SENTRY
SENTRY “Sentry”
By Dr. Abner Mality
I considered Mark “The Shark” Shelton of MANILLA ROAD a personal friend so his passing during a live festival in 2018 hit me kind of hard. I was fortunate enough to see him play live twice, interview him twice and run into him in person at Maryland Deathfest 2013. Who could replace Mark and MANILLA ROAD?
The answer is nobody, but SENTRY has a better shot at it than any other band I could think of. Three members of MANILLA ROAD are in the band, the same three who were on stage with him when he passed into Valhalla at Headbangers Open Air. Thank goodness they had the sense and the class to not try to carry on with the MANILLA ROAD name….that should be interred with The Shark. But SENTRY continues on in the spirit and style of MANILLA’s epic metal. And boy, they do it well!
If this was an actual MR album, it would be one of the top ones. For one thing, the production is better than 90% of MANILLA’s. Everything is clear as a bell, which certainly was not the case on many previous MR albums. The material here definitely has that “epic metal” style that combines classic power and doom metal with just a hint of thrash and prog. This is the essence of that sound.
“Dark Matter” starts with punch and crunch and I immediately recognize the vocals of Bryan “Hell Roadie” Patrick. This might be Patrick’s best vocal performance. He has a style that takes some getting used to, but which actually has some aspects of Shelton’s singing, including the occasional hoarse growl. The lead guitar work of Kalli Coldsmith stands out here like a beacon in the fog. Coldsmith is the one member of SENTRY who didn’t play with MANILLA ROAD, yet his performance dominates the record. Just listen to him jam on “Raven’s Night” or the cover of CANDLEMASS’ “Incarnation of Evil”. He can cut loose on an all-out thrasher like “Awakening” or use restraint on the SABBATH-like gloom of “Black Candles”. My favorite track is the thunderous “barbarian metal” of “Valkyries/ Raise The Hammers”, which is a fist pumper of the highest magnitude.
The somber minimalist “Funeral” seems to be a particular tribute to Shelton, with an emphasis on Phil Ross IV’s basslines and a sad acoustic flourish. These kind of quirky, low-key cuts are also part of the MANILLA ROAD legacy and SENTRY doesn’t ignore them.
Despite the strong resemblance to MANILLA ROAD, SENTRY does enough to establish itself as a unique band. The epic metal feel is strong here, so the legacy of The Shark is in good hands!