Year Of Metal #036: Manilla Road - Crystal Logic
Back in time we go for some gleefully, knowingly goofy power metal from the early ‘80s. Manilla Road seem to have a reputation as one of the great forgotten bands of American heavy metal, with this 1983 release the first of a string of critically adored efforts. I’ve only listened to this one, but the album covers to follow all depict various lurid, ludicrous fantastical scenes, so you know what kind of thing you’re getting here.
After a quick scene setting prologue of ominous droning guitars, we’re kicked awake by the terrific “Necropolis”. The virtuoso displays are mostly kept to a minimum in favour of tightly chugging guitars and a cool if not enormously distinctive riff. It’s the vocals that make it - Mark Shelton’s a bit of a weedy singer, but his nasal tones get him over as some kind of weird creature, singing about the river Styx and the city of the dead from a place of knowledge. When the solo makicks into gear, it’s a good’un, breaking out of the heavily condensed power chords for something that squeaks to breaking point.
It’s not all high conceptual headbanging. “Feeling Free Again” is a welcome shift in pace, some straight ahead, bar band-worthy hard rock. I can’t find out anything about the producer Mark Mazur, and a quick Google suggests the record label was owned by Manilla Road’s frontman, which might go some way to explaining the occasionally sloppy sound on some of these tracks (this one especially is mixed bizarrely). What they lack in finesse, though, they make up for in a knack for catchy, poppy choruses. They love a vocal harmony, and that smattering of sunshine goes a long way.
Some of the tracks sound a lot cooler, mind. “The Veils Of Negative Existence” is maybe the best song on the album, with the band taking the decision to drench everything in reverb and the guitar solo given a hefty dose of delay. It’s super effective in making things sound huge and dramatic. Shelton’s vocals are given a booming echo, and he sounds more confident knowing it’s going to come out cooler. The solo, meanwhile, piles up all over itself, eventually congealing into something immense.
The title track, which plays out in several acts, also sees the band going out on a limb with a more complex style of composition. It’s particularly good in the extended instrumental section, which has a swinging, nautical vibe to it. The piercing solo and the loping, muscular riff that follows each help Crystal Logic to rise beyond the often-tight confines of pure power metal.
While Manilla Road would have their ups and downs, it seems that very few of their records are remembered anything less than warmly by genre fans, and I can see why. Beyond commitment to the bit, they can really write a chorus, and understand the importance of variety, even on a power metal LP. Writing cult records in an already cult genre may not make you rich, but it’s certainly won these guys a lot of love.
