Throne Of Lies is awesome. The solo section is unbelievably oldschool. I don't care if the main riff sounds like somethin' a bunch of tuff exclusively-Pantera/Lamb of God fans would worship.

First time hearing that track, and it`s pretty bad. Definitely not worth buying the album a second time for. I don`t get why SKR is reissuing some of these Road albums. It`s not like they`re out of print or something. All he did with Crystal Logic was screw up the tracklist. Nothing should follow up Dreams of Eschaton. Must be some money in it.

Tim from SKR said on their forum that he reissued Crystal Logic with Flaming Metal Systems at the end, because when he first heard the album, that song wasn't on it. He heard the album with Necropolis going into Crystal Logic (the song). He included Flaming Metal Systems as a bonus track purely to please the fans that came to enjoy it on the Iron Glory reissue. I believe the reason why Crystal Logic got reissued was because Iron Glory closed/changed names.

Throne of Lies sucks. I remember hearing that shit when I first got into the band and was appalled - clearly it was left off the album for a good reason.

The band wanted it on, and it was on the vinyl versions because Mark Shelton gave the label hell. It was a mistake that it was left off the CD version. Mark Shelton defends the song saying that the band has always been about blending genres and exploring. I'd have to agree.

I don't think Throne of Lies is that bad, it grew on me after a couple of listens. Sure there's a lacklustre riff and the singing bit is pretty ordinary, but there's some nice riffs and bits in there to compensate. It still has a nice feel that I believe fits in the album.

We also haven't heard Throne Of Lies with a proper rip. I think the version floating around the 'net is like 192 kbps or something. Noticeable difference from the rest of the album, so it will be awesome to get this one how it's really supposed to be. I wonder if there will be lyrics for it too.

With Gateway to the Sphere as an intro to the album, you certainly wouldn't except something that silly to come. I somewhat like the song but for the "tellin' me lies" part, though.

Yeah, Gateway to the Sphere is definitely one of the album's best moments, even though the sounds are a little strange. It reminds me of the epic theme song of some mid 90s computer game.

That song is probably the purest definition of 'facemelting'. When I first popped the album in, and that song came on, I knew 'Spiral Castle' was gonna tear me a new one.

Gotta disagree with Tim there. As Aeonblade said, nothing should follow "Dreams of Eschaton", and I think having "Flaming Metal Systems" in the #2 spot rather than the title track just makes things flow better. It's nice to have a fast, energetic track as #1, then an even more energetic track as #2 before you start getting more midpaced. Then the big long epic number closes it out and that's the end.

Meh. Plenty of time to turn off your album before "Flaming Metal Systems" comes on if you don't want it at the end of the record. I understand the decision; putting what amounts to a bonus track in the middle of an album is kind of a weird thing to do...

I thought a lot of people had one version or another of the metal/Invasion double CD deal, so it seems odd to me to do another issue of Metal at this time.

Personally, I think Crystal Logic rules with "Flaming Metal Systems" after "Necropolis", and that's exactly why I haven't bought the SKR reissue of the album. My Iron Glory version works just fine, and has the bonus track right where I like it! And yeah, I agree, no track should go after Dreams Of Eschaton! That's just the perfect finish.

High Roller Records wants to reissue all the albums on vinyl. I guess SKR decided they would put out the equivalent CD reissues.

On Invasion/Metal double CD-- Tim from SKR said that he hated the liner notes that came with the Invasion/Metal double CD, and that was his main reason for wanting to reissue those albums. Then you factor in the better mix on the reissue of Invasion, and the new artwork (what Mark Shelton originally wanted, so the story goes) for Metal, and also that we'll finally be able to have Invasion and Metal, on CD, in separate cases, with separate inlay art & booklets.... I think it's an awesome idea to reissue those classics!! Now I just gotta wait for Metal to come out....


Oh yeah, the SKR reissue of Spiral Castle has slightly different artwork.

I wasn't aware of Throne of Lies before. I like it, it has some infectious groove!

Yeah, the groove is tight, and the solo section harkens back to the old days. I'm curious as to what the lyrics are, aside from the 'telling me lies' part lol

Normally I'd agree with you but the thing is I WANT to hear "Flaming Metal Systems", just not at the end. For me it's one of the highlights of the album, and I'm really glad I have the Iron Glory version and don't have to rely on the SKR reissue. And it's actually not that unusual to fit bonus tracks into the middle of the track list somewhere, when the track came from the same sessions and just didn't make the cut because of vinyl length restrictions. They did that with most of the reissues of Iron Maiden's 80s albums.

I'm with failsafeman. I don't think it's a great track, but I certainly want to hear it. It has been a part of Crystal Logic as long as I've known the album, and being the catchy, energetic track, it was one of the songs that I found immediately pleasing on the album. Placing it is certainly difficult, but after Dreams of Eschaton is a wrong decision.

SKR is streaming a song from Mysterium! Check it out! The CD is up for pre-order, too.

http://shadowkingdomrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mysterium

Fuck, I just listened to it like 5 times in a row. It's AWESOME. A very focused, moody, mid-paced song. It has those typical "brooding" riffs that Shelton's been using in a lot of the recent stuff, not too exciting in that department but the vocals are great and the solo too. Overall the atmosphere is just awesome. This has me hugely pumped for the new album.

