Demo – Page 2 – Real 80s CCM

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

Lust Control – This Is A Condom Nation – 1988

Lust Control was formed by Doug Van Pelt. He brought together Maury Millican, Philip Owens, and Paul Q-Pek into the project. Strangely Owens and Q’Pek are from One Bad Pig. Lust Control were doing something different in singing (I use that term loosely) about very controversial topics. They maintained an anonymous identity by using pseudonyms on the albums and even more strangely wearing ski masks while performing. This was their demo and was also put on cassette and CD for sale. They quickly developed a cult following however their controversial (read bizarre) nature pretty well terrified most the record companies so no record deal was gong to happen obviously. As for my opinion? I hate thrash, not just dislike, I actually hate it. That said I found the album humorous and fun and I really don’t think they were taking themselves too serious which isn’t a bad thing. I understand why they do have fans though because no one was doing anything this controversial.

Tracklist
1 – Grace – 1:43
2 – Rude Awakening – 0:43
3 – Madolyn Murray O’Hair – 2:07
4 – Wretched – 0:14
5 – Apocalyptic Nightmare – 2:56
6 – I Want To Die – 1:22
7 – Mad At The Girls – 1:54
8 – The Big ‘M’ – 3:49
9 – You Make Me Puke – 1:37
10 – There Is A Fountain/Grace Reprise – 2:42

Credits
Doug Van Pelt – Vocals
Maury Millican – Bass
Philip Owens – Drums
Paul Q-Pek – Guitar
Steve Allen – Producer, Engineer
Paul Lamond – Engineer

Fighter – Demo – 1989

As I understand it this was Fighter’s first demo. 2 of the tracks got released on their first album, “Radio Man”, and “Face To Face”. “Leo” and “Irresponsible Evil” remained unreleased until 2019. In 2019 these four tracks were bonus material on a re-release of Fighters first album, The Waiting. Do not confuse this with the 2019 Girder Records release “The Fighter Demos” which is a collection of most of their demo work but not these 4 tracks.

Tracklist
1 – Radio Man – 4:38
2 – Leo – 3:15
3 – Face To Face – 5:27
4 – Irresponsible Evil – 3:24

Credits
Bass – Jim Wolter
Drums – Sean Murphy
Guitar – Billy Heller
Keyboards – Mark Pence
Lead Vocals – Amy Wolter, Sean Murphy

100% Proof – New Way of Livin’ – 1980

100% Proof were a band from Stockport, Manchester that formed in 1978 under the name “Thin Ice”. The band was having some success touring the local area and they went into the studio to record this EP, financed out of their own pocket, to sell at their concerts. It’s actually a 7 inch recorded at 33 1/3 which is relatively rare. This EP has a slightly more punk sound than the Rock & Roll sound they would be better known for on future releases. While I really enjoy their sound on their two commercial releases I really love this sound and wish we could have got more. The quality of the EP was an issue but I have cleaned it up as best as I could. I love early band releases like this and this one is no exception.

Tracklist
1 – New Way Of Livin’ – 4:58
2 – Lookin In – 2:22
3 – What’s The Cost – 5:04
4 – Resurrection – 3:49

Credits
Bass – Steve Harrison
Drums – Phil Wright
Engineer [Sound Engineering] – Ray Buckley
Guitar, Vocals – Charlie Wilson
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Steve Wright
Photography By – Dave Owen
Producer – 100% Proof, Ray Buckley
Sleeve – Pete Smith

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Pluto Studios
Label – Smile

Crossection – What About Forever – 1987

I was quite surprised when I came across this demo from Crossection. Their first album was actually a demo that got picked up by a label but I did not know there was a previous demo. I am assuming this was actually available for sale at their concerts through western Canada. This albums has a good raw feel and is not overproduced so it’s Rock & Roll sound and feel works. The band could have been a little tighter but it’s a light criticism of the album as I love the unpolished sound. If you enjoyed their 2 albums you should love this demo as it’s always nice to hear where a band came from. Only 2 tracks on this demo were released on their fist album so the other 8 are completely new tracks. I actually would have liked to have heard some of the new tracks in a fully polished and produced form because some of them are really good songs.

