Category: Demo

Towne Cryer – Towne Cryer – 1990

This is a demo from a band that never did get signed but it appears most metal heads are very well aware of them. They were best known as a thrash metal band but this demo leans far more to just a straight up metal band and not commercial metal, real metal. The quality of the demo is not all that great but I think the mix was pretty good. The problem probably lays in the quality of cassette tape used. You can’t fault bands when this happened as they were paying out of pocket for these things. Anyway this is a strong metal demo and I can’s tell you why they never got record deal. Just another one of those mysteries of early 90’s CCM.

Tracklist
1 – Still I Wait – 4:01
2 – Rock Of Salvation – 4:05
3 – Without You – 4:37
4 – He Is The One – 3:45
5 – The Tempter – 3:28
6 – Right To Kill – 3:03
7 – King Of Broken Hearts – 4:25
8 – Night Of The Thief – 3:03

Credits
Gena McClure – Vocals
Steve Metzger – Guitars
Shawn Cummings – Bass
Ron McClure – Drums

Saint Attack – The First – 1989

This is the first of 2 demo’s from Saint Attack though I am completely unable to confirm the second one titled “First Watch”. So in the end this may be all we have from Saint Attack. They never went on to record an album and I can only find info one one member. Vocalist Frank Schepp went on to sing with Chryztyne on their one and only album. Other than Frank the 2 bands don’t appear to have anything in common so I don’t believe it was a rename. OK now onto the demo. It’s a metal album and is actually really well produced and mixed. As they were a German band I wonder why no record deal. I believe it was easier for metal bands to get record deals in Germany and that’s why we have all these oddball German metal releases. Anyway they never did an album and this is all we get form them. If your a metal head this one is for you. I predict you will really like it.

Tracklist
1 – Co’mon – 2:59
2 – Confession – 5:08
3 – Mama Doesn’t Know – 4:41
4 – Pleasure’an Pain – 3:20

Credits
Frank Schepp – Vocals
Walter Moch – Guitars
Gerhard Schlinck – Guitars
Uwe Uher – Bass
Ralf Rumpf – Drums

Legacy – Legacy – 1988

This may actually be the best Metal band that never got a record deal. Hear me out on this one. They appeared on two Metal compilations, Heavy Righteous Metal,Chapter II and Brave New Music. They opened for Rez Band, Shout, Sacred Warrior, Mylon LeFevre and Allies. They also took second place in the new talent stage at Cornerstone 1989 and won the battle of the bands competition at metal club Alrosa Villa in the winter of 1989. These guys were hugely popular yet a record deal evaded them. They recorded 14 tracks for this demo but only 6 tracks made it and of course it’s almost impossible to find this demo now. That said Eonian Records stepped up in 2010 released all 14 demo tracks on CD. It took 20 years but the guys finally got their music out there.

Tracklist
1 – Salvation Is Law – 4:44
2 – Live It – 4:04
3 – Don’t Run Away – 3:13
4 – Change Of A Broken Heart – 2:54
5 – You Need Love – 4:22
6 – Red, White, And Blue – 5:57

Credits
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – John D. Rice
Drums, Percussion [Other Rude Noises] – “Jungle” John Jenkins
Engineer, Producer – Brian Strittenberger
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Fred Blanchard, Matt Rice
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Doug Meacham
Piano, Keyboards – Jeff Koenig

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – The Recording Workshop Studio

Valor – Masquerade – 1987

Valor rose out of the ashes of another band named Golgotha. The band was pretty much the same lineup but with Chris Price replacing Todd Price. Chris brought a more thrash sound to the band. Vic Sardon was brought on as a second guitarist to solidify that thrash sound. The band had a pretty good following as Golgotha so they had a head start as they toured and played across the U.S. They actually stayed together for several years and though they never got a real record deal (they did release a full self produced album) they were quite popular. Now it’s well known that thrash bands had a very difficult time with record deals I am kind of surprised that Valor had this problem. Their version of thrash is far more bearable than most. The lyrics are clear and good. The guitar has distinguishable chords and quite frankly this is probably one of the best thrash albums I’ve ever heard. Even if you’re not a fan of thrash I’d really suggest you give this one a quick listen. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Tracklist
1 – Masquerade – 4:26
2 – Fight For Your Life – 2:42
3 – Burn – 5:00
4 – Didn’t I – 4:27
5 – The Flesh Is Weak – 4:11

