The long awaited debut album by ex Manilla Road members.

The death of a pivotal band member is always a tragedy, both personal and professional. But in the modern, high fallutin’, corporate driven world that is the music business, there’s always gonna be a strong temptation to keep the old gravy train chuffing along the tracks.

I mean, bless Queen for flogging what is essentially a long dead bohemian by wheeling out a selection of pretty, new young hopefuls. But really, if Freddie was alive today he’d be spinning in his grave, trying desperately to get out so he could blow those jumped up wannabes off stage. Quite literally I expect in the case of Adam Lambert. (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink). OK, they may still pack out massive arenas full of old fans who miss the heady heyday, or young’uns who didn’t get to see Queen the first time around, but really, it’s not much more than a tribute act with a couple of original members thrown in.

Imagine Phil and Mikki trying to carry on Motörhead without Lemmy. No, let’s not imagine that. A nasty, dirty idea. Evil. Wrong.

It’s bad enough when a disgruntled original band member starts up their own copy of a former group to lay claim to the old stuff. It’s why there are currently 5 versions of Saxon on tour, 3 Deep Purples and (at the last count) 36 Showaddywaddys.

Thankfully, Brian Patrick, Phil Ross and Andreas Neuderth of Manilla Road, quite rightly chose not to take the easy path of continuing under that name following the sudden and tragic death of guitarist and band founder Mark “The Shark” Shelton in July 2018.

The surviving band members last played together at a Manilla tribute show in 2019, surrounded by many of Mark’s friends and former band mates. It provided the closure they needed after his sudden, untimely departure.

The decision to strike out with a new band rather than trading off Mark’s legacy was an easy one, as Phil points out. 

“We don’t need to pretend we are something we are not, we simply wish to be ourselves within this new band. To move on in this group and write new material and try to call it ‘Manilla Road’ would have been absurd, and it’s not anything we ever thought about. If you ask anyone in Sentry, they will tell you that Manilla Road was Mark Shelton, plain and simple.”

That’s not to say that they’ve completely forgotten their old band mate. Phil continues. 

“Sentry was formed from the brotherhood and camaraderie of that tribute show in 2019. This band would not exist without Mark, so of course in a way you can classify it as a tribute to him. Lyrically you’ll pick up on many tributes you could say are ‘for or to’ Mark. We think he would like this LP but we are absolutely not trying to write music ’for Mark’ or ‘for Manilla fans’. We are doing it because we think we can create something new within the structure of this band that interests metal fans, and that includes Manilla fans! I think each member has contributed to the new LP in ways that we haven’t contributed to other recordings. We are mindful of respecting where we came from and how we got here but it happened naturally and organically. We never formed the band to ‘make a tribute’ to Mark. We were lucky enough to do that at Keep It True 2019.”

With that in mind, we have to see this venture as something entirely new and resist the temptation to compare it to their former incarnation. Who, then is Sentry?

The line up:

Andreas Neudi Neuderth – Drums

Phil Ross – Bass guitar

Kalli Coldsmith – Lead guitar

Bryan Patrick – Vocals

Kalli Coldsmith (aka Kalli Kaldschmidt) has been floating around the metal scene for a long time, serving time in bands such as Masters of Disguise and Abandoned. A large chunk of the recording was made at Kalli’s studio in Darmstadt and he was also heavily involved on the production side.

Following the release of a two track EP in 2023, the eponymously entitled album is the band’s first full length work.  

The review

Track 1 – Dark Matter

The first thing we hear is a fairly ambiguous sound effect which could be the trundling wheels of a wooden ox cart, or it could be an old windmill, who knows? Still, it’s only a few seconds until we get the first power chords backed up by some fantastic drum work. The drums are nice and crisp throughout the album and the technical ability of Andreas Neuderth is undoubtable. It’s a nice, fast paced opener that bodes well for the rest of the album. Bryan Patrick’s vocals are sharp and the mix is very well balanced. Some great riffing from Coldsmith with nice intentional dissonance. It’s a great opening number which I’m pleased to say stands out as something other than a Manilla Road track. The band are clearly living up to their promise to offer something new and different. 

