The tour of a lifetime (for me) just ended in Chicago (a glorious show at the Alehorn of Power Festival) a few weeks back. I have been reminiscing through my memory of all the events that took place in 2013 for Manilla Road and have found it difficult to even recall all the fantastic moments because there are so many of them. First of all getting to spend time with so many of our fans around the world this last year has been phenomenal. What an honor it has been to have been greeted with such enthusiasm everywhere we have traveled. Believe me when I say that it is truly our fans that keep Manilla Road alive and kicking. We absolutely could not have achieved what we have without you all and your undying support of the music.

One of the most impressive things (and there have been many this year) that I saw happen in 2013 is the amount of support and awareness that is growing in the U.S. metal scene. We have been received in the States better this last year than any other. The Deathfest in Maryland was incredible. To see so many supporters of classic metal raise the horns to the sky here in America was one of the most thought provoking things that I have seen happen. From Texas to Canada North America has finally taken the leap of faith into the realm of epic metal. I know there were several of us in the first place but it seems that epic and classic metal are really back with a fervor in the Americas and I am so proud to be alive to see it.

I most likely should have written this a couple of weeks ago but I decided to wait until my birthday to do it for some reason. Yes, today I am 56 years old in this life. One of the most important things (to me of course) that I discovered over the last 56 years is that the Universe and all within it are constantly and ever changing. Change is inevitable. And since the world and universe we live in is constantly in a state of change we should not let ourselves be fooled into thinking that our philosophy and ideas should be dormant and in a state of stasis. What I’m trying to say is that as our technology and knowledge and understanding of the truths of the earth and the heavens expand so should our thinking process expand. We should expect change. We are intelligent enough as a race of people to know that the history of the earth and the human race changes and is slightly re-written every time we dig up new discoveries out of the sands. Therefore our philosophy about the beginnings of our race and civilizations and religions should also be advancing and changing along with the understanding of new knowledge. It is vitally important that we continue to be open minded and re-write our own philosophy as the facts reveal themselves. We should not get caught up in religious lunacy that keeps us believing things that we know scientifically are not true. And then on the other side of that double edged sword is that we should still honor our ancestors even though some of their beliefs were fantastic explanations of the unknown. We are smart enough to know the difference between honoring our forefathers and blindly following a path that was created by those of lesser education and knowledge. Create your own path to the light. You know yourself better than anyone else and all choices should be left to you and not made by those who plagiarized their religion from earlier myths and legends. Don’t let people that died ages ago make your decisions for you today. Take the leap of faith yourself and make your choices based upon your own understanding of the knowledge at hand and by all means trust in yourself. All of our magik together equals god in my books.

Manilla Road is the perfect example that if you work hard enough and long enough that you can achieve your goals no matter how far away they seem. This year saw the achievement of many of the goals that I had set forth for Manilla Road to accomplish during its career. Finally signed by a label that actually has really good distribution across Europe (Golden Core / ZYX Records) with enough clout and money to really promote Manilla Road like it should be. Hell, I just saw a German TV advertisement for Crystal Logic. May I say that I’m not sure I really ever expected to see something like that. I almost feel like we have gone mainstream now…Ha Ha. No, really it is good to see that we can finally achieve such things without sacrificing our dignity as metal heads because I don’t feel like the music has changed to the industry but the industry has changed and finally accepted Manilla Road as a force to be reckoned with.

Vinyl is on the way back in and that is something I thought should have happened a long time ago. I like the clarity of digital technology but for some reason the LP and all of its trimmings just seems to be more palatable to me. High Roller Records and Manilla Road have had a great relationship and it continues even now. An honest label that does what they say they will. And what is extremely important to me is that they are totally about high quality when it comes to their product. So another crowning achievement for the Road is the continued success and relationship that we have with High Roller in Europe.

