Manilla Road - Atlantis Rising 1.5/5
Reviewed: 3-8-02
Tracklist:
1. Megalodon
2. Lemuria
3. Atlantis rising
4. Sea witch
5. Resurrection
6. Decimation
7. Flight of the ravens
8. March of the gods
9. Siege of Atland
10. War of the gods
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This ends up being a difficult CD for me to review...Even from a starting point, I guess I have more mixed feelings about Manilla Road than many fans. At their pinnacle, I love the band's work, especially 'Open the gates' and 'Out of the abyss'. I love the epic lyrics, the fantastic melodies, and at times, the speed and power. But while I love both their faster stuff ('Whitechapel') and much mellower work ('Astronomica'), what I don't care for as much is their trippier, noisier moments, with long lead sections that don't do much for me, like a lot of 'Courts of chaos', certain portions of 'The deluge', etc.
'The deluge', while offering some great stuff, is probably my least favorite of the released Manilla Road material.
Well, lyrically and musically, this CD is probably closest to 'The deluge' of any of their work, with the "heavier" sound which some fans have mentioned. While there are plenty of the epic touches I like, and the lyrics which I love, the sound and feeling of the CD is not one which really engages me. I have yet to hear one of those great choruses that really blows me away, as one of the staples of Manilla Road's work, and the word that keeps coming to me as I listen to this CD is "noisy", a harsh sound to the ears, and strikes me as more of an amalgam of what I didn't like about Manilla Road than what I do like, and that ultimately makes it worse than anything else from the band which I've heard. It's hard not to ultimately find the subtle brilliance of Shelton which I expect, but I haven't found it on this CD.
CRAIG
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