This period of uncertainty continued up until the year 2000 when the

This period of uncertainty continued up until the year 2000 when the band was invited to perform at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Germany. Sensing an opportunity they could not afford to pass up, Shelton agreed and booked the festival but was forced to replace Randy Foxe at the drums with Troy Olson when the former notified Shelton that he would not be able to attend. The show in Germany was a huge morale booster for the band, with many European fans coming to show their support for Manilla Road despite years of seeming inactivity. It was also while the band was playing in Europe that a new, long-awaited record deal was signed, this time with German label Iron Glory Records. Once back to the United States, the band parted ways with Troy Olson and invited in Scott Peters to be the band’s new permanent drummer along with Bryan Patrick, who acted as a second vocalist onstage in order to complement Shelton. It was with this lineup that the Atlantis Rising studio album was released in 2001, ending nine years of recording drought. A concept album blending many elements from Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos with Greek and Norse mythology, the sound was much more consistent with the Manilla Road of old and was well received by critics and fans despite some technical hiccups in the album’s production.