Tracklist
1 – Inside Out – 3:38
2 – Hard and Hungry World – 3:03
3 – Prodigal – 3:54
4 – Love Is Who You Are – 4:46
5 – Mercy – 3:57
6 – Things Aren’t The Same – 3:32
7 – Solid Rock – 3:14
8 – Child Of The King – 2:56
9 – Do Life Once – 2:36
10 – Forever Is Tonight – 3:36

Credits
Arranged By, Keyboards, Vocals – Dale Johnson
Bass, Vocals – Bruce Rawling
Drums – Martin Zinger
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Nevin Eggum
Producer – Crossection, Carson Cole
Vocals, Guitar – Doug Rawling

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Soundboard Studio, Sedgewick AB

Torah – Torah – 1988

Torah were a 4 person Metal band out of Decatur IL and this is all we got from them. I can’t really find out much about them but they sound like a pretty good Metal band. The problem with 1988 is that there were a lot of Christian Metal bands at the time and I assume these guys got lost in the crowd. They did get the track “Pray for the Children” released on a Metal sampler “Big Rage! Volume 1” which I can not find a copy of. There are a few videos of them on YouTube and they do have an active Facebook group so good to see they are still around.

Tracklist
1 – Rock and Roll Warriors – 4:03
2 – Dreams – 3:33
3 – Don’t Reign on My Parade – 3:43
4 – Pray for the Children – 6:04

Credits
Bobby Sheets – Bass
Doug Rudow – Drums
Gary-O – Guitars
Tammy Sheets – Vocals

Rosanna’s Raiders – We Are Raiders – 1985

This was a self released Demo from Rosanna’s Raiders in 1985. They also had one in 1984 with mostly different songs. This shows that they had a very good selection of songs before they were ever signed to a record deal. If you are familiar with Rosanna’s Raiders you might be a little surprised by this demo. I found it to be a little toned down from their label releases and in fact I think I prefer this toned down style. I was also pleasantly surprised by the quality of this demo. More often than not demos do not have the best engineering and production but in the case I found both to be excellent. This may actually be my favourite demo from the 80’s, at very least it’s in my top 10.

Tracklist
1 – We Are Raiders – 3:23
2 – Reflections – 2:50
3 – When You Woke Up This Morning – 4:50
4 – Spotlight – 4:24
5 – Masks – 3:56
6 – You Are My Rock – 3:42
7 – Why Don’t People Care – 4:28
8 – Hiding Behind Closed Doors – 4:51
9 – Whose Side Are You On – 4:26
10 – Mr. Magic – 6:02
11 – He Is Coming (Are You Ready?) – 2:44

Credits
Dave Palmer – Bass
Johno Zaffarese – Drums
Rosanna Palmer – Guitar, Vocals
Phil Butson – Producer, Engineer

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Studio 250

Paradox – Power and Glory – 1988

Paradox were a relatively unknown Metal band out of San Antonio Texas. They released 2 demo’s in the 80’s and got a song released on the Underground Metal sampler in 1988. This is another band that I wonder why they didn’t get a full ride record deal. This band was performing right at the perfect time but for some reason were overlooked. I don’t think they were the best metal band of the era but they were good and there was some real talent here. They did finally get a “Record Deal” in 2011 with Demon Doll Records, a relatively small Indy metal label. The album was all old material as the band hadn’t recorded in years. I’m guessing if you’re not from Texas you are probably not familiar with their work but give it a listen so you are. If you’re still on the fence at least give their version of Amazing Grace, “God’s Amazing Grace” a listen. I kinda liked it.

Tracklist
1 – Power And Glory – 4:39
2 – I Just Want To Love You – 5:05
3 – Meet The King – 3:23
4 – Sweet Reunion – 5:22
5 – God’s Amazing Grace – 2:09

Credits
Bass, Keyboards, Vocals – Phil Garcia
Drums – Efrain Galicia
Guitar – Fernando Hernandez
Lead Vocals – Manuel Castillo