The 1980 Listening Post - Manilla Road - Invasion

Manilla Road - Invasion

#105

March 20 1980

Manilla Road

Invasion

Genre: Prog Metal

3.25 out of 5

Has there ever been a band so poorly named as Manilla Road? Perhaps. I mean, there’s always gonna be Hoobastank. But Manilla Road sounds like a brand of cookie. I only know Manilla as a type of folder. I don’t even know why it’s a folder. Maybe there’s a Manilla Road in Kansas. Which is where this shredgressive band is from.

The lead singer sounds like he desperately adores Lemmy and is doing his damnedest Kilmeister impression. 

These are more jams that sounds steeped in the 70s ala Grand Funk Railroad but that doesn’t mean they are bad, just that Manilla Folder is updating a sound.  

There are some embarrassingly terrible moments like “Centurian War Games” but there’s also some dynamic rawk.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQFgcUj1vds&list=PLlvn8uktX5Ls-MVmwQyIpgQ-cQJ-Wu9IX 

The 1986 Listening Post - Manilla Road - The Deluge

Manilla Road - The Deluge

#55/1222

February 25 1986

Manilla Road

The Deluge

Genre: Devil Metal

2.25 out of 5

The lead singer’s forced vibrato coupled with his determined earnestness makes this the closest rock and heavy metal comes to actual opera. I have no idea what’s going on and there’s nothing to hold on to. 

Honestly? I was just bored numb. 

This is the second time in a row that Manilla Road has left me wanting and I can safely say that’s how I feel about the whole genre at this point. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-deluge-remastered-ultimate-edition/1045937433

The 1985 Listening Post - Manilla Road - Open the Gates

Manilla Road - Open the Gates

#129

April 28 1985

Manilla Road

Open the Gates

Genre: Heavy Metal

2.25 out of 5

Highlights:

Weavers of the Web

I must confess I had high hopes for this one. I really liked Crystal Logic so I thought this might be as surprising and fun as that one.

Alas. I also must confess…the only way I could get through this was to drink. A lot. Yes, it was an Orange SodaStream & cheap gin night. Because this album is 3 hours long. How they fit all that on a 40 minute lp is sort of amazing. 

“Heavy Metal to the World” might as well have been a Motörhead song. And one that Lemmy would have rejected. The whole record is one shoutfest after another with little to hold on to as you wait for the next majestic shredtastic solo.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/open-the-gates-remastered-ultimate-edition/1009337510

The 1983 Listening Post - Manilla Road - Crystal Logic

Manilla Road - Crystal Logic

Manila Road
Crystal Logic
4 out of 5

Highlights:
Necropolis
Feeling Free Again

It opens inspired by Queen’s Flash Gordon soundtrack and then it turns into shredtastic fantasy-metal cut from the Randy Rhodes/Manowar/Maiden territory.
It’s better than it needs to be most of the time. The production isn’t as crisp as Metallica’s or Quiet Riot’s. But all in all, a solid, shredtastic effort.