Blind Guardian
Member
Okay, so...while I agree that post-reunion Manilla Road is excellent, to the point that I wrote an article about it...the suggestion that its' superior to their 80s works pretty much falls flat. The stylistic variation within albums is also no more prevalent than it is on the newer albums either.
I think you could say that the albums of the last decade all tend towards a sound that falls somewhere between The Deluge (melodicity) and Out of the Abyss (aggression). You certainly won't find any stylistic leaps as big as on Crystal Logic, where e.g "Necropolis" sounds like Iron Maiden while "Feeling Free Again" is closer to Hell Bent For Leather era Judas Priest.
I'm not trying to put down their 80s output or anything; every album is a joy to listen to, and Open the Gates and The Deluge are probably my favourite albums, but if you compare the collective output of the two decadess I like the 00s better.