Mark “The Shark” Shelton — best known as the founding lead guitarist of Kansas proto-metal legends Manilla Road — passed away today (July 27th). He was 60 years old. The band’s vocalist Bryan “Hellroadie” Patrick confirmed his death in a Facebook post. “I’m very sorry to announce today that my long time brother and best friend since 1981 has passed through the Halls of Valhalla,” Patrick writes, adding: “My heart is shattered. Please take time today to love your loved ones and hold them close.” A cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
Shelton died just hours after performing with Manilla Road at the Headbangers Open Air Festival in Brande-Hörnerkirchen, Germany. His bandmates and loved ones are currently making arrangements to bring the musician’s body back to the U.S.; meanwhile, Patrick’s mother Sherry Robinson has launched a GoFundMe to help cover hospital bills and mortuary expenses. Head here to donate.
Shelton was born on December 3rd, 1957 in Wichita, Kansas. In 1977, he formed Manilla Road, a hard-rock outfit trafficking vast, proggy jams reminiscent of Rush, Judas Priest and the like. Within months of their first show (a local house party), the group were being touted as Kansas’ heaviest band. “We were just about the only hard rock or metal band around that was writing and performing all original material,” Shelton reflected years later, amid the liner notes to the remastered edition of their debut full-length, Invasion (1980). “Actually, back then we did a couple of Jimi Hendrix songs (our own way, of course), but other than those songs, we never really did cover tunes.”
The ensuing decade saw Manilla Road incorporating speed and thrash metal into their old-school sound while still retaining their penchant for epic, high fantasy-inspired lyrics, maintaining a consistent, masterful balance between far-out and ferocious on albums like Crystal Logic (1983), The Deluge (1986), and Mystification (1987).
Years later, in 1992, Shelton branched out into solo work with The Circus Maximus, a stand-alone effort released under the band’s name, per their record label’s insistence. Infuriated, the axeman then went on hiatus for over a decade, before reforming the group with an all-new lineup 2001. Manilla Road’s most recent album, To Kill A King, came out last year — just as the band celebrated their 40th anniversary.