Credits
Bass, Backing Vocals – Adam Alvarez
Drums – Jim Maxwell
Guitar – Chris Price, Vic Sardon
Vocals – Michael Brueck

Zion – Rock For Eternity – 1984

Zion formed in 1981 in Sioux Falls, SD which is pretty early in the Christian Metal scene. This is technically their 2nd demo as they actually released a 2 track demo in 1982. But really this is the Demo that most people have heard about. Though they would become better known for metal this album is actually hard rock and it is very good. The production is actually pretty good too which is rare for demo’s of this era. We get a good introduction to Rex Scott’s later work with X-Sinner with the track “Jesus Loves” which is by far the best track on the demo. I apologize that the quality of our upload is not very good but I really wanted this one uploaded.

Tracklist
1 – Rock For Eternity – 6:38
2 – Your Love – 7:28
3 – Jesus Loves – 5:01
4 – Full Of Fire – 4:28
5 – You Need Jesus – 6:05
6 – Joy Of The Lord – 4:21
7 – Discontented Man – 4:48
8 – One Solitary Life – 4:11
9 – Time Is Running Out – 6:52
10 – Never Had The Chance – 5:17

Credits
Rex Scott – lead vocals, drums and guitar.
Bruce Fischer – vocals, guitar
Dave Moore – vocals, guitar
Greg Sauer – vocals, bass
Tom Bozung – drums

Urgent Cry – Demo 041187 – 1987

Urgent Cry were a band out of Vandalia, Ohio. They released 2 demos but were never signed by a label. This is their first demo and it’s pretty good. It has a nice pop rock sound and is musically sound. Unfortunately the vocals are a bit weak. I think the vocal skills were there but Steven just needed a little guidance. This is a good example of the difference a good producer could have made. While the engineering was actually very good I think they needed a producer to pull it all together. One thing I really like that this band did was to release their demo cassette with all 4 tracks on each side. This means the cassette would last twice as long. Given the quality of these bulk cassettes I really liked it when bands did this.

Tracklist
1 – Cry In The Wilderness – 3:57
2 – Unexpected – 3:48
3 – Christ Is The Answer – 3:51
4 – No Pantomime – 4:06

Credits
Darryl Gibson – Drums, acoustic guitar
Kevin Landon – Bass, keyboards
Bill Kuhn – Lead Guitar
Steven Mikel – Lead vocals, flute

One Bad Pig – A Christian Banned – 1986

One Bad Pig actually originated out of a one time performance at a local Texas music festival. I’m guessing they were pretty well received as the band decided to keep going and recorded this demo. The band at this point was imitating early 80’s punk. It was well received by their fans even though the sound had actually been overdone in the secular industry. That said punk was virtually unknown in Christian music so it was a new sound for fans. I have listened to some of their later work and I see real talent but quite frankly I just don’t hear a lot of talent here. I was a big listener of secular punk music in the early 80’s and quite frankly they just don’t measure up. That said I respect that they were doing something new and the CCM industry really needed new sounds at the time this band came along. If you are a big fan of OBP this is a must listen but don’t expect the quality they would later be know for.

Tracklist
1 – Six – 2:30
2 – Sleepin’ With The World – 1:58
3 – Make Me Burn – 3:39
4 – Blow And Go – 2:18
5 – Anarchy Is Prison – 3:04
6 – Life’s A Bomb – 2:19

Credits
Artwork [Cover Art], Design – Capital Spectrum, Kevin Phelan, Ronnie Bronson
Bass, Vocals – Kevin Phelan
Guitar, Songwriter [Song], Vocals – Paul Q-Pek
Lead Vocals [Lead Screams], Lyrics By [Lyric] – Carey Womack
Percussion – Jon Taylor
Engineer [Engineered By], Mixed By – Kerry Crafton
Photography By – David Davis
Producer [Produced By] – Kerry Crafton, One Bad Pig

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Porkys Demise
Copyright © – Porkys Demise
Recorded At – Studio West, Austin, TX.
Mastered At – Rainbo Records
Pressed By – Rainbo Records
Glass Mastered at – Cinram

