Manilla Road - Voyager

\r\nWhat can we say about Manilla Road…? Whatever we say will be minimal, so it is better to go directly, to the things that have to do with their new album. To  be honest, I do not remember which consecutive full length album this is, but as far as I can remember it must be their thirteenth. Voyager is an album that personally made me feel tired in a way. I am in position however to know that the fans of the band, will remain satisfied from the album as it reminds a little Mystification but also Out Of The Abyss. The fact, however, is that the band after so many years of existence and creation, has accomplished each release in such a way that they present to us a different release from their previous.. Voyager has its own character which can gain a place in the hearts of all those who follow Manilla Road throughout the years. It is one Epic album written in 2008, which however carries a lot of good elements from old era. Viking atmosphere, but also the atmosphere of travel and unknown is everywhere, something that appears both in their music and artwork. Epic elements are here in order to remind us the unique nature of the band and also there are certain passages, which refer to us in something more melodic and “relaxed” such as Tree Of Life. They are not the few times where the group presents to us an extreme character, with vocals that could be found easily in melodic Death Metal bands, but also with compositions where the speeds are gone up and do not stop until the final drop. Personally, what I didn’t like, was the “simple” production (but things had to be that way) and also a lot of tracks that appeared to be similar from each other. I am not of those who will applause Voyager, only because it is written by Manilla Road. I don’t think that this release is the best that the album has offered to us and for this reason the grades do not exceed the 70% (because simply if we marked this more, then what should we put in the masterpieces of their past?). Voyager therefore, is an album that is suitable for those who deal with the band all these years and know how they developed. For the remainders, there are abundant albums in order to hear before they reach here.\r\n

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\r\nVasilis Mazaris \r\n

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\r\nTranslated by: Manos Maragos \r\n

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