British Heavy Metal made a huge impact on the American continent long before the mid 80s - a period during which legendary outfits such as Def Leppard, Iron Maiden & Judas Priest found themselves performing sold out shows in massive arenas such as the one which is located at Long Beach, California. Suddenly the US witnessed the surge of numerous underground Heavy/Epic metal acts such Queensryche, Omen, Sword as well as the Kansas-based quartet Manilla Road - a band that has been providing us with a sea of well-crafted Epic/Heavy metal tunes for the last twenty eight years. It is really a sad state of affairs that Mark Shelton's outfit never really managed to make it big, but that never stopped him from recording his albums, the latest of which is the nine track opus entitled "Voyager".

Any new album released by the band whose 'musical arsenal' includes classics, such as "Crystal Logic", "Open the Gates" and "The Deluge", is bound to come under the microscope, not only by the music press but also from Manilla Road's loyal fanbase, the vast majority of which would give up everything if that meant that they could be miraculously transported back to the 80s - yet, if there is one Manilla Road release capable of satisfying both of these camps, then that album is definitely "Voyager". There is nothing unusual about the general idea behind the creation of these eleven new compositions or the musical direction that the band chose to follow here, yet "Voyager" is a release that features many surprises, mainly due to the contribution of a man called Cory Christner.

The often challenging but to the point performances of this amazing drummer complement Mark Shelton's simple but enormously heavy riffs to such an extent, that every single composition overflows with energy and enthusiasm that you only really expect to find in the music of a young band nowadays. Yes ladies and gentlemen - Manilla Road have managed to create an album which respects the band's glorious past, but also one that is not afraid to spread its wings and fly off to uncharted musical lands.

All those elements that point towards an impressive album are clearly audible in the opening track "Tomb of the Serpent King/Butchers of the Sea": a dark/epic intro, simple but massive rhythmical riffs, variety of vocals stretching from typical epic/melodic choruses to Death Metal growls and and impressive guitar solo courtesy of Mr.Shelton. The sound of the album may not be professionally comparable in either clarity or quality with that of some of the most commercial bands of the genre, such as Manowar, but is exactly what the album needs in order to convey the right messages to its intended audience.

Songs like "Frost and Fire", "Blood Eagle" and "Return of the Serpent King" (with its overwhelming Death Metal vocal performances) are filled with catchy heavy riffs and Maiden-inspired lengthy melodic solos, and so managed to win me over in no time - still, it was Mark's numerous performances on the acoustic guitar that make "Voyager" such an amazing and essential purchase.

I was lucky enough to listen to the Epic masterpiece "Tree Of Life" for the first time almost a month ago while at the top of Cadair Idris (a mountain in Wales) and I can safely say that I still haven't managed to fully recover from that experience. This breathtaking composition is predominantly based upon beautifully crafted acoustic guitar melodies and is complemented by Shelton's oneiric vocals - that is till half way through the song when the appearance of an electric guitar provides one of the most amazing lengthy solos that I have heard in ages! Following along a similar vein, the same-titled composition and the Latin-orientated "Eye of the Storm" provide additional moments of brilliance, leaving the considerably aggressive "Conquest" as the perfect representative of the existence of modernity in the music of the band.

It is quite shocking, but also enormously rewarding to witness a band that has been around for the last 31 years still being capable of releasing an album of such immense quality as "Voyager". Yes, it is true that "Crystal Logic" is the best album that this band has ever released and it is indeed the only Manilla Road album capable of transferring me to different worlds each time I surrender myself to its charms, but I will be damned if I do not rate "Voyager" amongst one of the band's best releases thus far. Will "Voyager" provide Manilla Road with the long overdue recognition that they so much deserve? Unfortunately, I am almost certain that it won't but, you know what? That is certainly someone else’s loss!

****½

Review by John Stefanis