Track 2 – The Haunting

We start with a well reverbed, atmospheric guitar arpeggio that’s soon joined by the bass which, along with the drums is excellent throughout the album. Considering the mix was carried out in large part by the lead guitarist, it’s a real credit to Coldsmith that he’s been so generous in promoting the rhythm section. Guitarists can sometimes be right poncey prima donnas, but there’s none of that in evidence here. It’s a slower paced number to begin with. Some lovely chugging chords overlay the arpeggio, as Patrick weaves images of darkness and fear and a voyage in search of light. It’s a really good track which builds up to a powerful mid section with a lovely wah wah solo infused within, which harks back to some of the best Dio era Rainbow (think Stargazer). This is probably the strongest song vocally and is a proper stomping march that will certainly have you nodding your head in time whether you mean to or not. Nice stuff.

Track 3 – Heavensent

Heavensent was one of the two tracks previously released on last year’s EP. We start with heavy rain and rumbling thunder, in true metal tradition. We are then treated to another lovely bit of Ross’ bass work, light and delicate, before we get some more of those deliciously detailed drum licks and the vocals join in once more. Lyrically it’s not very ambitious with the usual mix of Viking imagery; Valkyries, Odin, Swords of light, all that sort of caper. Meat and potatoes stuff I suppose that we’ve all heard before. The song builds up and then drops back to the delicate bass line before cracking back with another great bit of lead work from Coldsmith. It’s a solid enough song that improves with each listening.

Track 4 – Valkyries Raise The Hammers

Ooh good, more Viking stuff. Instead of the expected clash of swords opening though, we’re treated to a few really melodic acoustic, Rushlike opening bars. Nice, and surprising. The peace is soon shattered by a wave of crunchy power chords that lead full on into the vocals. Another reasonably paced track which has some pleasant Sabbathy notes in the middle. As with the rest of the album, the drums are well to the foreground of the mix, but that doesn’t impair the fine guitar work in any way. It’s a really enjoyable change from the overly fizzy guitar-centric sound oft evident on metal albums. Just, you know, Vikings.

Track 5 – Awakening

We start with a plinky plonky piano that harks back to spooky 1980s Steven King horror movies. This gentle opening is soon shattered by some fearsome guitar work which leaves Patrick having to work hard to make his presence felt above the tempest. After a mind buggeringly fierce first couple of verses the song breaks down with some slow, chewy doom chords. Another really nice burst of solo bass work follows before the song kicks you solidly in the ‘nads again, as the band crescendoes into a frenetic mid section. Back into the storm once more, then plenty of screaming and gorilla vocals ensue as the song winds down into some lovely harmonised guitar overlay, and a long drawn out wailing feedback scream that threatens to pierce your vital membranes and shatter all your glassware. I think I need a lie down now.

Track 6 – Black Candles

The second of the two tracks from the earlier EP, it starts as a solid enough number. A slower paced piece with some more of that lovely bass playing and drum work. For me, this track unfortunately misses spectacularly both lyrically and vocally. The way Patrick sings one word per note feels very much like something a teenager would do on his first song writing effort, and we get an occasional blooper, like when he tries to shoehorn the line ‘Black Candles still burning, in times of mys-ter-y’ into a musical phrase that’s one beat shorter. It feels clunky. Vocally, I feel this song owes quite a bit to Jack Skellington in ‘A Nightmare Before Christmas’. Maybe I’m being harsh but even after several listens I can’t quite get that image out of my head. Despite that, the song is solid enough musically and breaks down into the metal equivalent of free form jazz towards the end. Lots of intentional dissonance from the guitar while the rhythm section continues to hold it all together really well. Brilliant drumming on this one.