That new song sounds seriously awesome. It screams "headbanging frenzy", and Shelton sounds totally empowered. In fact, would it be crazy to say that there are some Omen vibes to be found in that piece? Particularly in those galloping, crushing riffs.....

That sounds like Hellroadie more than Shelton to me...either way, yeah, the vocals are pretty solid, but the riffing is awesome, and the production is great too. Sounds seriously mystical and archaic, like good MR should, while still having that wild guitar frenzy that Shelton has mastered so well.

Love the track. Can't wait for the album. I really wanna hear the epic of the album, the title track.

i placed my order for mysterium and a bunch of other road albums just the other day.
I think after this arrives i just need the first 2....

Very nice, man! Do you have After Midnight, Invasion, and Mark Of The Beast? If not, get them.

It's definitely Hellroadie. The song is rather good indeed, although not instant classic material. It should be a good album.

The new song is good, but to be honest it didn't blow me away or anything. The riffing was really good but something seemed slightly off about his vocals. I haven't really listened to much Manilla Road past Atlantis Rising (I'm a new fan and I'm going to listen to their albums chronologically) so I don't really have proper context for this. Oh well, it'll probably grow on me.

Vocals are Hellroadie's (Bryan Patrick). He's been sharing vocals with Mark since Atlantis Rising, although Voyager has Mark and Hellroadie's brother, Harvey.

Mine shipped today. Should have it tomorrow. Can't wait!

Okay, I know I pick on The Road Crew here a lot, but are you guys listening to the same song I am? In what universe are these droning, bored, lazy vocals "empowered"? The riffs were boring and went nowhere, the song was neither hooky nor brooding, it was just a dull plod with the most tired and uninterested vocals I've almost ever heard.

This:
in particular blows me away. Just... nothing computes for me here.

Well, I have come to conclude that, save for a few exceptions, I either completely agree or completely disagree with you, BH (same happens to me with whatever ANationalAcrobat says), so your thoughts on this don't really surprise me

I actually somewhat agree with BastardHead. I am a Road fan, but that song really didn't do much for me. I'll still check the album out though. And no, there was nothing that sounds remotely like Omen in there. Only you Xlxlx will know where the hell you heard that from.

Eh, maybe it's more the feeling of the music than the actual playing, but I'm pretty sure that I get some Omen vibes from it. Whatever, I maintain that the song is badass, though this is coming from someone who only recently has come to call himself a Manilla Road fan, so take it with a grain of salt.

The song is definitely using a variation of a riff that Mark has used shitloads of times before. And it's got Hellroadie singing, so it's sure to annoy the puritans. I'm thinking that's why this was the song they chose to release to us. Weakest one off the album or something. Well, I'll see (or hear, rather) when I obtain the funds to buy the CD.

I listened to this earlier and while I'm hardly well-versed in more traditional forms of metal or anything (hell, my only experience with Manilla Road besides this song is one from Crystal Logic which I heard years ago) I have to agree with BastardHead as well. Those vocals are just awful, and while the riffs themselves are decent (if not kind of boring to me), that guitar tone is just trashy and frankly almost bedroom-ish. The appeal to this is honestly beyond me, its individual elements feel mediocre at best and flat-out abysmal at worst.

Trashy guitar tone is part of Manilla Road's appeal.

I haven't listened to this song yet, and I can't now because I'm at work, but someone tell me: are the vocals at least better than they were on 'Playground of the Damned'? Because the uninspired, powerless vocals on that album killed it for me. It's the only MR album I've heard that I could say I disliked.

Were the vocals that you hated on Playground Hellroadie's or Mark's? Because Mark is quite old now and can't sing like he used to, so his voice sounds old, wise, and weary. Hellroadie, however, does seem to be trying to attain his own vocal identity, and doesn't seem quite as content imitating Mark from 20 years ago. I know, however, that some MR fans don't like his voice.

I've read that Mark and Hellroadie pretty much share the vocals 50/50 on Mysterium.

Mark Shelton has said that he contracts laryngitis very easily, and having sung that with that condition he has really tortured his vocal chords in the past. His vocal improvement towards the end of Manilla Road's pre split-up era is explained by the vocal treatments he received. I'm sure all that strain, given his apparently chronic condition, results in his voice being quite tired these days. I enjoyed his vocals on Playground of the Damned; they worked quite excellently for what they were. He would need someone more powerful a singer than Hellroadie to fully complement his own lack of power and range though. Hellroadie isn't an exceptionally capable singer at all.

As for the people who complained about the riffs and the songwriting, I really don't know what you were looking for here. I though it was really good.

I guess they were expecting an epic or something. Wait for the title track, people. That one should be fuckin' epic.

Thought the song was decent enough. It wasn't horrible in any way, not sure how anybody would come to that conclusion...



ohhhhhhhhhhh

He's the resident mallcore drone, just consider his opinion on anything void.