Spiral Castle is the twelfth album by American heavy metal band Manilla Road, released in 2002 by Iron Glory Records.

Spiral Castle
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 4, 2002
RecordedMidgard Sound Labs, Wichita, Kansas
Genre
Length46:29
LabelIron Glory
ProducerManilla Road
Manilla Road chronology
Atlantis Rising
(2001)
Spiral Castle
(2002)
Mark of the Beast
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic link
EnslavedByMetal.com10+/10 [1]
The Metal Observer9/10

Production and reception

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Although Atlantis Rising had been released under the name Manilla Road, it had actually been intended as a Mark Shelton solo project, while Spiral Castle was actually the first album released by the newly reformed Manilla Road.[1]

It was praised by Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic for continuing with the "majestic metal" of their album two years prior, Atlantis Rising. Lyrics are laced with fantasy references, including Norse mythology references such as Ragnarok and Bifrost.[2] Metal.de gave it a mixed review, calling it a solid disc, but not with the full energy as the band's earlier albums.[1]

Track listing

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  1. "Gateway to the Sphere" – 2:30
  2. "Spiral Castle" – 8:26
  3. "Shadow" – 4:24
  4. "Seven Trumpets" – 5:19
  5. "Merchants of Death" – 10:53
  6. "Born Upon the Soul" – 7:17
  7. "Sands of Time" – 7:40

Credits

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  • Mark Shelton – guitars, vocals
  • Scott Peters – drums, percussion, vocals
  • Bryan Patrick – vocals
  • Mark Anderson – bass
  • Momadon – violin on "Sands of Time"

References

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  1. ^ a b Fenske, Jurgen (2002), Manilla Road - Spiral Castle - Review, metal.de, retrieved May 15, 2023
  2. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo (2003), Spiral Castle Review, AllMusic, retrieved May 15, 2023