By: Richard Maw
Once again, one of the metal world’s heroes has
passed on into the next world- whatever that may be. Mark Shelton is gone at 60 years old. Mark helmed Manilla Road through
the years from the late 70s onwards; give or take a hiatus here or there. This
warrior of true metal stayed active and creative throughout his musical life
and is one of the very, very few musicians to reactivate a band that went on to
greater success and recognition after their comeback.
Always the main man in the band- much like Lemmy
was in Motorhead- Mark was ably and loyally
assisted by a cast of stalwart brothers like Bryan Patrick, Rick Fisher, Scott
Park, Randy Foxe, Phil Ross, Josh Castillo,
Harvey Patrick and Andreas “Neudi” Neuderth to name but a few. From early
hard rock infused records such as “Invasion”,
through the true metal breakthrough of “Crystal
Logic” and on to bona fide underground classics such as “The Deluge”, “Open The Gates” and “Mystification”,
Manilla Road continued to evolve and progress.
After a period of diminishing returns, Shelton
put the band on hiatus for a couple of years in the 90’s but in the end the
muse proved too strong and Manilla Road came back
up from the crypt to create multiple more entries into the band’s prolific
musical canon. The comeback albums pulled in influences from modern metal such
as death growls and furthered the progressive element of the band. Each album
was different from the last and the creativity on display on “Voyager” was matched by the intensity of
“Playground of the Damned” and so on.
Right up to the end, Mark Shelton refused to lay down the sword and it is my view that
the last few years produced some of his very best work. Manilla Road
went back to metal basics on “Mysterium”
and then made an absolute masterpiece with “The
Blessed Curse” and consolidated that progressive metal approach with the
superb “To Kill A king”.
Unbelievably, Mark also found time
for the deliciously dark side project Hellwell and the hard
rocking “Riddlemaster”- with a
release from each of those bands AND Manilla Road in 2017
alone! I cannot claim to have known the man, but the fact that he bothered to
get in touch after I reviewed “To Kill A
King” in 2017 is testament to a kind and caring man who was very gracious
to me about a review I felt absolutely compelled to write- such was the high
quality of the record I had bought. Neither he nor Bryan Patrick had to pass
comment at all- but they did and it made my day that they were so positive
about what I had written.
Manilla Road
are a band that almost all underground doom and trad metal bands will name as
an influence and that is testimony to the quality of the music that Mark produced. The albums were always
idiosyncratic, always varied and featured production quirks, unique vocals and
incredible songs. Mark Shelton will
be missed as a man (a friend, a father, a relative, a band mate and so on) as
well as a musician, but his musical legacy will live on. I would like to think
that Mark’s quest continues beyond
the veil and that somewhere in the halls of Valhalla he still searches for the
lost chord, the next song, the perfect solo and prepares to do battle on stage
again for all eternity. Rest in power.
The following is a statement from the band.
It
is with a very heavy heart that we announce the passing of our beloved brother
Mark (The Shark) Shelton, founder and lead guitarist for Manilla Road. Mark
passed away suddenly, while at the Headbangers Open Air Festival in Germany.
His brothers and band mates are making arrangements to bring Shark's remains
home. All money donated will go directly to Mark's Mother Janet Elliot for the
hospital and mortuary expenses.
Thank
You for all your support and loving facebook messages. Thank you for your
generosity and May the Lords of Light be with you!
or
you can donate through our paypal account: booking@manillaroad.net
