With 'Crystal Logic', 'Open The Gates' and 'The Deluge' Manilla Road had released three mighty fine albums in a row. In 1987 'Mystification' followed. It might appear that this album was heavily influenced by thrash metal, somehow a true product of its time. "We were always on a conquest to get heavier and faster but I was listening to really heavy and even some thrash music at the time", confesses Mark Shelton. "So it was a bit of both, I suppose. I would agree that there is a bunch of thrash influence going on in 'Mystification' but I would have to say that 'Out Of The Abyss' was our furthest incursion into the thrash genre. We still touched on thrash over the years and next albums with songs like 'Vlad The Impaler' and even on into our reformation era that we are still in now with songs like 'Siege Of Atland' on 'Atlantis Rising'.
