Manilla Road
Crystal Logic

Someone once called them the best American metal band; let’s not go that far, my friends: but still, what a great group they were.

And so here you have one of the greatest concept albums ever conceived by the human mind; a superlative epic metal record that tackles the theme of the journey into the underworld and the struggle between good, reinterpreting it compared to traditional standards and at the same time drawing from centuries of traditions: pagan mythology, Norse, the Arthurian cycle, Kabbalah and so on, all in a masterful tale brought to music by one of the most renowned personalities of heavy metal, the great Mark "the Shark" Shelton.

We go back in time, to when heavy metal was a bubbling cauldron of ruffians with scruffy beards and hair blowing in the wind, and specifically to when the term epic metal was not yet associated with the ridiculous nonsense it is today.

The prologue opens this record, drawing us entirely into the atmosphere, but it is only with the real beginning that we stand before a heavyweight like "Necropolis." The lyrics are poetry, Shelton’s nasal and chewed vocals are perfect, the metrics and lexicon are masterfully used, to the point that belting out these stanzas is pure joy. The hero finds himself in this hell, the necropolis: what will be his weapon to defeat evil? "Logic, a crystal logic, a crystal magic" (and not a "logic of crystals," as I used to translate as a kid...): Manilla Road don’t give in to empty machismo, and write a song to the greater glory of logic, of the human mind, and intelligence, a weapon of light that transcends and becomes magic. "We will never ever die, 'cause heavy metal is life, and not eternal hell!" Against the satanic tendencies of Venom and the like, our heroes recovered the original meanings and wrote an album about fighting alongside the celestial armies. Musically both tracks are masterpieces. There’s a break in the concept with "Feeling Free Again," very seventies and cheerful in its positive lyrics, though not quite up to the level of the previous tracks. The different editions of the album shuffle the order of the following songs; "The Ram" is written with great skill but in my opinion, together with the aforementioned "Feeling Free Again," represents the least exciting moment: let’s instead spare a few words for the other tracks. "The Riddle Master" has a slow pace with a sort of gong that marks the decrees of the Master of Deceit, whom the protagonist must face and ultimately defeat; the band’s aggression comes out in a brash and wicked chorus. "The Veils of Negative Existance" confirms this doomy flavor (a genre that was practically nonexistent at the time) and unleashes a chorus that makes you want to pump your fists in the air, ending as if releasing a curse, returning to the deadly riff: "I will never put my sword down, I will never... run away! In the veils... of negative existance: I AM THE MASTER, HERE TO STAY!" Masterful. And then "Dreams of Eschaton/Epilogue": making use of an alternation between clean arpeggios and stabbing distorted vocals, lines with stretched metrics that seem to stand out on the horizon, and solos typically Manilla Road, with attention almost paid more to the rhythm section than to the solos. It’s the end, it’s the Apocalypse. The lyrics reach levels of refinement and epicness that few will ever match. Manowar came close, but were too full of themselves, Virgin Steele can in fact be compared for elegance, Heavy Load for roughness and genuineness. "'Before the Gods of Hell sentence you to die: remember well, my friend, a Warlord NEVER cries!' That’s what I’ve heard in the words inside my mind: when Ragnarok comes down we’ll all run out of time!" We speak of the coming of heroes, the triumph of good and the struggle with evil, with skies of blood and the destruction of Middle Earth.

The Roadrunner reissue, if I’m not mistaken, includes at this point a version of the fantastic "Flaming Metal System": after the uncertain and unclear ending of the epilogue, this speed metal anthem explodes with shining hope, featuring a riff that is both incredibly simple and simply genius. "In this world's darkest hour, up your hammers to stay! Don’t throw it away!"

I truly believe this is one of the highest achievements in metal music. Not because there aren’t albums that are heavier, more iconic, with lyrics that are just as carefully crafted or music at least as brilliant: examples could easily come from Kreator, Metallica, Iron Maiden, or Death. What makes this work so great is something that takes root in the human origin of those who wrote it, the very conception of heavy metal made of values, struggle, real life, freedom: and above all, great art. Because that’s what we’re talking about. And yes, let me say it, because between metal cosplay, revivals and various alternatives, today the spirit with which Manilla Road wrote this masterpiece and the other great albums is a bit lost.

"Sic transit gloria mundi." Rating: 95/100.