MANILLA ROAD - Mysterium

ION BRITTON · Post by **ION BRITTON** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 9:41 pm

It's not a killer one from start to finish, but, for me, "Vlad the impaler" and the title track are up there with the other, more well-known, MR classics. Especially the title track.
Invasion has the 13 min epic "The empire" and I do love that track, mindblowing guitar work.

xr2m · Post by **xr2m** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 4:10 am

mordred wrote:It's really solid and nothing not to like about it, however I don't quite feel there's any one song that grabs me by the balls like the best moments of Playground of the Damned did.

Gotta agree with this. While I enjoy it, none of the songs really jump out as being very special, but I've only listened to it about three times so far. Hopefully that will change with repeated listens. I do wish they still had Cory on drums, though. Neudi is solid, but I don't enjoy the drumming as much as the past few albums.

Avenger · Post by **Avenger** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:51 am

Shimrod wrote:It looks like a rushed product: manufacturing errors and released before the scheduled date. Now the question is: is the Golden Core edition any better?

SKR only gives a shit about your money, not you. Proof is found in all the bootleg CD's that flood the site these days.

chatzial · Post by **chatzial** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:22 pm

GJ wrote:
Marken wrote:Ahh, so you're the lucky dude who gets to share a bed with Knut. Yes, I'll be there at Beckstein, so I guess both you and Knut will come over to our (big) room for some beers and Winger/Crashdiet on the stereo. Looking forward to seeing you there, GJ!
I shall watch my Fleksnes dvds daily and only listen to Høst for the next two months... Maybe you could come into our room and put us to sleep? "Grandfather... tell us about Winger."

You crazy youngsters!!!
When you put them to sleep start the story with this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeBIAg8H38o

Dodens Grav · Post by **Dodens Grav** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:34 pm

Avenger wrote:
Shimrod wrote:It looks like a rushed product: manufacturing errors and released before the scheduled date. Now the question is: is the Golden Core edition any better?
SKR only gives a shit about your money, not you. Proof is found in all the bootleg CD's that flood the site these days.

Just because a distro stocks bootlegs doesn't mean they don't care about their customers. Hell's Headbangers Records stocks bootlegs as well. Yet when I had an order lost that was worth $70 and I explained to them my situation, they gave me $70 worth of credit to spend in their store. Did they have to do that? Certainly not. That's a sign of looking out for the people who keep what you do going.

Warepire · Post by **Warepire** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:44 pm

Dodens Grav wrote:
Avenger wrote:
Shimrod wrote:It looks like a rushed product: manufacturing errors and released before the scheduled date. Now the question is: is the Golden Core edition any better?
SKR only gives a shit about your money, not you. Proof is found in all the bootleg CD's that flood the site these days.
Just because a distro stocks bootlegs doesn't mean they don't care about their customers. Hell's Headbangers Records stocks bootlegs as well. Yet when I had an order lost that was worth $70 and I explained to them my situation, they gave me $70 worth of credit to spend in their store. Did they have to do that? Certainly not. That's a sign of looking out for the people who keep what you do going.

Do Hell's Headbangers specify that the CDs are bootlegs? Please show me an entry in their shop that is a bootleg.
SKR does not specify they are bootlegs, even though he KNOWS they are, which means he is knowingly deceiving customers into buying counterfeit goods while they think they're originals. Even if he would do refunds on lost packages I still think it signals that you don't really give a shit about your customers. Not to mention it's actually illegal.

Shimrod · Post by **Shimrod** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 5:26 pm

Since then I have bought the Golden Core digipack edition. I have to say it's not what I consider as very good quality wise. The big green sticker is hard to remove and leaves marks (the glue dissolved some of the varnish).

Concerning other SKR products I had not much to complain about the other releases of the label I own. For the bootlegs, I think they should at least state what they really are in their store. It's not because some people don't have a clue about their existence or how to recognize them that they should be fooled.

Avenger · Post by **Avenger** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:55 pm

Dodens Grav wrote:
Avenger wrote:
Shimrod wrote:It looks like a rushed product: manufacturing errors and released before the scheduled date. Now the question is: is the Golden Core edition any better?
SKR only gives a shit about your money, not you. Proof is found in all the bootleg CD's that flood the site these days.
Just because a distro stocks bootlegs doesn't mean they don't care about their customers. Hell's Headbangers Records stocks bootlegs as well. Yet when I had an order lost that was worth $70 and I explained to them my situation, they gave me $70 worth of credit to spend in their store. Did they have to do that? Certainly not. That's a sign of looking out for the people who keep what you do going.

