Interview | A massive Interview with Manilla Road
Manilla Road. A
huge band for epic metal. In July they were in Cyprus. Mark Shelton (1977-92,
1994- ), Bryan “Hellroadie” Patrick (1999- ), Andreas “Neudi” Neuderth (2011- )
and Josh Castillo (2010- ). We spoke for
over two hours with the members of Manilla Road in Nicosia just before they
nailed it live in Cyprus for the Power of the Night Festival. A small portion
was included in the Cypriot daily newspaper “Haravgi” (www.haravgi.com.cy). The entire (almost)
long talk, rather than a formal interview, is what follows. (Nicolas Nicola)
 |
| The interview as published on newspaper "Haravgi" in Cyprus on 17-Aug-2014 |
Mark: Finally.
Thank you very much for your kind words.
Let’s start with the “lost” demo. Does it
really exist?
Mark: Yeah it does really exist. We just don’t know
where it is! The first ever demo Manilla Road did was 3 songs. It consisted of
the very first version of “Far Side of the Sun”, a song called “Manilla Road”
and the song “Hermann Hill”, a live version of which is on the “After Midnight
Live”. That’s a different version because on the demo we recorded it in the
studio.
Did the song “Manilla Road” have lyrics?
Mark: Yeah it had lyrics at the time.
Does it give an explanation about the
band name?
Mark: Maybe. It’s so long ago and it’s hard to
remember, to tell you the truth. Unfortunately we haven’t found any copies of
that tape. We maybe did 50 cassette tapes and sent them out. Back then I had no
idea that we will be here now, so I didn’t pay attention in saving all things.
It was not a priority at the time. We were still young and we were having a lot
of fun. So we just really lost track of these tapes.
We found an
awful lot of old staff. Some we didn’t even know we had. But at the same time I
would really like to find that first recordings. It was before we released
anything. I wouldn’t say it’s excellent staff but it was the first professional
recording we ever did.
There is not even one known copy?
Mark: Not that we have found.
Have you been selling this demo or was it
only for promotional use? Have you searched local radio stations?
Mark: We didn’t
find anything. I remember that local radios were playing a lot the song
“Hermann Hill” because it was right after the riot. The song is about a riot on
Easter Sunday 1979 in our hometown Wichita in Hermann Hill park during a rock
concert. For some reason later they stopped playing it and wouldn’t tell us
why. But I haven’t found that demo tape yet and we haven’t found the original
masters of that tape. We keep looking.
Neudi: I took
most of the tapes we found with me in Germany. I transferred them onto the
computer. We found a lot of great stuff there but not the demo.
Patrick: Some of
this stuff we found are coming out on the reissues like “Crystal Logic”,
“Invasion/Metal” and the ones to follow. There is old staff from these
recordings he is talking about. There are many old songs that have never been
released or heard by the public. More of these unreleased songs will come out
on the next reissues. My favorite is one that it would be on the bonus CD of
the next album we are doing. It’s one that I was the happiest that we
found. We also have done a new version
of the same song. So on the bonus CD there will be the old version of this song
and a brand new version of it.
The new album when will it be released?
Is it ready?
Mark: It should
be out on February or March 2015. We’ve recorded all of it. We are now working
on the mixes and the mastering and getting the package ready. We just did a
deal with the artist for the front cover. His name is Paolo Girardi.
Do you have a title for the new album?
Mark: Yes, but we will not say it just yet because
it’s just months before the release. I’m always worried about somebody taking
my ideas and using them before we put it out there. We will probably announce
the title a month or two before the release.
Neudi: One title could be TBC. To Be Confirmed
(laugh).
What’s your favorite track from the T.B.C?
(laughs)
Neudi: T.M.K.
Patrick: I like
R.O.D. The new album is going to surprise not just our old fans but also our
new fans too. Because there is a bit of every little history of Manilla Road.
Mark: I can say
that it is a concept album. A philosophical concept. Sort of historical based
on the beginnings of mankind and civilization in Mesopotamia.
Patrick: We will
touch a bit on the Sumerians and the Akkadians. A lot of archeological facts. A
lot staff that our fans would want to explore and read into. In the past people
learned from Mark about the writer Robert E. Howard. There is a lot a bit of
everything from the history of Manilla Road in this album. I am very excited
about it. It’s gonna be a double CD with bonus unreleased staff from the past. It
would be double on the vinyl too. It not something bands do. Bands include
bonus from staff they cut off the album. That’s not the case. Why don’t put it
on the album from the first. It’s not really bonus tracks. Its tracks they are
recording now. For us it will have older staff and maybe some re-recorded.
Mark: The label
we are working with now, maybe it can be considered a major label, but they are
not telling us what to do. They are not trying to shape our music or to make us
anything we are not. They let us be ourselves. That’s incredible. That’s the
only way for me to accept being in a big label. Accepting us being ourselves.