Matrix – PG13 – 1983

This is where it all started for Bride. If you don’t know Bride were originally called Matrix and this is their first Demo. There are several versions of this demo and some apparently have different tracks so don’t hold us to this particular lineup. Apparently this demo was cut fairly early in the bands development which is rather amazing if you listen to it. Apparently none of these tracks ever made it onto an album which is a real pity as there are some really really good songs here. To be honest I’m quite surprised how good this demo really is. These guys had it together and they had it together quick. Some of the tracks lean a little more Rock & Roll than the work they would be best known for and I sure would have liked to hear more from them in this style. To me the standout track is “Spell House” which has a bit of a Rush feeling to it. Maybe not the best track on the Demo but it’s the one that stood out to me. Best track? For me it is probably “What’s The Point?”.

Tracklist
1 – We Got The Rhythm – 3:19
2 – Who Killed The Rock Hero – 3:24
3 – Get Away – 3:10
4 – What’s The Point – 4:36
5 – Good Rock ‘N’ Roll – 3:19
6 – Stand Up And Shout – 3:01
7 – West Of The Moon – 2:13
8 – Spell House – 3:13
9 – To Make You Think It’s Real – 3:00
10 – Missing Children – 4:35

Credits
Drums – Steve Childers
Guitar, Bass – Troy Thompson
Vocals, Bass – Dale Thompson
Photography By – Scott Hall
Songwriter [All Songs Written By] – Dale Thompson, Troy Thompson

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Demo – 1999

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is probably best known to us as the band of Robert Turner/Been the son of Michael Been. Interestingly in the early years of BRMC Robert used the pseudonym of Turner so he was not connected to his rather famous father. That said the band deserves to be enjoyed for who they are regardless of relations. This was their first release and it was self released with only 500 CD’s printed. Yes ownership of an original copy of this is something to be proud of. For the main part the album is made up of tracks that would appear in subsequent studio albums with only small changes. An example of one of those changes that was rather significant is the track “Suddenly” is sung by Peter Hayes instead of the later version sung by Robert. The 13th track has a bonus song if you sit through 2 minutes of silence (we’ve deleted that silence) you are treated to the “I’m Gonna Take My Time” part of “Rifles”. This is the first thing I listened to by BRMC and it won’t be the last as I really like what I’m hearing here.

Tracklist
1 – Love Burns – 3:40
2 – Too Real – 4:56
3 – Red Eyes And Tears – 4:03
4 – U.S. Government – 3:58
5 – Evol – 5:54
6 – Suddenly – 5:12
7 – Screaming Gun – 4:45
8 – At My Door – 3:35
9 – White Palms – 4:55
10 – Rifles – 5:30
11 – Down Here – 3:16
12 – Fail-Safe – 4:19
13 – Salvation – 13:48

Credits
Artwork By [Painting] – Nick Jago
Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Written-By – Robert Turner
Drums, Percussion – Nick Jago
Engineer – Peter Hayes
Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Written-By – Peter Hayes
Mixed By [Additional] – Masaki
Photography – Lindsay Ljungkull
Producer, Performer, Mixed By – B.R.M.C.

Companies, etc.
Pressed By – MG/CA

Holy Saint – Holy Saint – 1990

This is the second Demo from Holy Saint. The first was in 1988 entitled “Babylon”. Both were well received and the band developed a strong cult following. Strangely a couple of the band name used monikers and I can’t actually find any information on who they really were. Sadly information on them is lost to time as is so much info on these little known 80’s CCM bands. The album was finally reissued on CD in 2005 by Retrospect Records however they didn’t include the final track which is the band testifying to their listeners. Personally I think it should have been included as it’s a really well done testimony. That said this is a demo and the quality lacks a little bit but the quality of the band shines through and this is a much listen if you were a metal head in the day.

Tracklist
1 – Crying Out – 4:17
2 – Love Never Fails – 4:54
3 – Walking A Fine Line – 4:20
4 – 777 – 3:58
5 – Christ Is The Answer – 4:06
6 – Come Unto Me – 5:18
7 – Call On Your Name – 6:29
8 – Give Your Life Away – 4:45
9 – Message From The Band – 8:56

Credits
Chris Brooks – Lead Vocals
Radical Rad – Guitars
Pat Tharp – Bass
Bruce Atomic – Drums