Open the Gates is the fourth album by American heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band Manilla Road

Manilla Road

Manilla Road are an American heavy metal band from Wichita, Kansas, founded by lead guitarist Mark 'the Shark' Shelton .- Beginnings :...

. It was released in 1985 on the Black Dragon record label, rather than the band's own label, Roadster Records, which they had used on their previous releases.

The album is heavier than earlier material in part due to the departure of drummer Rick Fisher (who nevertheless assisted with the production work) and his replacement by Randy Foxe. The space rock

Space rock

Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...

 elements of the band's sound were also superseded by more fantasy themes and a greater epic sensibility. Many of the songs are inspired by the Arthurian legends of Tennyson's

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....

 Idylls of the King

Idylls of the King

Idylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, and the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom...

, others by R.B. Anderson's original translation of Norse mythology. The song "Astronomica" is based on the work by Marcus Manilius

Marcus Manilius

Marcus Manilius was a Roman poet, astrologer, and author of a poem in five books called Astronomica.-Criticism:The author of Astronomica is neither quoted nor mentioned by any ancient writer. Even his name is uncertain, but it was probably Marcus Manilius; in the earlier books the author is...

. The cover art is by Eric Larnoy.

Track listing

1. "Metalstrom" – 5:17
2. "Open the Gates" – 2:20
3. "Astronomica" – 4:59
4. "Weavers of the Web" – 4:17
5. "The Ninth Wave" – 9:30
6. "Heavy Metal to the World" – 3:19
7. "The Fires of Mars" – 6:13
8. "Road of Kings" – 5:46
9. "Hour of the Dragon" – 4:44
10. "Witches Brew" – 6:20

The 2001 digipack includes live versions of "Open the Gates" and "Witches Brew".

Line-up

• Mark Shelton – vocals, guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Randy Foxe – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Scott Park – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....