this album, calling it a straight-up viking metal romp would kinda be a far-shot. This is still the same old epic heavy metal band we know and love. Just a tad battle-hardened.
I give this album a 94/100.
Here is my recommended track "Tomb of the Serpent King/Butchers of the Sea"
The Metal Archives Page
Manilla Road's Voyager was released in 2008, 31 years after the band's conception. Now it might not come as a surprise that this album upholds the same level of quality displayed on the band's previous 21st Century outputs, what will come as a surprise is the musical direction chosen by the band.
Here we have an all around more aggressive approach to that classic underground croon Manilla Road has honed throughout the years. It's worth taking note here that Bryan "Hellroadie" Patrick is not present on this album; this leaves Mark Shelton by himself when it comes to vocal duties. I find Manilla Road similar to the Canadian thrash metal band Razor in the respect that each one of their albums are usually characterized by a distinctive production job. Razor's debut Executioner's Song had a strained, punk-ish vibe that really fit the Motörhead-junkie's sound. The follow-up Evil Invaders saw Razor mature(citation needed) into the thrashing outfit they are now. Boasting a blocky, Piece of Mind-esque production, Razor's sophomore effort is truly defined by it's production. Very, very similar to Manilla Road's 1983 album Crystal Logic.
A lot of things enter my thoughts when the album Crystal Logic comes to mind, one of those things is the production of the album. That particular album features a warm fuzzy/metallic sound that really fits the overall tone of the album. Voyager can only be described as ancient sounding. It sounds as though Manilla Road are some sort of Viking clan leaders showing off their battle scars to their Viking brethren. The album kicks off with the 9 minute behemoth "Tomb of the Serpent King/Butchers of the Sea". The first four minutes of this song are used to set up the atmosphere of the forthcoming tracks. The atmosphere is bleak, it's mystical, it's tense. During these 4 minutes you can only imagine Manilla Road as some kind of mechanic laying all his tools across a table, carefully selecting the best one for the job. "Butchers of the Sea" is a real kick in the teeth. The bass drum sound on this album is addicting. It's so treble heavy and it really helps Manilla Road sell the whole pseudo-death metal vibe. Mark Shelton's nasal whine is in full swing until the chorus hits and you realize that this isn't your average Manilla Road romp.
Shelton's use of guttural vocals on this album is so fresh sounding. Never on the album do they sound out of place. Tracks like "Tree of Life" and "Voyager" come off as somewhat oddball songs. You really get the feeling that the lost Manilla Road album Mark of the Beast (that finally saw the light of day in 2002) had some sort of influence on these songs.
Now I don't really know what it is about Mark Shelton, but that man could solo for days and I'd be fine with it. "Blood Eagle" is a more power metal laced track, boasting a 2 minute synthetic organ solo at the beginning. After that affair, the songs transitions back into the Manilla Road we all know and love. Not one of my favorite tracks on the album, it could be shorter, but I think that organ solo at the beginning is a much appreciated touch. It's the kind of thing that really makes the song stand out and worth mentioning. The last half of the album feature some of the best music yet. "Eye of the Storm" is a heavily folk influenced song that boasts some of my favorite guitar work on the album so far. There is a tinge of accessibility laced throughout "Eye of the Storm" that is really, really appreciated especially when compared to the ancient, underground vibrations felt through the previous tracks. Great song, one of my personal favorites off the album. This track is also used to set up the epic "Return of the Serpent King".
"Return of the Serpent King" and "Butchers of the Sea" boast some of my favorite vocals by Mark Shelton this millennium. The riffing throughout the album is fantastic; it feels ancient and untouched by any sort of grace. Some songs like "Conquest" and "Frost and Fire" though, come off as too short for their own good and are pretty sub-par tracks(but only two throwaway tracks is pretty good for a Manilla Road album).
I'm really not too sure what possessed Manilla Road to create such a monolith of a metal album. While one does get a lot of viking metal vibes from this album, calling it a straight-up viking metal romp would kinda be a far-shot. This is still the same old epic heavy metal band we know and love. Just a tad battle-hardened.
I give this album a 94/100.
Here is my recommended track "Tomb of the Serpent King/Butchers of the Sea"
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