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This was the second Manilla Road album (back then they weren't "CDs" yet.) And this is the one where they definitively turned towards a metal sound. They had recorded another album, to be called "Dreams Of Eschaton" (later released as "Mark Of The Beast") but they decided it was not the direction they wanted to go in. This was.

"Metal" is very much in line with the debut "Invasion", but a bit harder and more direct, with much less of the acid rock vibe of that one (and of "Mark Of The Beast" as well.) This album has some great cuts on it. The opener, as on "Invasion", is OK, not great. "Defender" is great fun, but too short. And yes, it is about the video game. "Queen Of The Black Coast" just rules, with a great riff and a killer chorus. Very stripped-down, but it rocks. It may also be the first song ever written about a Robert E Howard story. If anyone knows of another one, I'd like to know about it. The title track is, oddly, the least metal song on here. It's actually a ballad with a lot of trip-rock stylings. Good song though. "Out Of Control…" does indeed rock. It's a little silly, but a great song. "Cage Of Mirrors" is another epic in that MR style, picking up where "Empire" left off. The closer is a re-recorded version of a song from "Invasion", which sounds much better here than there, though I do miss the spoken-word intro.

All in all, this is a solid release, and a must for fans of the band. Great riffs, catchy songwriting, and Mark Shelton's leadwork is just awesome, as usual. Cult Metal Classics has just reissued this (finally!) as a double CD with "Invasion" included. Fans of Manilla Road should not miss it, and if you love really old-school metal like Blue Oyster Cult or vintage Judas Priest, you shouldn't either.

Additional Information

• This re-issue is available from Cult Metal Classics Records as the Invasion/Metal double CD, which includes both the Invasion and Metal albums
• Metal was originally released in 1982