After a five-year wait, Damanek are back with their third album, Making Shore. Founding member Guy Manning talks to Prog about the obstacles they overcame to get the record finished, writing a 30-minute epic and the drawbacks of being a multinational band.

Words: Chris Cope

No plain sailing: Guy Manning and [inset] the stormy artwork for Making Shore.

“I feel strongly about quite a lot of things, that’s why people say I’m a bit preachy.”

Portrait: David Albone

“It’s been a labour of love, and I think the front cover sums it up neatly,” Damanek leader Guy Manning says, referring to the stormy seas that adorn the artwork for Making Shore. “We’re the lifeboat and we’re trying to get this damn thing to shore.”

Thankfully the band did make it to land, but it wasn’t without plenty of pushback. There’s a sense of relief that the group, whose members are spread across the globe, even managed to get their third album finished: Covid, illness, logistics and schedules all created roadblocks.

“It was over two years ago when I had all the songs pretty much in place,” multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Manning says. “We had a whole raft of problems from one thing after another. Just getting it finished has been stop-start, stop-start all the way along. It’s been quite painful on that side of it.”