Manilla Road
Out of the Abyss

Out of The Abyss occupies an awkward place within Manilla Road's discography. It comes right after the four consecutive masterpieces from the 83-87 period, the most successful and productive period for the band, especially in terms of the artistic quality of those works. The album was first released in 1988 and from the first analyses, it was heavily criticized by the public and press for being too anomalous in its stylistic choices. The accusation was that it was too influenced by thrash metal (a genre very popular at the time, especially in the States).

In reality, a careful analysis of the album (which will ripen after repeated listenings) will lead the listener to realize that the true thrash episodes of this album are "Whitechapel", a fierce opener with hard and very fast rhythms, and "Black Cauldron", a short and intense episode of heavy metal. The rest is clearly influenced by what the Road had previously done, with only two differences: a more sparse production, with less raw and more massive sounds; and an atmosphere musically focused on the band's rawer and more aggressive side. All shades that in previous records were kept in check by dreamy and magical tones, which sweetened the more robust soul of the Road. Out of the Abyss proceeds in the opposite direction of this stylistic choice, but that does not mean it is so "different" as an unwary listener might define it. Already by the second track, "Rites of Blood" resonates, which is a doom in full Manilla Road style, while "Return of the Old Ones" and "War in Heaven" are also clear examples of classic epic metal. "Slaughterhouse" and "Midnight Meat Train" then have rhythms very similar to "Taken by Storm" or "Valley of Unrest", from previous masterpieces. But the stroke of genius remains "Helicon" one of Shelton's lyrical peaks, unfolding in an epic and pathos-dense piece that captures the listener in a sound spell that will break only when the reader stops acting.

Out of the Abyss is a splendid album that requires due time to be correctly assimilated, but it's worth listening to, especially for the quality and uniqueness of certain tracks or to relive in musical form the Cthulhu Mythos of writer Lovecraft (paperback inspirer of this work), not to forget Shelton's remarkable vocal performance, never so multitimbral behind the microphone!

Lineup:

Mark Shelton: guitars and vocals

Scott Park: bass

Randy Foxe: drums

Tracklist:

1 Whitechapel

2 Rites of Blood

3 Out of the Abyss

4 Return of the Old Ones

5 Black Cauldron

6 Midnight Meat Train

7 War in Heaven

8 Slaughterhouse

9 Helicon

The album is now easily available thanks to a recent reissue by Shadow Kingdom Records. An opportunity that genre enthusiasts should not miss.

Federico "Dragonstar" Passarella.