Patrick: It’s
important that the boss is a fan.
Τhe title for the album “Metal” was a conscious decision for the genre?
Mark: Even in our “Invasion” album the term was in
our lyrics. We were very psychedelic rock n’ roll, hard rock band at the time,
but at the same time we were considering ourselves some kind of metal. We were
writing our lyrics that way and we knew that was our direction. It was just a
matter of our roots at the time and where we were going. I grew up in an area
of the USA where country music was the biggest style of music. I was a big fan
of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Hawkwind and staff like that. That’s where most of
the psychedelia came from. But at the same time from the Hendrix side I took
the style with a lot of guitar solos. Also from Michael Schenker. I got so many
influences that is really ridiculous. I just took many pieces from whatever I
liked and sort of fuse it together with my own capability and I came up with
our style. I think we considered ourselves a metal band when we started in
1977. We were more like space metal.
Patrick: The term metal was been used from the mid
70’s. But the term epic metal wasn’t.
Mark: And in the 80’s when people asked us what we
played we didn’t say just heavy metal. We usually said “sort of epic metal”.
And it stuck.
I got some of the ideas of what heavy metal was as
far as concept-wise from a French magazine called “Métal Hurlant”.
If translated in English it meant “Heavy Metal”. It was a comic’s magazine
based in adventure fantasy, science fiction and horror staff. Not just the
music, but also the artistic side. Heavy metal was not applied just to music.
It applied to the story types. It was a more over concept rather to a single
music concept.
You also have a lot
of references to your lyrics to a lot of writers and stories from literature.
Mark: Yeah, I read a lot. Even now I still read quite a bit. There are
some things I’m really knowable about and there are some things I know nothing
about.
Manilla Road never
wrote songs on politics or love affairs.
Mark: We tried to stay away from it. I don’t like to take sides because
I don’t know all of the particulars about political things. The one thing I
will always make a stand on is that I think that the human race needs to get
rid of greed, money and religion. All the things that cause wars. These things should never happen. It’s not up
to me to decide if it’s good for a country to separate or not. I am more
concerned with music and people getting along. I think it’s time for mankind to
wake up and realize what is causing these huge conflicts. For me it’s greed for
power, land, money and resources and difference of opinion about religion.
Religions to me are just a control factor for people to control other people.
Our technology is so advanced nowadays that we pretty much know that there is
no god pulling our strings and there is no god listening to our emails. These
were all fantasies that mankind had to explain the things they didn’t
understand. We have technology now to understand what the cause of all things
is. Even the beginnings of our universe.
Maybe god is not
following emails but the NSA is.
Patrick: Yeah. They may even listen to this now. Trust me.
Mark: So it’s time for people to get out of this medieval thinking and
start realizing we need to get together and help everybody in the world.
I just found a title
for the interview: Manilla Road is denouncing medieval thinking!
Mark: Funny (laughs)
Patrick: Especially our government bases a lot of its war justifying on
religious beliefs. It’s just wrong. If you are going to make laws and decisions
for the people then it should be for the people.
Neudi: We played in so many countries with different governments and
cultures but the fans are all the same. It’s good to know that we can make
people happy even if these are people who are not happy for the rest of the
week.
Mark: That’s the power of music. To go along I have to say that
metalheads are all the same. There is a unification that music brings to the
people. That’s why I am so intrigued by music. It can make people happy even
though times are very tough for them. We have many people saying to us “thank you
for your music because that’s what I listened when I had turmoil in my life and
it helped me get through”. We are all like that. I have bands that I listened
when I am depressed to feel good again.
I am on the
opposite. When I am not feeling good I usually listen to Candlemass!
Mark: (laughs) We are actually really good friends with Leif Edling and
the guys from Candlemass. They are fantastic people and a great band. I love
Leif.
To get back to music, I think
that it is a common thing for all of us. The whole world needs to find common
communication and figure out how to get along. Music speaks to the mind, heart
and soul of a person. I think music is the best way to communicate. Everyone
likes music even if it is different type of music. Just some religions ban
kinds of music or dance. But to the most part I think music speaks to everyone.
When it comes to things like people starving, it’s not necessary. There
is a lot food in the world to feed everyone. We just need to quit trying to get
money of it. There are pharmaceutical companies that don’t release cures or
they make it so expensive to get more money. It’s ridiculous to have such
companies suing people for cure patents. If people are sick we need to cure
them. We should be using all of our capabilities worldwide together to make
these things happens. The reason this is not happening is because of companies
and people being so greedy.
