#mark shelton

[angelinuspjakk]

Art dump

[music-addiction-disorder]

Never surrender, never forget.

Hail The Shark & Manilla Road

Up the hammers for the man today!

#shark #marktheshark #manillaroad #heavymetaltotheworld #lostinnecropolis #legend #diehard #abreedapart #upthehammers

[vinylspinning]

Manilla Road: Voyager (2008)

I reviewed Manilla Road’s umpteenth LP, Voyager, in the All-Music Guide upon its release 15 years ago, and I see little reason to edit my work (maybe just a little) as I sit here spinning this recent reissue pressed on very uncommon bronze-colored vinyl -- here we go! 

Whether sifting through the sands of long-ago history or falling down the rabbit hole into fantasy realms, most Manilla Road albums are guaranteed to whisk listeners to faraway times and places, well beyond the tangible borders of the modern world, on the wings of classic heavy metal. 

2008’s Voyager was no exception, and its title refers, not to some deep space-exploring gadget, but to an imaginary Norse ship bearing a group of exiled 12th century Vikings upon an epic, globe-sailing adventure, steeped in history, myth, and all the gray areas in between. 

Much like an amusement park ride, our journey begins with somber narrations over ominous sound effects (“Tomb of the Serpent King”) as the Viking warrior Holgar and his crew return home after much raping and pillaging (“Butchers of the Sea”) to find their people converted to Christianity (bummer, dude!).

Unwilling to give up their long-held pagan beliefs, Holgar and co. choose exile (“Frost and Fire”) and I should point out that the album’s bone-dry production leaves the band -- and especially Cory Christner’s overly busy drums -- exposed to the harsh elements as they begin their long journey across the North Atlantic.

Luckily, the album's first standout, “Tree of Life,” immediately counters this recurring issue with a deliberate acoustic strummed foundation over which vocalist and guitarist Mark Shelton’s can weave his always hypnotic and magnificent solos (on the other hand, his nasal delivery is an acquired taste). 

Back to our story: the crew’s travels eventually meet with further religious oppression during their passage through Vineland (a.k.a. North America), via a Bach-like organ fugue heralding more bloodshed (and the ritual torture of a deserving preacher) on “Blood Eagle.”

Seeing no alternative but to sail ever Westward and Southward (the title track), Holgar and his (un)merry men eventually reach (get this!) the Toltec civilization in what is now modern-day Mexico (“Eye of the Storm”), and are welcomed as gods by the natives (“Return of the Serpent King”).

Two more, intriguing but far from revolutionary, metallic onslaughts (“Conquest” and “Totentanz (The Dance of Death)”) tell of Holgar’s further triumphs and ultimate demise, but even if you’ve made it this far, you’ll likely agree with me that Voyager falls a little short of Manilla Road’s best works.

Unless, that is, one compares it to the group’s subsequent, generally lackluster albums leading up to Shelton’s death in 2018, none of which intrigued me even as much as Voyager, and all of which I’m still due to revisit.

More Manilla Road: Invasion, Metal, Crystal Logic, Open the Gates, The Deluge, Mystification, Out of the Abyss, Roadkill - Live, The Courts of Chaos, Atlantis Rising, Gates of Fire. 

[metalsongoftheday]

Wednesday, May 27: Manilla Road, “Conqueror”

Mark “The Shark” Shelton never wavered from his mission, and while To Kill a King was ultimately his final statement, tunes like “Conqueror” were worthy capstones to the man’s legacy.  The track was maybe a bit shorter and more direct than usual for Manilla Road, but it was unmistakably guided by Shelton’s hand: both the riffs and vocals were gruff and slightly amateurish, but totally convincing, and the production was similarly low-budget yet effective.  At the same time, “Conqueror” presented a slightly more disciplined version of Manilla Road, sounding more focused and somewhat less eccentric than the mystical freakouts of Crystal Logic and Open the Gates.  Still, the song was pure Shelton through and through, and felt like a fitting (although sadly unintentional) end to a lengthy and legendary career.

[verynicedeathmetalveryverynice]

Rest in eternal power

[bez2021]

RIP Mark Shelton. 

[electricblueals-dustygarage]

A lot of words had been said already. Mark’s death is a loss for the world of heavy metal. But he will always remain one of those lyricists who created the most epic poetry that will live through the centures just as ‘The Nibelungenlied’ and ‘La Chanson de Roland’. Thank you for the world you created, Mark. Fare you well

[visual-aggressor]