When Mark Shelton died on July 27th 2018 at the age of only 60 years after a gig of Manilla Road at Headbangers Open Air in Brande-Hörnerkirchen, the shock to the heavy metal underground community was huge. The band dissolved while a Manilla Road tribute show in honor of Mark was celebrated at the Keep It True festival in 2019. It took five long years for ex-Manilla Road members Bryan Patrick (vocals), Phil Ross (bass) and Andreas "Neudi" Neuderth (drums) to make up their minds and form a new band, continuing the legacy of the epic metal masters. They are joined by Kalli Coldsmith on guitar. The name of the band is Sentry and they debuted with a two track promo EP in 2023 (featuring "Heavensent" and "Black Candles") before signing a deal with High Roller Records. The result is their self-titled debut album consisting of six brand new compositions plus the two songs from the promo EP (the CD edition comes with an additional bonus track, "Incarnation Of Evil" by the mighty Candlemass). The material on the album was recorded at Kalli Coldsmith's studio near Darmstadt as well as Phil's own studio in Wichita, Kansas, USA. One thing is very important to Sentry, they won't like to be seen as a carbon copy of Manilla Road, as guitarist Kalli Coldsmith makes absolutely clear: "We're simply a different band with own original songs and without a huge back catalog. We're trying to stand for ourselves and find our own style that makes you recognize 'This is Sentry!'" He continues: "Since I wrote most of the material and I never was in Manilla Road, the songs don't go back to the times of Mark. 'Heavensent' is a song that was written reflecting the impressions of the Mark Shelton tribute show at Keep It True which was an emotional roller coaster ride for all musicians and friends involved. So, this song was sent from the Heavens, so to speak. Most of the other songs were brand new, together with some old ideas from my riff vaults." Bassist Phil Ross adds: "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 album 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."Available as: - Slipcase CD (with Candlemass bonus track)- Black vinyl, ltd 400, insert, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover- Trans royal blue vinyl, ltd 400, insert, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover 1. Dark Matter 2. The Haunting 3. Heavensent 4. Valkyries (Raise the Hammers) 5. Awakening 6. Black Candles 7. Raven's Night 8. Funeral 9. Incarnation of Evil (Candlemass cover) (CD Bonus)