You can't justify the selling of bootlegs by citing what a different website has done for you. If they cared they wouldn't be ripping off their customers by trying to fool them into supporting bootlegs with their purchases. If they cared they wouldn't be selling them to begin with.

Dodens Grav · Post by **Dodens Grav** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:05 pm

I should clarify that I wasn't defending SKR specifically, although I still think it's not quite accurate to say they "don't give a shit about their customers" as though you actually had any way of knowing that. Yes, it is fucked up to sell bootlegs without branding them as such, and I wish he would start noting what is a bootleg and what isn't. But, as my original point was, just because a distro sells bootlegs doesn't mean they don't care about their customers. There's no way HHR would've done what they did for me, basically giving away $70 (and might I add the tracking number they gave me even said it was delivered), if they didn't care about their customers, and HHR sells even more bootlegs than SKR. Although I've noticed that HHR has started to label their bootlegs over the past year or so. Nuclear War Now sells bootlegs too. But all three of these labels, including SKR, have gone the extra mile in multiple instances to help me out when I had unusual circumstances in ways that they had not obligation to assist me. Calling SKR out for selling unidentified bootlegs is one thing, and I completely agree with that, but I don't think it's accurate to say all they care about is money and that they don't care about their customers. That's my two cents and I'll leave it at that.

Shimrod · Post by **Shimrod** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:30 pm

I personnally had an issue with SKR with a parcel that never showed up. That happens of course but I had no help of any kind and was almost considered as a beggar when I suggested it might be abnormal. I was kind enough not to open a case through paypal and waited but eventually lost my money. Again that happens but there are lot of labels and sellers that I consider easier to deal with.

That said, there is no reason why the owner can't at the same time sell bootlegs and take care of what he releases on his own label. Even if I still consider this very release as rushed out, maybe because there were a European release and a US one. And it's not the first label to release stuff with factory issues (recently Northern Silence with the last Wandering Midget album and Arkeyn Steel with Battalion for instance - they both send a replacement for free of course).

Avenger · Post by **Avenger** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 12:07 am

Selling bootlegs means you only care about money. The customer is being ripped off and the band and legal rights holder are also being ripped off.

great_knuthulhu · Post by **great_knuthulhu** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 8:38 pm

chatzial wrote:
GJ wrote:
Marken wrote:Ahh, so you're the lucky dude who gets to share a bed with Knut. Yes, I'll be there at Beckstein, so I guess both you and Knut will come over to our (big) room for some beers and Winger/Crashdiet on the stereo. Looking forward to seeing you there, GJ!
I shall watch my Fleksnes dvds daily and only listen to Høst for the next two months... Maybe you could come into our room and put us to sleep? "Grandfather... tell us about Winger."
You crazy youngsters!!!
When you put them to sleep start the story with this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeBIAg8H38o

Argh! GJ, don't invite Marken to our room. You don't know what you are letting yourself open to. And don't ask; some things are better left to the imagination because it cannot compete with what he could do.

He's a nice guy actually.

You going to KIT Chatzial?

chatzial · Post by **chatzial** » Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:45 am

great_knuthulhu wrote:
chatzial wrote:
GJ wrote:
I shall watch my Fleksnes dvds daily and only listen to Høst for the next two months... Maybe you could come into our room and put us to sleep? "Grandfather... tell us about Winger."
You crazy youngsters!!!
When you put them to sleep start the story with this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeBIAg8H38o
Argh! GJ, don't invite Marken to our room. You don't know what you are letting yourself open to. And don't ask; some things are better left to the imagination because it cannot compete with what he could do.

He's a nice guy actually.

You going to KIT Chatzial?

Every year i say that i will but at the end i don't. I was planning to go this year but once again can't, hope to do it next year

GJ · Post by GJ » Sat Feb 23, 2013 4:52 pm

great_knuthulhu wrote:
Argh! GJ, don't invite Marken to our room. You don't know what you are letting yourself open to. And don't ask; some things are better left to the imagination because it cannot compete with what he could do.

Haha! Now you got me semi-curious... (or was it bi-curious?)

Stormspell · Post by **Stormspell** » Sun Feb 24, 2013 4:25 am

Just make sure to pack some condoms and a tube with Vaseline and you should be fine.