Bride were originally known as Matrix and actually recorded 4 demos using that name. They got their break when they were booked to open for Daniel Band in Pottstown, PA. Apparently there were executives from Refuge records at the show and they subsequently signed the band to their new metal sub label, Pure Metal records. The band went into the studio with a budget of $2500 and it shows. The album has a very thin production but fans if Bride cite this as one of the reasons they love this album. I’m actually a little surprised that Refuge didn’t throw some money at them and give them a producer. While I love Refuge they made some very questionable business decisions during their existence. The album is a little darker than their subsequent work that they were better known for. The real star of the album is Dale Thompson’s guitar work which is some of the best in the industry and we also got a little introduction to Dale’s excellent vocal abilities coming on subsequent albums.
Tracklist
1 – Evil That Men Do – 3:38
2 – Now He Is Gone – 3:50
3 – Fly Away – 4:12
4 – Forever In Darkness – 3:44
5 – Follow Your Heart – 4:29
6 – Show No Mercy – 3:37
7 – I Will Be With You – 4:29
8 – Thunder In The City – 5:53
9 – No Matter The Price – 4:19
10 – The First Will Be Last – 4:07
Credits
Bride – Producer, Arranger
Gary Barnes – Background Vocals
Howell Gano – Background Vocals
Scott Hall – Songwriter, Bass
Steve Osborne – Lead Guitar
David Pitt – Background Vocals
Stephan Rolland – Drums
Billy Sutherland – Guitar Special Effects, Voice Box
Dale Thompson – Vocals
Michelle Thompson – Background Vocals
Sharon Thompson – Background Vocals
Troy Thompson – Songwriter, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Piano, Violin
Eric Tripton – Lead Guitar
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Pure Metal
Copyright © – Pure Metal
I ordered one of those Matrix demo tapes and from what I remember it was terrible compared to Bride.
When we heard the strange way Dale would pronounce some words on Show No Mercy we thought he was a foreigner and not from Kentucky or Tennessee. This album has a lot of great memorable songs and a few of them are on my car’s permanent thumb-drive playlist.
When Live To Die came out I was absolutely hooked on that album and played it for as many people as I could. I lost track of them after that album but really liked the Andre Walton Arise Skates version of “Everybody Knows My Name” and was disappointed at the re-rerecord for their next full album “Kinetic Faith” which I really didn’t like and same with “Silence Is Madness”.