Manilla Road - Crystal Logic [1983]

With two albums under Mark Shelton's belt, it came time to continue Manilla Road's ascent to greater heights with the ushering in of a different and improved sound, and "Crystal Logic" is the vehicle for this advancement of the band's music (and career). After debuting with the awesome "Invasion" and then failing to follow up with another solid release ("Metal"), the Kansas group unleashed arguably their greatest collection of music, taking their proto-metal tendencies from the first two records and morphing them into an epic heavy metal masterpiece. The change in the overall sound for the band was so massive that the drummer at the time left the band because of it, but that's his loss because this is an album that is sure to go down in legend as a magnum opus of the epic heavy metal genre, especially for the Americans who were busy with the glam scene, punk and the spawning of the thrash genre. 

"Crystal Logic" is the execution of the hints of brilliance that were present on "Invasion." The epic "The Empire" from the debut showed what the band was capable of delivering, but not until their third effort, did Mark "The Shark" Shelton and company finally achieve the grandiose, yet entirely catchy sound that avoided Manilla Road on "Metal." The absence of catchy and memorable riffs on the previous full-length proved to be no concern on this album, as this album is a total riff-fest. "Necropolis" is an absolute classic, not only of Manilla Road's catalog, but of the entire genre, as the upbeat, near thrashy riffs keep the listener captivated throughout, while Shelton's trademark nasally-rasp vocals bounce along and create incredible moments like the ever-memorable chorus that screams three simple words repeatedly "Lost in Necropolis!" And the title track is no different as it features headbanging riffs that weave in and out of the ever changing tempo perfectly and much like "Necropolis," there's hardly any chance that anyone can listen to this track just once. 

Of course, the real epic here is the album-closer "Dreams of Eschaton," a masterful song that spans twelve minutes, but retains an amazing level of replay value. Its definitely not everyday that I can listen to a song this long over and over, but Manilla Road is that damn good when it come to creating this type of music. Other songs like "The Ram" and "The Veils of Negative Existence" are terrific as well, as they feature even more fragments of the band's sound. The former track is a catchy headbanger while the latter is almost doomy at times as it slays the listener with its melancholic riffs and lyrics("I will never put my sword down, I will never run away!"). I can't bring myself to utter a single sleight against "Crystal Logic," and had "Feeling Free Again" and "The Riddle Master" been on par with the other classics here, this record would be absolutely perfect, but being damn-near perfect isn't too bad either. It's obvious that this was the release that marked the beginning of something truly special for the band, and nearly thirty years later this album is still a pinnacle of heavy metal, and it will be thirty years from now too. 

Highlights

"Necropolis"

"Crystal Logic"

"The Veils of Negative Existence"

"Dreams of Eschaton"

Final Rating

Masterpiece [9.6/10]

Warlord - Deliver Us (EP) [1983]

When people think of Los Angeles and metal, it's usually the glam scene that people think of. Or just a little later down the line, people may think of Megadeth, Dark Angel, Evildead, etc, but what about the power/heavy metal group, Warlord? These guys might not be the greatest band to ever come from LA, but they definitely deserve more recognition than the little they have, because the music on their debut EP "Deliver Us" is solid to say the least. And when you consider that this EP was released before power metal classics like "Metal Church," "Ample Destruction" and "Battle Cry" that surely has to serve as another reason why these guys should have been bigger. 

"Deliver Us" came out before the aforementioned power metal classics, but I wouldn't call this EP straightforward power metal as it definitely leans towards heavy metal and even classic rock at points, but there is absolutely no denying that some of the music here sounds like Omen or Savage Grace. The track "Lucifer's Hammer" is a catchy, midpaced number that was more than likely a live favorite, and "Deliver Us From Evil" takes a little more of an epic approach with melodic choruses featuring soaring vocals that sound a lot like some of the Euro-power bands that would pop up later. "Child of the Damned" is some grade-A Judas Priest worship that comes complete with the melodic, upbeat riffage and opening screams, while "Winter Tears" is a melodic song that perfectly conveys the emotion of the lyrics while retaining a great amount of memorability. 

Unfortunately, the second half of this EP just doesn't live up to the first and that drags down the overall quality of this recording. Had "Penny for a Poor Man" and "Black Mass" been on par with the earlier tracks, this would have undoubtedly been a masterpiece, but the lack of catchy passages and the unnecessary keyboards which made the band sound more akin to a band like Rush or Boston (Not that I have any problems with those bands, but I prefer it when keyboards stay the fuck out of my metal) rather than the very capable heavy band that they were. Luckily everything else on "Deliver Us" is terrific, from King's stellar vocals that are highly soothing to the ear, to the fantastic drumming, all the way to the solos. This comes with a high recommendation if you're into any of the other bands that were mentioned earlier on, and if you don't find yourself enjoying this then you might want to slip into some spandex and head out to a Motley Crue show. 

Highlights

"Deliver Us From Evil"

"Winter Tears"

"Child of the Damned"

Final Rating

Awesome [8.4/10]