Open the Gates

For the album by Irreversible Entanglements, see Open the Gates (Irreversible Entanglements album).

Open the Gates is the fourth album by the American heavy metal band Manilla Road. 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.

Open the Gates
Studio album by Manilla Road
Released	1985
Recorded	1984
Studio	Miller Studio, North Newton, Kansas
Genre	Heavy metal power metal[1]
Length	52:45
Label	Black Dragon
Producer	Manilla Road, Max Merhoff, Rick Fisher
Manilla Road chronology
Crystal Logic (1983) Open the Gates (1985) The Deluge (1986)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Kerrang!	[3]
Rock Hard	7.0/10[4]

In 2019, Metal Hammer ranked it as the 6th best power metal album of all time.^[1]

Track listing

All songs written by Mark Shelton.

1. "Metalstorm" – 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

Note

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

Personnel

Band

• Mark Shelton – vocals, guitar
• Scott Park – bass
• Randy Foxe – drums

Production

• Manilla Road – producer
• Max Merhoff – assistant producer
• Rick Fisher – assistant producer
• Larry Funk – engineering
• Eric Larnoy – illustration
• Nick Newbill – artwork