I also cannot forget Shadow Kingdom Records here in the States. We have been working together for some time now and the Kingdom has been a great help in promoting MR in North America along with Clawhammer Promotions which is also located in Kansas (now that’s what I’m talking about). We most likely would have never done the Maryland Deathfest without the help of Shadow Kingdom and they have done a great job along with Clawhammer to help us gain more notoriety in North America.

I got to meet and hang out with many of my metal idols this year and to also play on more stages across the world than I ever have in one year before. We managed to play some of the largest festivals in Europe and North America this year to utterly amazing audiences. We also managed to play in several countries that we had never set foot in before. Every show we did this year was a true success and for that I must thank our Tour Manager Richard Cathey, our Eruopean Agent Mike Moeller of Breakout Productions and all of the promoters and their crews. But most of all, once again, it was the fans that made it all happen due to the undying support and love for the music and the band. I just cannot thank all of you enough for a great year of gigging.

It was a very successful year for me with studio work as well. This year saw the release of Mysterium which has done wonders for the Road in revealing the band to an ever growing audience. It has also seen the birth and recording of our next album. Yes we are finished recording the next Manilla Road album and I am now starting the editing process and we will most likely have the entire project finished and reading to release by the first part of 2014. And then there was Neudi helping dig up lots of lost tapes in the archives at my house and studio. Pretty much all of this unreleased and rare recordings will be released as time goes on. Most likely as bonus tracks on reissues and maybe a surprise or two up the road in the near future. And speaking of the studio (Midgard Sound Labs) I must also send a big thank you and shout out to Derek (DR. DOOM) Brubaker for all of his expertise in the studio engineering for me and putting up with Shark’s ego and weirdness. If not for this man the recordings could not be going on at the breakneck pace that we are at right now. His ideas and help are so important and nobody really ever sees this guy because we keep him locked up in the studio along with E.C.’s pet critter. And when it comes to this next album that we are finishing up on right now I have to say with all my heart that this very well may be the best Manilla Road album that I have ever written. I am totally in love with the project and it feels so much like best effort that I have ever made with my music. I can’t wait to have it finished and out there so that I can hear what all of you think about it.

And then there are my band mates. Man it has been a glorious year touring with these guys. We have had so much fun and great times together as a band on the Mysterium Tour. Not saying that it was all playing in the flowers on a sunny day but all the good times really outweigh the difficult ones. I have had the honor of touring with some of the best metal musicians over the years but this year has been really special and most of that was due to the guys in the band always giving it 100%. Thanks to Bryan, Josh and Neudi for being a part of this incredible year and this band. You guys most certainly rock.

We also have the Manilla Road dot net website…haha…that is manillaroad.net. It has been a rather bumpy road for the website but we are working out all the kinks and it appears that all is under control now and going well. It is always tuff dividing our time up into all the things that we are trying to accomplish and thanks, once again, to DR. DOOM (who created manillaroad.net) we have a platform to speak out ourselves and flood the internet with propaganda from my ancient and feeble brain. You should check out the website if you have not in the past and even if you have you should go back because now there are new specials on merchandise going on for a yearend type of sale. If you missed out on getting a tour shirt while we were on the road you can still most likely get one at manillaroad.net. It was very difficult trying to keep up with the website and the merchandise sales and shipping while we were doing so much touring but now we have more people that are set in place to take care of things while we are away on the road and so the whole process should be running a lot smoother now and in the future.

I guess that is enough dribble and babble for now. Once again I wish to thank you all for your support of Manilla Road. For making this maybe the best year that Manilla Road has ever had as a band. For being there for us years back when the chips were down and for being there for us now helping to achieve our dreams. It has been more than an honor meeting you all on tour and to have you honoring us by singing along with us at the shows and raising the horns to the air. Thanks for helping make the magik. Thanks for keeping the circle intact. Thanks for being there for us. Thanks for the ride lady.

May the Lords of Light Be With You

Up The Hammers & Down The Nails

Blessed Be

Hail Odin & Thor

Mark The Shark Shelton