Patrick: That’s what confuses me about the term mankind. Because man is
not kind most of the time. This needs to be addressed. Start thinking about
each other. And this is not trying to be socialist or being political. We are
together on this earth. Let’s do this. We are destroying this place and it’s
going to get worse if we don’t start waking up really fast.
Mark: We try not to be political. We don’t feel political. But we think
that as people of the earth we need to do what we can to change things to be
better. For us the best way is through our music. Telling people to follow
their own path and do what they think right and do not depend on something
written 3000 or 2000 years ago when we didn’t have the knowledge we have now.
But all this talk is
very much political even though you say you don’t want to be political.
Political in the thinking and not in choosing any political party line.
Patrick: In a real sense yeah. It’s a heavy metal political nature.
Keep it within the music and the people.
Neudi: When we travel touring we find out many things. Most people are
stuck within the thinking of their own country. They don’t understand things
going on in other countries. But when you are there and talk to the people you
understand. Even if you are not agreeing with what they are doing in their
country that’s OK. It’s fine. It’s their choice.
Mark: I just want to summon things up by saying that no matter how advanced our technology
gets, I think we should always still be reverent to our ancestry and where we
came from. It’s important to know where we come from and to respect our
forefathers and our ancestors and the thing they believed in. Even if they were
not true things. It’s what they believed. I think it’s important for us to
remember our roots and background, just like a band. We worked our way up
through the music industry on our own. Holding ourselves up by our own boot.
Not depending on anyone else except the fans. We don’t want to forget that this
is where we came from. We were and still are just heavy metal fans. I don’t
ever want to be the guy that doesn’t want to talk to a fan because I will
think, “I am better than you” or anything like that. That would be such a crime
for my inner self and myself.
You have mentioned the first version of “Far Side of the Sun” on the
lost demo. Then you had one version on the “Invasion” album and a different one
on the “Metal” album. Why?
Mark: We kept changing the song here and there. I
don’t know. We kept doing it again and again.
In between there were the songs that ended up being “Mark of the Beast”.
Why didn’t you release this album in 1981?
Mark: We just didn’t think it sounded complete or
as good as we wanted it to sound like. When we first started working in the
studio, we were using analog guitar processors instead of actually taping the
amplifiers. This was because of the owner of the studio. He convinced us to do it
this way. That’s how “Invasion” was recorded. When we went to do the “Mark of
the Beast” album, which at that time was actually called “The Dreams of
Eschaton”, we recorded it the same way without amplifiers and using processors.
I kept on thinking that this does not sound exactly like we sound as a band. So
we put that on the shelf and we didn’t use it. We went back to recording using
amplifiers and we recorded the staff for the “Metal” album. I liked that sound
a lot better. We just didn’t release that staff that ended up in “Mark of the
Beast”. I never really planned on releasing it until Monster Records bugged me
for at least 10 years for it.
Neudi: Because of the bootleg that was out. It
really sounded like shit.
Mark: That was the thing that made me finally to
decide to release it. Because there was that bootleg around.
That bootleg by a Greek metal magazine in 1999 was released without your
permission?
Mark: It was without my permission completely.
I have it here. It says special thanks to Manilla Road for the release!
Mark: I never agreed to it. I think Black Dragon
Records gave them the music. Because Black Dragon had a lot of our demo staff
from back then. I would not have agreed to that even if they would be offering
me money. I would have said no.
Neudi: Even on that bootleg there are two recording
sessions. And the sound is worse than on the “Mark of the beast” release.
Mark: Yeah. It didn’t have everything on it. Not
all of the original material for the album. This was taken from a cassette tape
for the bootleg. Not from the master tapes. The first three songs on the
bootleg (Venusian Sea, After Shock, Time Trap) were actually recorded after the
album sessions. And the rest four songs are just a portion of the songs of the
original “The Dreams of Eschaton”. I don’t know how they only got portions of
it but the first three songs were actually made as a demo after the recordings
for the unreleased album. We were still very unlucky in getting someone to sign
us and finding a label to work with and so we continued to release our albums
by our own through Roadster Records.
When the bootleg came out it was just terrible. It
sounded like crap and it was not even the whole album. In response to that
being bootlegged I decided it would be ok to go on and release the “Mark of the
Beast”. That way it would sound as it should and it would have all the songs.
Neudi: There was also another bootleg “Live by the
Sword: The Very Best of Manilla Road” (note: also by another Greek magazine in
1998 with the blessings of Black Dragons but not to the knowledge of the band).
When you hear that carefully you can understand it was taken straight from the
vinyl!
Black Dragon
was circulating the albums you have released on your own through Roadster
Records up until “Crystal Logic”. Then they released all your work up to “The
Circus Maximus”. You have mentioned some staff but you had other troubles with
this label.
Neudi: Even today we still have problems.
