In many ways this album signifies the beginning of what some would term the "classic manilla Road sound". I think it still owes a fair amount to '70s psychedelic/hard rock, but this is by no means a negative criticism. I love some of the music from that era and early Manilla Road definitely strikes a chord with me.
This is over-all much more streamlined and focussed than the debut, "Invasion". in fact, it's remarkable how much the band has matured in such a short time. There was actually supposed to be an album released between the two, back in 1981, but apparently the band wasn't too happy with the result and the project was canned in favour of the "Metal" album. That interim recording, "Mark of the Beast" has recently been released by Monster Records, and from the older (and very shite quality) bootleg recording I've heard of some of the album it's a nice bridge between the preceeding and following albums. But, I digress..."Metal" is a pretty strange and unique album, very much steeped in the magic that made early manilla Road so wonderful. There's a really special, almost personal feeling about the recording...even though the lyrical subject matter is often quite otherworldly. What's more, the production is very live sounding, to the point where it sounds as if the band is playing right in front of you. If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine being in some slightly ramshackle bar somewhere (probably Kansas!) seeing these guys play their young hearts out, and it's such an exhilarating feeling. I really feel that this album warrants a track by track discussion, so bare with me while I indulge.
"Enter the Warrior" is a pretty strange opener for the album. The riffing itself isn't too extraordinary, except that it's more metallic than anything Manilla Road had done previously. What's odd is the rhythm, particularly the drums, which give the song a sort of staggering yet punchy feel. It's very unconventional and left me scratching my head the first couple of times I heard the song...but it grows on you after a while. Mark's vocals on this album are interesting: they possess a really growly, snarly quality that was mostly dropped for the next album. Oh, he can sing quite cleanly at times, and does so often enough on this album, but the gruff, very unpolished tone here really adds something to the live, one-take nature of the recording, as well as providing a certain charisma that is part of the early Road magic.
"Defender" is a very catchy, up-tempo song with a sinister, pounding chorus. Mark sings the verses in an almost plaintive tone of voice, which kind of fits the lyrics, which are both amusing and oddly tragic sounding. yes, they're about the famous arcade game from the early '80s, and I love the way it sounds as if he's being really subtle about it until the last line of the last verse..."won't somebody play me? A quarter will do!" The chorus is one of those anthemic fist-pumping metal affairs, in which Shelton snarls out "Defender!" in a biting voice. Truly great stuff.
Next up we have "Queen of the Black Coast", a depiction of a truly great Robert E. Howard story involving Conan and a beautiful female pirate who falls in love with him. This is probably one of the Road's most underrated songs, for me at least. It has a really wonderful wistful air about it; a compelling magic that doesn't quite hit you on first listen but which draws you in as you become more familiar with the song, until it remains stuck in your head for days. The pace is very much rock n roll, the rhythm straightforward and unpretentious...yet the riff Shelton plays on his guitar is really striking in its sheer simplicity and total strangeness. It reminds me, almost, of the chorus to Venom's "Don't Burn the Witch", not in a musical sense exactly, but in the sense that you expect the riff pattern to go a certain way, and instead it does the exact opposite. The lyrics to this song are really cryptic, to the point where they make little sense unless you've read the tale the song is based on, but their subtle nature, and the way mark growls out the verses in that sinister yet still melodic tone of his, while performing the chorus parts in his distinctive soaring yet somehow tentative (in a good way, if that makes any sense) clean voice, just adds to the atmosphere. It really makes you take notice, that's for sure.
We then come to the album's eponimous track, and what an anthem it is. It's actually very sedate, for a song called "Metal", for most of its length. however, the almost gentle sounding nature of the music belies the fact that the lyrics are full of pride and meaning. "We praise the blood that metal brings / The essence of creative quality / Is life so pure we cannot seek / Our hopes, our dreams to make our fantasies reality." Mark sings the mellow opening moments beautifully, and this is one of the pieces I would love to see performed live one day, particularly when it erupts into a fast paced section 3/4 of the way through that's somewhat reminiscent of Judas Priest, full of frantic guitar soloing and wails of "heavy..metaaaaaal!" Amazing stuff. As an aside, the mellow part of this track seems to be a reworking of "Venusian Sea", which was to be on the previous album.
"Out of Control with Rock n Roll" is probably my least favourite track here. It's still pretty good, but the growly vocals here seem almost excessive, and there's an annoying echo effect on them which renders the whole song a bit messy sounding. There's some good soloing, and some absolutely great lyrics about how rock n roll can be both the best and the worst of everything, but other than that, this song is really nothing special.
It seems every Manilla Road album up until around "Mystification" had to have one mammoth epic track. "Cage of Mirrors" is just that, and it's an unbelievably powerful song. There's a verse motif that consists of nothing but gently picked clean harmonics and some very moving vocals. Following this section the song crashes into full gear with some powerful and distinctive riffs, including one with an odd galloping rhythm that could be almost thrash if it were sped up a dozen fold. The song dramatically returns to the quiet motif to continue the story of the disciple of hellish sorcery who, excited and awed by the power he holds in his hands to summon Lucifer and his warriors to Earth, realizes far too late the horror he has unleashed upon the world and the damnation to which he has condemned his own soul. Very moving stuff, and Mark actually gets pretty passionate with his singing here, going off key a bit, but who the hell cares? The vocal melody is gorgeous! After a repeat of the thundering riffset from the previous section and some crazy soloing, the quiet returns once more and we get the final, regretful and tremulous words of the sorceror..."I would send back Lucifer and his warriors / but I'm trapped, in this cage of mirrors".
Finally, the album closes with a much more up-beat and metallic version of "Far Side of the Sun", originally from "Invasion". This version doesn't include the slightly silly Hawkwind-esque intro, and betters its predecessor in every way possible. You'll definitely want to crank this one. More wailing solos, gritty but melodious vocals and rhythm/riff combination that's very worthy of maximum headbanging. This song, more than anything, shows how far Manilla Road have come.
In conclusion, this album is a real treasure. The band would never quite find this particular brand of magic again, although it could be argued that they do have better albums. Then again, every Road album is unique in its own way, and I don't think any of them aren't worth owning. This one in particular should appeal to those seeking a very underground and sincere sounding brand of early 80s american metal, without any pretentions or gloss. Manilla Road is the type of band that makes you a fan over years, not overnight, so don't be surprised if this doesn't exactly strike you as anything special on first listen. As with most of their other albums, it needs time to sink in and grow. "Metal" deserves far more appreciation than it gets, as does this band in general, and if I've even turned one person onto them through this review, I am a very happy man.