Manilla Road
Gates Of Fire

Some would like them more romantic, more orchestral, and less mighty. Some would like them less raw. It’s impossible to imagine Manilla Road being "epic" in the manner of Rhapsody or Blind Guardian. Over the years, the strength of the guys from Wichita (Kansas) has been their dedication to their roots, to "classic heavy metal". Few frills, few melodramatic keyboard sound effects with a "scroll" function and a lot, a lot of metal. Pure, simple, uncontaminated.

Having said that, I want to emphasize that although the stylistic characteristics of Manilla Road have been more or less the same throughout, the desire to change has not been absent from the leader of it all, Mark Shelton. Just try the latest "Voyager" (2008) which introduced a decidedly thrash and dark impulse with a fairly substantial appearance of growl.

In the long journey that the American group embarked on in far 1979, Gates of Fire represents the penultimate studio echo, the one that precedes the aforementioned "Voyager".

In Gates of Fire, we find behind the microphone, in addition to the inevitable Shelton, also Bryan Patrick who joined the band to take on the role of singer after some vocal cord issues that affected Shelton. The two alternate effectively, facilitated by a fairly similar timbre. Completing the line-up is Harvey Patrick on bass and the monstrous Cory Christner on drums. In full Manilla Road style, the album covers themes dear to the band: it smoothly transitions from Virgil's Aeneid to Howard's Conan, with lyrics also focused on the battles of the Roman Empire, the fall of Troy, Aeneas' journey, not disdaining Thermopylae and Sparta. To musically narrate all these historical and other situations, the band divided the CD into three "parts", each composed of three pieces, creating a monolithic length.

The Frost Giant's Daughter.

The first part of the CD immediately shows us the "reappropriation of the past" by the four members. The general drive harks back to the masterpieces of the '80s, and the poor recording only contributes to infuse that great amount of pathos that has always distinguished the group. The power of "Riddle of Steel" is unleashed at full force while Patrick and Shelton alternate behind the microphone with positive results. This first part, inspired by Conan's character and drawing heavily from Howard, continues with the splendid ballad "Behind the Veil" and another heavy/epic blow titled "When Giants Fall".

Out Of The Ashes.

The second section of Gates of Fire delves into the Aeneid and tells us about the fall of Troy and the consequent birth of Rome. Three songs exceeding thirty minutes introduce us to the world of Manilla Road. The guitars become more aggressive, the overall atmosphere darkens. "The Fall of Iliam", "Imperious Rise", and "Rome" once again hit the mark. Shelton takes the stage with his guitar, producing those solos as long as they are fascinating, which had already set him apart in the past. But although the level remains high, the final two or three minutes of "Imperious Rise" and "Rome" could have been omitted: inevitable signs of repetitiveness surface, stemming from the complexity of composing pieces of this type without risking being entangled again in already-traveled sound architectures.

Gates Of Fire.

The third and final episode is about the Spartans and the bloody battle of Thermopylae. Here, too, we find pieces of absolute guitar rawness upon which perfect refrains and vocal lines are grafted. "Betrayal" and the final medieval ballad "Epitaph to the King", with its unexpected final ten seconds, decidedly take us back in time to conclude that long and complex journey of "reappropriation of the past".

In this Manilla Road album, released in 2005, we find all the fundamental elements of the band: from the industrial amount of pathos to the most epic choruses ever, from the importance of history to a compositional capacity that knows how to merge roughness with class. Over 70 minutes of complex, monolithic, powerful, aggressive, and reflective metal. Pure Manilla Road style.

1. "Riddle Of Steel" (7:08)
2. "Behind The Veil" (3:43)
3. "When Giants Fall" (5:28)
4. "The Fall Of Iliam" (14:47)
5. "Imperious Rise" (6:08)
6. "Rome" (11:02)
7. "Stand Of The Spartans" (5:36)
8. "Betrayal" (8:25)
9. "Epitaph To The King" (9:54)