Mark: They were OK to work with at first. But when times got tough for
them financially they became very hard to work with. It was then they started
letting things go like the bootlegs. But it’s all behind us now.
What
problems do you still have with them? I thought they were not operating
nowadays.
Mark: We still have problems. Problems for using the original artwork
on front covers for the reissues. The artist for “Open the Gates” and “The
Deluge” Eric Larnoy is dead now. No one has been able to
find out where the original paintings of the album artwork are. I know that
Black Dragon does not own them and I don’t either. Now Black Dragon is saying
we cannot use this artwork for reissues, even if they don’t own them. The
people who would own them are the relatives of Eric Larnoy, but nobody knows
where the art is. It is a confusing situation.
Mark: Yes, that is the problem. They said we
cannot use the artwork. My point to them was “what are you going to use them
for?”. You don’t have a contract with us any more. As far as I know also, they
don’t even put out anything anymore. They are not even an active company. So
what does it matter to them?
Neudi: We are not the only band to have problems
with them. Candlemass, Exxplorer and Steel Vengeance also have problems with
artwork for reissues.
Mark: Anyway. The reissue of “Open the gates”
will have the original artwork that nobody saw. We had back then a friend of
ours in Wichita, Scott Dawson. He did a painting that was going to be the “Open
the gates” cover. Then we got signed by Black Dragon and they decided to use
the Eric Larnoy painting instead. So the paint by Scott never got used. Now we
will use the original painting and keep the Larnoy for the inside. For the reissue
of “The Deluge” we don’t know what we will do yet.
It’s confusing times. Even today that the company
is gone we still have problems with Black Dragon.
Speaking of covers let’s come to “Crystal Logic”. Is the rumor that
you tried to change band name (with Crystal Logic being very much bigger on the
first pressing than the Manilla Road logo), true?
Mark: No. It was the way the artist did it.
Crystal Logic and Manilla Road were in fact painted on the original piece of
art. It was not added later. That was the way the artist decided to do it.
We did try to change the name a few times but not
then.
On what occasions?
Mark: For example with “The Circus
Maximus” album. Black Dragon again have their idea of what should be done. The
project-band was named “The Circus Maximus” and they changed it to a Manilla
Road album and called it “The Circus Maximus”… Which did not make any of us
happy. They did it because they thought they could sell more albums that way.
When Bryan and I
were working on the “Atlantis Rising” album, at the time we thought we were
recording my solo project. We were going to call it “The Shark Project”. When
we started giving our offers for the album all of the record labels said: “OK
we want it, but you must call it Manilla Road”. At that time we were OK with
that.
Patrick: It just
makes sense with the direction of the band at the time. At that point we were
not looking at being Manilla Road again. We just wanted to make music and get
Mark back as he was away from playing music for a couple of years. At that time
we had family issues and we were miserable inside because we didn’t have music
with us. I’ve been with Mark since 1981 and not seeing him playing music it was
killing me. So one day we were at the golf course and said “man we got to get
the band going on and do something”. He looked at me and said, “we will do
something”. We started writing and got 8 out of the 10 songs for “Atlantis
Rising”. Then we got as Manilla Road at Balingen in Germany for the Bang Your
Head Festival. We got back to the USA and wrote the rest of the songs. The
label loved it and wanted it as Manilla Road. I thought the artwork of that
album was great.
Mark: So great
he put it on his arm (showing the tattoo on Patrick’s arm).
Patrick: In the
80’s I was a roadie for Manilla Road and a lot of other bands in Wichita. Had a quite different shows of my own. Music
just is a big part of my life. I could not sit back and not make music. And to see
Mark not doing music…
Mark: Yes, I was
dying. I was becoming more and more depressed every day.
Patrick:
“Atlantis Rising” is a very special album for me. It was the first I really was
able to have a chance to sit down and write with Mark. That album was really
written from song one to the next till the finish. Every song had its place.
Mark: We
actually had an outline of the concept and we wrote and recorded each song in
the order it is in the album.
Patrick: The
other album that is very special to me because of some family issues at the
time was “Gates of Fire”. All the album is very special because we paid tribute
with this one to our fans from Greece ,
Italy and Scandinavia
with the three concepts. It was an honor theme.
How many years were Manilla Road
Mark: Just about
two years. Basically the “The Circus Maximus” era that Manilla Road didn’t
actually exist. Right after “The Circus Maximus” broke off, I got back together
with Randy Fox and Bryan’s brother, Harvey Patrick and we played live round the
state of Kansas for 2-3 years. Most people think we were not active at the time
because we were not recording anything. There was no Internet or it was just
starting. For everyone in Europe it looked like we didn’t exist. We were
actually playing live and writing music as well. About half of the music that
ended up in “Spiral Castle” was written during that time. We changed the title
of the songs we played with Randy and Harvey and I re-wrote the lyrics. “Spiral
Castle” song was used to be called “White Goddess”. “Merchants of Death” was
called “Holy War” in first. “Seven Trumpets” was actually called “The Gods are
Sleeping”. It was changes to fit the concept.
