MANILLA ROAD - "TO KILL A KING" (2017)

MANILLA ROAD - "TO KILL A KING"
(Running time: 61:39 minutes; 10 songs)
("Zyx Music"; 2017; CD):

Hey guys, next one ('already') coming in and is aiming at you, yes, and so here you now get my record-review on the (brand)new full-length-album of/by the (al)mighty and truly legendary MANILLA ROAD, sort of none less than the founding fathers of Epic Metal or (how I love to call it in their particular case) Conan Metal because the whole atmosphere and delivery and the whole aesthetic(s) and surely and truly magical intensity of this music matches perfectly to/with the world of Cimmerien (or in english I guess Cimmerian) which is 'Conan's world', and their newest offering is titled "TO KILL A KING" and was released (at least over here in Germany) via "ZYX MUSIC" around the 20th of September of 2017 (so more or less sort of still pretty recently... I guess... or so...) and it is their 18th studio-full-length-album in their since 1977 lasting and now 40 years spanning career (and with being now in 2018 in their 41st year). "TO KILL A KING" is the direct successor to/of the incredible great "THE BLESSED CURSE" from 2015 (and even so far I haven't done a record-review on it I'm anyhow pretty sure that I will do it one day in the future up here as well) and so "TO KILL A KING" had a tough contest to succeed in, so to say, and I was damn curious about it and what it would have to offer. Btw, and in general I think it's just fantastic that years back more as obscure seen bands like for example MANILLA ROAD and/or CIRITH UNGOL that were always sort of being pushed aside finally seem to get more proper attention over the last years than ever before, so it seems, and not only more proper attention but especially more than justified and long, long overdue attention, yes, and this is something that to me sort of shows me that this world we live in maybe isn't just such a huge shithole at all. Okay, and now back to the topic and that is MANILLA ROAD's "TO KILL A KING", yes, and so now here we go again: Compared to/with "THE BLESSED CURSE" the first thing you notice is probably that we get less acoustic passages here on "TO KILL A KING" and also a sort of a more heavier and more 'doomy' direction that the album takes, while at the same time "TO KILL A KING" serves us less raging outbursts than "THE BLESSED CURSE" and so "TO KILL A KING" is, in my book, even far more intense than its direct predecessor (or maybe better intense in a pretty different way) because it sort of flows perfectly and melts all together in a brilliant way... and I just hope you understand my writing and what I want to say with it... because I sort of can't say it more detailed or precise(d)... anyhow, anyway, further on we go: The whole album breathes an and is interwoven by one hell of a larger than life absolutely mystical, magical, and surely majestic atmosphere that is also absoultely grapping and overwhelming intense and totally sucks you into a fantastic and amazing world of its very, very own, yeah', it sucks you deeply into it and won't spit you out again before the album hasn't ran through and even then it maintains its intense and massive hold on you and it serves you goose bumps in largest amounts sort of for free, hell yeahr. So, yes, "TO KILL A KING" is through and through for sure a definite MANILLA ROAD album but with a different note'n'tone and a very own identity compared with its (also brilliant and fantastic, and also very unique and 'special') predecessor "THE BLESSED CURSE". And sort of like all MANILLA ROAD albums it's a very unique and charismatic and so sort of a 'special' one and this even in the discography of the band itself (and this also sort of like all Albums, too), oh yes, delivered by one of the only very few bands outta there that probably never wrote a really bad song in their career. And it all has a undeniable epic spirit with rampantly far, wide, and broad exciting and grapping arrangements and a such compositorial work. Right from the get-go with the opening riff of the outstanding opener and title track "TO KILL A KING" it's like a movie starts instantly in your head and you are promptly 'beamed' into the action in that fantastic mystical world. Absolutely and sheer amazing!!! All is carried onwards on the wings of the brilliant, most unique and highest skilled and also highly diverse and still heavy guitar work of the Mark "The Shark" Shelton himself with its absolutely stunning and unique tone and that shines with large riffs and rhythm structures as well as and especially with a very 'special' melody and harmony work and that delivers nearly perfect leads and bright shining solos. Then we have very soulful and heartfelt, and also very charismatic lead vocals that are mostly pure gold and deliver all the time to point in a great way, even here and there I would sometimes wish for some more variations in the composition of the vocal lines but that is anyhow only of a minor concern at the end of the day. Backed up and massively beefed up in the right way and manner is then all by the forceful and yet very sensitive and varying rhythm section. And that the songwriting is simpley intense, diverse, and highest skilled as well as the skills of the musicians I only mention here for reasons of comletness. Yes, what is there more to say, hm, MANILLA ROAD's "TO KILL A KING" is absolutely unique and phenomenal Epic Metal of the most original and true style and with a very huge and unique identity and highest skilled, yes, and even it's maybe not completly pure platinum it is anyhow purest gold and great and even 'greater than great', yes, a pure larger than life masterpiece and even sort of more, definitely, and a slightly bit I like it even a little bit more than the damn great "THE BLESSED CURSE" and so here you now get my clearest recommendation and this without a second thought anyway. Any listening tipps I will spare me, simply because you have to experience "TO KILL A KING" in its whole glory. Fantastic lyrics, a totally gorgeous artwork, and a very strong very warm and 'earthy' production sound finally round it all up in a sort of a 'perfect way'. Okay, so here now that's it for now, yes, and so I'll now wish you a good night and, yes, just get this damn masterpiece.
(9,5 of 10 points)
www.manillaroad.net/ (-the link to the homepage of the band)

MANILLA ROAD - "THE OTHER SIDE" (2017, "TO KILL A KING")