Track 7 – Raven’s Night

According to the accompanying bumph provided by the record label, this piece started out as a practice room jam. It’s a really nice slow number that begins with howling wind and the sound of ravens cawing. Gentle arpeggiated guitar introduces the music. A slow paced intro with Patrick thankfully back on form vocally. It’s a slow burn that builds into some nice fuzzy guitar and Randy Rhodes inspired pinch harmonics. Mellow throughout with a nice bluesy solo which builds into a great piece of classic metal. A really cool song that is right up there in my estimation as one of the finest pieces of new music I’ve heard in a very long time. Not bad for a practice room jam.

Track 8 – Funeral

Did you know that Funeral is an anagram of Real Fun? Well, you do now. Anyway, back to the music. The last track on the vinyl version, Funeral starts with a (not unpredictable) funeral bell tolling in the wind and more of that lovely treacly bass guitar work. It’s another slow number which has a vintage Clint Eastwood western movie vibe. The wind effect continues behind the bass and the vocals and we get a tidy bit of Spanish acoustic guitar to add to the Deadwood atmosphere. This song is strongly reminiscent of the gentle strains of Solitude from Black Sabbath’s classic Master of Reality album. A nice punchy burst of guitar work follows before we fade back to the lovely bass, and then again to the church bell to end. (Notice how I resisted the obvious joke there).

As a closer to the standard album, it’s a nice mellow ending. Some listeners may prefer it to sit amidships while a bigger, louder piece is offered up to finish on. For me, it works. But I am old.

For the more sprightly and energetic among you there’s always the CD version which concludes with a bonus track:

Track 9 (CD only) – Incarnation of Evil

This is a cover of the Candlemass song from their 1988 album Ancient Dreams. Having said all that before about this being a heavier finish, this is still quite a slow paced song, albeit as required, a darned sight heavier. If you’re familiar with the original (or even if you’re not come to think of it), it’s a real down tuned doom laden, heavy, fuzzy, crunchy slice of late 80s metal filth. It’s superb. The Sentry version is, by dint of the intervening 30 odd years, much more cleanly produced and certainly more polished. It’s OK. It’s a cover. It’s well done. But to my mind it hasn’t got the depth, the dirt, the gloom or even the power of the Candlemass original. Great perhaps for a band to muck about doing classic covers in the rehearsal room, but if you’re going to put it out on your album, make sure it’s as good as, if not better than the original. It’s not different enough and Sentry haven’t really added anything to it, so it’s just a tad disappointing. Which is a shame as it kinda lets down the big finish. I think I’ll stick to the vinyl version and enjoy Funeral as the tail end to what is a really nice album overall.

Conclusion

Since being given this record to review I’ve listened to it a good number of times. I had to go back and refresh myself on Manilla Road’s body of work and I had to ensure that I didn’t instinctively compare this album to the previous band. Since Sentry themselves are openly seeking a new direction and a certain amount of distance from the past, it’s only fair to give them that clean sheet, and judge this solely on its immediate merit.

This album is definitely a grower. I was somewhat whelmed by it on first listen. Neither under nor over, just whelmed. It was ok. But the more times I hear it, the more familiar I become with the tracks and the more I discern of the detail within, I am finding myself really enjoying what Sentry have made here. It’s not a masterpiece, but it certainly shows the band’s experience as a unit and as individual musicians. The production is very good, and I really like the mix. 

Having worked together for many years before, with a different personality driving their sound and direction, the musicians have undoubtedly had to find a new dynamic in this setup. We have to look at this as a first album rather than a continuation.

I am excited to see what Sentry do next once they’ve had a chance to tour this record and build into a firm, cohesive unit with battle victories under their belt. This is a good solid start and certainly bodes well for the future.

Sentry by Sentry is scheduled to be released on 1st March 2024 by High Roller Records in both CD and vinyl format.

NWOTHM Score 7/10