As for the
inactive years, it was only the couple of years we were working with “The
Circus Maximus”. Other than that, Manilla
Road were there except for two years.
You wrote all the songs on “The Circus
Maximus”?
Mark: I wrote all of the music, but the melodies
and lyrics were written by whoever sang the song. Aaron Brown sang three songs
(“Spider”, “In Gein We Trust”, “Hack it off”) and half of “Flesh and Fury”.
Andrew Coss sings four songs (“Lux Aeterna”, “Murder by Degrees”, “No Touch”, “She’s
Fading”) and the rest of “Flesh and Fury”. I sang “Throne of Blood”, “No Sign
from Above” and “Forbidden Zone”.
Neudi: It’s AOR,
then it’s rock and then it’s so progressive. It depends on each member. I saw a
live video Mark has from a live show from the band of The Circus Maximus. It’s
great.
You played any Manilla Road songs at that
time?
Mark: A few. We
did “A touch of Madness” and “Dig Me No Grave”. We also did a Black Sabbath
medley. We also played “Sweet Emotion” from Aerosmith.
“The Circus Maximus” sounds nothing like
Manilla Road as a project it was and not Manilla Road as the label choose to.
Mark: Exactly.
It wasn’t supposed to sound like Manilla Road. It was a project.
Patrick: But
there are a couple of songs in there you can really say, “that has a Manilla
Road feeling”.
Mark: The song
“Forbidden Zone” is probably the closest to a Manilla Road song on there.
Speaking of songs that sound like Manilla
Road. “Feeling Free Again” from “Crystal Logic” has this different lyric line
for the band. What was behind Mark singing “hey baby”?
Mark: “Crystal
Logic” was the first time we used a producer. His name was Mark Mazur and he
was really good. But he thought we needed a song that had radio potential. So
he basically urged me to write a song that would be good for radio airplay. And
that was what came out of me. I am not
proud of this moment at all.
But when it was performed live last year
in Metal Assault Festival it was a very nice song.
Mark: Thank you.
I really like the guitar parts of the song. I just don’t like the lyrics.
Patrick: It’s
fun to sing.
Mark: Every time
he sings it he looks at me with that look “you wrote hey baby”…
The previous night I had the luck of
seeing you perform acoustic. Does this happen often?
Neudi: Not
really. Only when I want to drink and not to play drums (laughs)
Mark: We don’t
do it that often. It was a special type of event. It was the release party for
our album “Mysterium”. We did an acoustic show in Athens in 2012 and maybe we
will do some staff like that at some time in the future. It’s not our main
interest. It’s something we do that is different.
Neudi: It was a
concert of Zed Yago’s Jutta Weinhold and we jumped ourselves in as a support
acoustic act. She was so kind to let us do this.
Mark: It was
very nice. We are friends with Jutta. She is a fantastic artist and person. She
has a remarkable voice. I am proud to say that I know her and call her friend.
It was an excellent acoustic show. It was
awesome to hear songs like “Behind the veil”, “The Book of Skelos” and “The
Fountain”. There were also unreleased tracks. Are these old or new staff?
Mark: Thanks.
Just to let you know we are recording an acoustic version of “Book of Skelos”.
As for the unreleased songs they are actually from a solo project I am doing
called “The Shark Project”. I am still trying to do this. I actually have a title
for that album and it’s called “Obsidian dreams”. I think I will try to release
that in the coming year.
It’s completely different from your
Hellwell project?
Mark: Yeah. “The
Shark Project” material is all folk acoustic. Not really metal at all. Some are
even like love songs.
What’s going on with Hellwell after the
album Beyond the Boundaries of Sin of 2012?
We are working
on a second album. It’s something that we will continue on, but as time
permits. Because Manilla Road is the most important thing.
Did you have any live performances with
this project?
No, it’s just a
side project with different people.
What made you change direction in each of
the album in the long career of Manilla Road? Was it a choice or a natural
procedure?
Mark: A little
bit of both. There was the choice in it. Most of the bands I admire the most,
are band that don’t do the same thing over and over. I really like AC/DC, but
every album sounds basically the same. They are great but you can play many of
their albums in a row and think you are still listening to the same album. On
the other side Led Zeppelin is a very good example of the opposite. Every album
has a different thing going on. Different fusion of styles. Different approach.
I appreciate that much more because you just not try to repeat yourself. Trying
to move forward and do something new. I think that made Manilla Road what we
are. We don’t try to stay in one groove. We continue and try to experiment. Try
to find different ways to express.
