After the sad death of MANILLA ROAD guitar player and singer Mark Shelton in 2018, the other 3 members of the band decided to keep doing what they do best. Music. With the help of guitar player Bryan “Hell Roadie” Patrick and a change of name to SENTRY, the guys launched a single last year and in 2024 they are presenting us with an eight track album named Sentry. I know the former band Manilla Road as this was from my early metal years and from what I can remember their sound is more like a good traditional Heavy Metal with some Hard Rock touches. Hpefully this is a new band with a new sound.

The album starts with some energy on “Dark Matter”. Not much of a memorable song unfortunately as there is not a single part of the song that you can hum along. Too basic and uninspired for me so far. We follow with a more somber mood on “The Haunting” that starts with some nice guitar bass duo followed by the marching rhythm of drummer Neudi. A better, more well rounded tune that has a very traditional Heavy Metal guitar riff and a welcome change of speed and melody creating different moods in the song. The next one is “Heavensent” and the bass of Phil Ross IV leads the riff which is a welcome surprise. The album gets better as the songs are starting to get more varied and this one has a nice vocal melody and a weird drum pattern. That’s what I like to hear, different moods within a single song with a number of changes and the ability to always bring the listener back to the melody. Good guitar solo on this one as well.

Speaking of guitars, a nice acoustic guitar intro welcomes “Valkyries (Raise the Hammers)” and we reached the part of the album that shows what this new band can do. Another good and creative tune with a mean guitar from the newcomer Kalli Coldsmith.  What a change from the first tune! We pass midway point with another very eerie piano introduction just to fall into a crazy Trash Metal tune with “Awakening”. Speed and power on this one and with  a nice mid section instrumental with a crazy bass riff, elaborated drum tempo and nice guitar solo. The band is surprising me with the variety of riffs and ideas in each song. Nothing sounds the same and the album is still consistent. “Black Candles” starts and it is another terror story in the form of music. In a slower tempo, the song gets some elements of the great BLACK SABBATH in the mid section for another nice guitar solo. This band is not afraid to explore. The end has a speedy section that is a joy.

The album starts to sound conceptual as the songs seem to be all interconnected thematically and musically despite the variety of themes and moods. Even the kind of ballad “Raven’s Night” has something extra to offer.  Let's be fair, this is not a love ballad. It just sounds more like an introspective tune or like you are being told a tale of a magic king’s warriors. We get close to the end of our journey with another somber mood as expected as the name of the song is “Funeral”. The tune is  announced by the sound of a church bell in the distance that is followed by a nice bass arrangement. Talking about epic and magic tales in the form of a song, this one takes the trophy. No electric guitar or drum histrionics. The band manages to return to medieval times and dark and rainy times while the bells welcome the funeral. The end of the song will have some distorted guitars and some drum parts for that epic moment.

Singer Bryan “Hell Roadie” Patrick has a good voice. He is one of these singers that can do the job perfectly despite the job not requesting too much from his throat. He can do some gutturals too but the main part is basically clean vocals and there is nothing wrong with it. We end our journey with a CANDLEMASS cover of “Incarnation of Evil “ that is pure metal and for my surprise, the best vocal performance of the album despite the weak ending. Nice release and I do hope that we can hear more from this band in the future. Some live performances of this album on youtube wouldn’t hurt as well.