Manilla Road - The Courts of Chaos (1990)^{Release ID: 2164}

Following on from the more speed metal tinged Out of the Abyss, Manilla Road opted for a more slow to mid-tempo affair to kick off the nineties with.  This time around they stuck with their traditional/epic heavy metal sound but it all felt even more accessible on this outing.  Opening with an instrumental track is always a risk on any album and on this occasion they scrape through with it as although Road to Chaos isn't terrible it doesn't really hold the interest all too well and I find my attention has wandered on the opening track.

Thankfully the rest of the record measures up to a better standard.  With a distinct sense of build being present on the record from the off, track number two steadily presents a consistent tempo without immediately galloping into the more upbeat style the band are famed for.  The more aggressive tendencies do start to come in soon enough as well though and the album does a great job overall of balancing the more restrained elements with the more in your face parts.

There ain't no Crystal Logic or Open The Gates moments here though, with flashes of that brilliance only showing presence on all but too few occasions to make the overall experience anything more than just average.  Shelton's trademark vocals are (as always) the over-arching memory I take from the record with the guitars doing their usual job of creating varied and capable passages.  I don't feel however that the record ever really gets going to any degree and there's little sense of flow and very scarce evidence of compelling moments that standout to any degree.