Patrick: Mark is
always searching for the lost chord. He is always searching for something that
was never been heard or for new ways of doing things. That goes also for
recording. Since 2000 we’ve done our entire recordings by ourselves in his
studio. Each album it’s gotten better. Little better equipment and we learn
better techniques of how to record and make it sound better. We like to do
things on our own and we will continue.
Mark: The other
way to say this is that I am too stubborn and I want to have it my way!
Neudi: I think
that it would be wrong to have an album like “Crystal Logic, part II”. Many
bands do that or Manowar re-record their albums. This is a sign that something
is not going right in the band.
Mark: It’s a
sign that you don’t have fresh ideas anymore. We are always looking for fresh
ideas, something different. I don’t want to bore people with our music. I want
them to be excited like I am. The way we do it, it keeps us excited about the
music. We always had this approach. If it sounded good to us that is what we
do. For example I have never been proud of the song “Feeling Free Again”
because somebody told me to write that. And it’s not a song that is
super-popular for us. So the only time I tried to write something for the radio
I failed. But when I am writing staff out of my head then sometimes a hit comes
out.
Patrick: He
might think he failed at it, but there are many people out there that still
tell me that they love that song and want to hear it live more often.
Mark: I told
Bryan I don’t have a problem playing that song but he has to sing it! I am not
going to sing “hey baby”…
Neudi: In our
live show we play longer songs like “Cage of Mirrors” or “The Ninth Wave” and
it’s exciting also for us. We never get bored.
Mark: We still
experiment a lot on stage also. I don’t necessary play every guitar solo
exactly the same. I start it and finish it the same way but what’s in the
middle can be whatever the hell I am thinking at the time. That keeps it
exciting for us and the fans that travel around to see us. They don’t hear
exactly the same song. Words are the same, unless we forget them (laugh)
Patrick: That
was you Mark!
Mark: I know. At
Metal Assault I forgot the lyrics to “The Ram”.
Patrick: He
knows. He was there…
Neudi: Many
bands have computerized light show. Then they play exactly the songs up to the
second. I prefer not to do it that way.
Mark: I saw a
video from a live concert of Lordi and their sound system started screwing up
and the next thing you know it was like a rap record. The whole band’s sound
was screwed and the band kept playing. They were lip-singing everything. I lost
respect for these guys right away.
I think the best response to these kinds
of situations was the Iron Maiden attitude in Germany. When a TV studio asked
them not to play live and mimic they made fun of it by switching musical
instruments live on TV.
Neudi: Yeah.
That was great. I was “Wasted Years” and it was on a German Channel. Bruce
Dickinson was playing drums at some point and Nicko McBrain did the singer.
Patrick: They
turned that around and let it be known. We aren’t really playing it but we will
have fun doing this. I admire that.
Mark: I also
admire that. It’s the band saying we didn’t want to make it that way but since
there making us do it this way we are gonna have fun and let you know about it.
Neudi: Iron
Maiden was also the band that forced the Top of the Pops to play really live.
How do you feel playing in Nicosia right
next to the medieval walls of the old city?
Patrick: This is
the first time Manilla Road
are playing next to a city’s wall. It’s
such an honor to be in Cyprus. Cyprus steel lives.
Mark: It’s
fantastic. I really opened the gate of Famagusta last night (laugh). I think is
perfect for Manilla Road to perform at a medieval wall for what we write of.
It’s always such an honor just to see sights of things like this. But to be
able to play live right next to it, it’s magnificent. It’s amazing. It’s a high
honor for us.
Neudi: We are
doing this without playing the music that Ritchie Blackmore is playing
nowadays! And it’s also the first time to play amongst palm trees! As a German
is the most exotic feeling.
Josh: We had an
excellent welcome in Cyprus. The signs in the festival. When you drive through
Cyprus and you see a graffiti of your own band on the wall it just gives you
the goose bumps. To see on the wall written “Flaming Metal Systems”.
Neudi you had in the past managed the
fan-page of Manilla Road and now you are the drummer. I remember you announced
that Manilla Road
Neudi: I don’t
remember this. That’s weird.
Mark: We were
never invited to play Wacken.
You “spoiled” us in Athens 2012 playing
the whole of “Open the gates” in a three hours show. You’ve done the same in
2013 in Metal Assault Festival with the whole “Crystal Logic” with Rick Fischer
on drums and then with Neudi again the entire “Open the gates” album and some
more in another three-hour concert. What to expect in Athens in Up the Hammers
festival in 2015 with Randy “Thrasher” Foxe on drums?
Patrick: Yes, we
have played a three-hour show with a 31 songs setlist in Athens in 2012. That
was something the organizer Manolis wanted us to do with the all “Open the
Gates” from start to finish. That kind of opened up the idea of bringing up
Rick Fischer and doing a 30th anniversary show for “Crystal Logic”
in Metal Assault.
