Manilla Road

It was in 1977 that Mark "The Shark" Shelton decided, at the bottom of his native Kansas, to create his own band. After being a drummer of a band named Embryo, he started guitarizing and launched Manilla Road with his high school buddies, Benny Munkirs, Rick Fisher and two brothers, Robert and Scott Park. The band began by skimming the bars before having the opportunity to record and release its first album, Invasion, in 1980. They then worked on Dreams of Escaton (judged "bad" and which will only eventually come out 20 years later under the name of Mark of the Beast), Metal and Crystal Logic, which was born in 1983 and allows them to build their reputation in the United States and begin to reach Europe as well. Rick Fisher was then replaced by Randy Foxe, who recorded with the band the following albums, including Open The Gates, Mystification and The Court of Chaos. In 1992, Manilla Road experienced a period of tension and more or less ceased its activities. Mark Shelton released a solo project, The Circus Maximus , which still appeared as Manilla Road under the pressure of the label, who thought the record would sell better. This is followed by a ten-year break, punctuated by episodic concerts, before serious things resume with new musicians around the "Shark". Atlantis Rising was released in 2001, followed closely by Spiral Castle in 2002. Meanwhile, Bryan "Hellroadie" Patrick, former roadie of the band, arrives in addition to Shelton singing. Manilla Road then resumed a cruise rhythm and regularly released albums including The Blessed Curse in 2015 and To Kill A King in 2017.
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