Don’t get any
ideas for 2015. We are not going to do a start to finish “Deluge” album with
Randy Foxe. But we are going to do a very special show in Greece in March. A
1.5 hour show starting with Neudi and then after a quick changeover we are
going to finish with Randy Foxe. It’s going to be a special night. You can
expect something different that night.
Even songs from “Out of the abyss”?
Mark: Yes.
Patrick: With
Neudi we are going to focus on our new album and everybody will get a chance to
hear some staff live. Then we ‘ll touch a lot of the staff from “Crystal Logic”
and back staff. With Randy Foxe there’s going to be a lot staff from “Open the
gates”, “The Deluge”, “Mystification” and “The Courts of Chaos”. We are going
to focus on staff he was on only.
Mark: There will
be at least one song from “Out of the abyss”.
Will it be “War in Heaven”?
Mark: Most
likely “Helicon” because of the place we are playing.
Patrick: The
Greeks will kill us if we don’t put “Helicon” in. It’s going to be a remarkable
thing and it would be the first time Randy Foxe will play overseas. The first
time to play in foreign soil. It will be exciting. Also for me personally
because I was his drum technician all those years.
I can tell you
honestly that I had the best seat in the house every night right next to him.
The guy is just awesome.
Mark: Randy is
incredible.
Patrick: I ‘ve
never seen any drummer ever playing like he does.
Mark: And it
says a lot about Randy when Neudi says that he is one of his favorite drummers.
Patrick: He
plays so loud and so hard. Then he has his little change things. Oh my God how
he did that. He is an inspiration for me. Him and me played in a band together
where he played guitar and I played drums. (Note: the band was Bunch of Bozos).
That was really intimidating. He wrote something and I tried to figure out the
drum piece and he said I might have an idea. I said I might be able to do that.
We played a couple of shows around in Wichita but nothing more serious. He does
his own recording staff.
Randy is a very
unique guy. He doesn’t really like metal but he likes bands like Toto, Sweet,
10CC, King Crimson. They are all great but they are not my sorts of taste. With
Randy you will never get down to “hey man have you listened to the new Kreator
album”… Forget that. It’s not going to happen.
Mark: Yeah he
didn’t like that staff.
So the nickname “Thrasher” has nothing to
do with thrash metal?
Mark: He has
earned that in his playing. As a drummer. He is just a thrasher in the way he
plays drums. That’s the way he earned the title. He was breaking the drums all
the time. He was also thrashing his drum set.
Patrick: I still
have problem till this day to hear well because he blow away my ear one time. I
tried to fix some staff on his drums while playing live and he continued. He
had broke a snare-drum and the only way I could get in to change it was to
crawl underneath and go back, reach over, grab the snare, slam it down while he
is playing. Crazy staff all the time.
It’s hard for me
to get away from this. Today when I see some of my band mates having an issue
the roadie inside me wakes in. For instance Neudi had an issue with the snare
in Milan and I was holding it so he could play. Then the technician saw and
said “what’s going on, we got to get up there”.
Mark: Another
example is that in many shows, fans will be getting on stage for a stage dive.
Especially in Greece always someone is unplugging me. Before the road crew
comes to fix it, Bryan is already there fixing it.
Neudi: When I
listened for the first time “The Deluge” it was amazing. He was the first
drummer in metal with things that I never heard before or I didn’t expect. Like
playing reverse. This is what I like so much about him. I grew up with that and
it cost me problems when I recorded with other bands. Because the producer or
my band mates were saying “Neudi you are playing way to much here”. Now I
finally am able to officially play way to much in Manilla Road.
Mark: He will
never get that from me.
Patrick: No, he
just get that look from me “what are you doing back there”. (laugh)
Is the D.O.A. cover from the band
Bloodrock the only song cover you did?
Mark: On an
album yes.
Patrick: The
keyboards on “The Courts of Chaos” Randy played them in studio together at the
same time with playing drums. And to see a drummer being able to do that is
remarkable. He would have it hanging from the cage using his fingers and
playing drums.
Neudi: He also
plays guitar. Maybe he would have fired you all back then and do everything on
his own.
Patrick: Not the
bass part. It would be too simple. (laughs)
Do you think that nowadays you are
getting the recognition you ought to have in the 80’s?
Mark: I don’t
know about that. I think things come to those who deserve them. I am not sure
if we were as good as a band in the 80’s as we are now.
Really?
Mark: A lot of
people would say that this is not true. But this line-up can play whatever this
band has ever played. That’s very important.
Patrick: That
didn’t happen in the 80’s.
Mark: For
example Randy didn’t like playing the old Manilla Road staff before him.
That’s the reason for the setlist of the
live album “Roadkill” being the way it is?
Mark: Yeah.
That’s the reason why we didn’t play things from “Crystal Logic” at the time.
We just did “Far side of the sun” from the work before Randy. It was just the
songs Randy would want to do. And they were very few from the old days.
Patrick: It was
songs he could re-write on drums and just thrash it. He would never play songs
such as “Crystal Logic” or “Necropolis”. Neudi plays his way on them but really
close to the original.
Neudi: Some
times I think what it would have sounded if Randy have played “Necropolis”.
Patrick: It
would have been destroyed (laughs).
Mark: We had the
same problem with other band members throughout our career even after the
reformation. With Scott Peters (drums 2000-03), Mark Anderson (bass 2000-02)
and Cory Christner (drums 2004-11). They had songs from the old days that just
said they didn’t want to play. Peters and Anderson really just wanted to play
new staff. But today with these guys we can play anything. They are really
prepared to play anything if the fans want to hear it.
I would like to
say thank you so much to all our fans. They have given us their undying support
all these years. Without you we cannot do what we do. And Manilla Road would
not have existed if it were not of our fans. They almost are as important to us
as the music itself. The music will always be the most important thing in my
life but right next to it is our brothers and sisters in metal that support us.
We cannot do this without them. It is an honor to be still here doing it. The
only reason is because the people honor us for it.
What’s your favorite track from each
record?
After Midnight Live (recorded live in
1979, released in 2009)
Mark: “Dream of
Peace”
Patrick: “Herman
Hill”
Invasion (1980)
Mark: “Cat and
Mouse”
Patrick: “Centurian
War Games” or “The Empire”
Neudi: “The
Empire”
Mark of the Beast (recorded in 1981,
released in 2002)
Mark-Patrick: “Avatar”
Neudi: “Venusian
Sea”
Metal (1982)
Mark-Neudi:
“Cage of Mirrors”
Patrick: “Out of
control with rock n’ roll”
Crystal Logic (1983)
Mark: “Crystal
Logic” and then “Necropolis”
Patrick: “Crystal
Logic”
Neudi: “Dreams
of Eschaton” and as a bonus “Flaming Metal Systems” from the CD era.
Mark: My
favorite song from the compilation “U.S.
Metal Vol. III” would be “Flaming
Metal Systems” (laughs)
Open the Gates (1985)
Mark: “The Fires
of Mars” or “The Ninth Wave”
Patrick: “Road
of Kings”
Neudi: “Witches
Brew”
The Deluge (1986)
Mark: I love the
whole album. Just to choose one maybe “Friction in Mass”
Patrick: “Taken
by Storm”
Neudi: “The
Deluge”
Mystification (1987)
Mark: “Masque of
the Red Death” or “Mystification”
Patrick: “Dragon
Star” and “Up from the Crypt”
Neudi: “Dragon
Star”
Out of the Abyss (1988)
Mark: “Whitechapel”
and my next would be “War in Heaven”
Patrick: “Midnight
Meat Train”
Neudi: “War in
Heaven”
The Courts of Chaos (1990)
Mark: “Into the
Courts of Chaos” or “The Prophecy”
Patrick:
“Into the Courts of Chaos”, but I really like the cover of “D.O.A.”
Neudi: “Book of
Skelos”
The Circus Maximus (1992)
Mark: “Forbidden
Zone”
Patrick: “Murder
by Degrees” and “No Sign from Above”
Neudi: “In Gein
We Trust”
Atlantis Rising (2001)
Mark: “Resurrection”
Patrick: The
whole album for me. If I have to choose one it would be “March of the Gods”
Spiral Castle (2002)
Mark: “Merchants
of Death”
Patrick: “Spiral
Castle”
Gates of Fire (2005)
Mark: That’s so
hard, I love every song. Maybe I would have to choose “The Fall of Iliam”. I
must say though that the song “Behind the Veil” I still think is maybe the
prettiest song I ever wrote.
Patrick: “Riddle
of Steel” is very special for me with some family problems.
Voyager (2008)
Mark: “Voyager”
or “Conquest”
Patrick: “Conquest”
Playground of the Damned (2011)
Mark: “Abattoir
de la Mort” and “Grindhouse”
Patrick: “Grindhouse”
Neudi: “Brethren
of the Hammer”
Mysterium (2013)
Mark: “Mysterium”
and “Only the Brave” would be the next one
Patrick: “Only
the Brave”
Neudi: “The
Battle of Bonchester Bridge”
Beyond the Boundaries of Sin (from
Hellwell project, 2012)
Mark: “Keepers of the Devils Inn”
Patrick: The three
songs for “Acheronomicon” because I sang on the second part.