Sacrament were one of the original Christian Thrash Metal bands. This was the demo that started it all for them. It was sold at their shows and apparently had pretty broad distribution. As for the music, I have no idea if it’s any good. I know nothing about thrash metal and can’t stand listening to it. If you like thrash metal this is probably a pretty good album judging from the positive reviews of it. The quality is a little off which is kind of strange for 1989 as technology was pretty advanced for producing demos. That said it just may be the copy I got. The original might be much better.
Tracklist
1 – Separate From Iniquity
2 – Assault (Satan’s Doom)
3 – Lies of The Blind
4 – Face Reality
5 – Presumed Dead
Credits
Bass – Eric Ney
Drums – Paul Graham
Producer – Frank Thompson
Guitar – Brian Toy, Mike Didonato
Vocals – Mike Torone
The story of this album is somewhat interesting. The band won a Swedish national music contest with their song “What’s The Noise?”. In the process of recording the support album for the song. While recording the album the band became Christians and the album took on a while new light. Several songs were rewritten to have Christian lyrics and the original record deal died. Luckily the brand new label “Alarma Records” (a division of Frontline records picked up the album and released it. The album has a strong keyboard based New Wave feel with a few tracks having a heavier guitar track. “What’s the Noise” continues on as the single and is still the stand out song on the album. The CD had a rather odd aditional track that is 17 minutes long and is just chriping bird nature sounds. That one leaves me rather confused.
Tracklist
1 – To Walk On Water – 3:42
2 – What’s The Noise? – 4:07
3 – Call My Name – 4:05
4 – Prayer – 5:00
5 – Yeah Yeah Yeah – 3:51
6 – North Sea Town – 4:35
7 – Time – 3:25
8 – Someone – 3:35
9 – When The Serpent Rules – 4:00
10 – There Is A Morning – 4:27
11 – Bird-Song – 17:48
Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Band [Walk On Water], Bass – Magnus Wahl
Band [Walk On Water], Guitar [Guitars] – Flord
Band [Walk On Water], Keyboards – Erik Strömblad
Band [Walk On Water], Vocals – Tot
Guest, Acoustic Guitar – Kaj Erixon (tracks: 8)
Guest, Backing Vocals – Sollentuna Gospel (tracks: 10), Titiyo Jah (tracks: 1, 7)
Guest, Dhol – Lambodhar Kalindi (tracks: 2)
Guest, Drums [Additional Drums] – Magnus Frykberg (tracks: 1, 7), Magnus Persson (7) (tracks: 2, 6)
Guest, Musician [Nagra] – Ananta Mahato (tracks: 2)
Guest, Musician [Sanax] – Dharani Kalindi (tracks: 2)
Guest, Sounds [Birds] – Ingemar Persson
Guest, Synthesizer [Mini Moog] – Kaj Erixon (tracks: 9)
Photography By [Clouds Photographed By] – Kent Nyberg
Photography By [WOW Photographed By] – Ewa-Marie Wernersson
Producer [Produced By], Arranged By – Kaj Erixon, Walk On Water
Sleeve – Kent Nyberg
Words By, Music By – Erik Strömblad*, Flord, Magnus Wahl, Tot
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Alarma World Music
Copyright (c) – Alarma World Music
Record Company – Frontline Music Group
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – B3B Studios
Mixed At – B3B Studios
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia
Published By – Broken Songs
Veil of Ashes is an alternative band from Oakland, California that built a cult following in the California Christian music scene. Though they didn’t get a huge following in the CCM music scene they probably should have and their cult following had good taste. This is their first official album though they did have 2 previous demos one of which had good distribution. I was reading all of their reviews and all of them tried comparing the band to someone but I’m going to resist that. I believe they had a sound that was all their own. I really wish I would have heard this one back in the day but I have it now and it’s on my regular MP3 rotation. Oh and the Bob Dylan cover is pretty darn good too.
Tracklist
1 – The Times They Are A Changin’ – 3:56
2 – And They Call It Love – 3:45
3 – Without Eyes – 3:20
4 – Corpse – 4:35
5 – Suicide – 3:25
6 – She – 3:29
7 – Take My Hand – 4:04
8 – Testimony – 5:09
9 – The Cross Was His Own – 3:29
10 – Hide Me – 4:22
11 – Come Unto Me – 5:20
Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Backing Vocals – Derri Daugherty (tracks: 1), Steve Hindalong (tracks: 1)
Bass – Sterling
Drums – Phil Meads
Engineer [Additional Technical Assistance] – Dave Jahnsen, Steve Hindalong
Keyboards, Electric Piano [Hammond B-3], Piano, Lead Guitar [Electric], Acoustic Guitar – Lance Harris
Percussion – Joseph Linn
Piano – Gene Eugene (tracks: 11)
Producer, Recorded By – Gene Eugene
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Harmonica, Voice [Poet] – Sean Doty
Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Graceland
Copyright (c) – Graceland
Recorded At – The Mixing Lab
Randy broke out the acoustic guitar for this release but It’s not an acoustic album it just appears he stuck to the acoustic guitar for most tracks. The title “Return To Paradise” is a reference to his 1979 album “Welcome To Paradise” . This album is full of great performers. Phil Keaggy plays guitar on a few tracks, Mark Heard not only produced the album but played tambourine on a track. Derri Daugherty was involved with the engineering and David Edwards even wrote one of the songs. The lead track “Starlings” was only on the CD and not the cassette or vinyl. If you like Randy you’ll love this album. Realistically Randy never did a bad album.
Tracklist
1 – Starlings – 5:00
2 – Stand Like Steel – 4:55
3 – I Don’t Ever Want To Live Without You – 4:10
4 – This Friend Of Old – 4:00
5 – You Can Still Walk Tall – 5:00
6 – True Blood – 5:02
7 – Strong Hand Of Love – 2:54
8 – Christmas At Denny’s – 5:53
9 – Love Tells No Lies – 4:20
10 – Weight Of The Sky – 3:28
11 – Ready To Go – 4:44
Credits
Acoustic Bass – David Miner
Acoustic Guitar – Randy Stonehill
Backing Vocals – Pam Dwinell, Randy Stonehill (tracks: 3)
Bass – Mark Heard (tracks: 2, 9), Tom Willett (tracks: 7)
Bass [Fretless] – Bill Batstone
Drums – Doug Mathews
Engineer [Second Engineers] – Dan Reed, Dave Hackbarth, Derri Daugherty, Gary Gerhart, Stephen Padgett
Executive-Producer – Tom Willett
Fiddle, Viola – Joe Weed
Guitar [Classical] – Phil Keaggy (tracks: 3)
Mandolin, Accordion, Electric Guitar – Mark Heard
Pedal Steel Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar – Greg Leisz
Percussion – David Baker
Photography – Linda Krikorian
Producer – Mark Heard, Randy Stonehill
Recorded By, Mixed By – Mark Heard
Tambourine – Mark Heard (tracks: 7)
Twelve-String Guitar – Phil Keaggy (tracks: 9)
Vocals – Randy Stonehill
Written-By – David Edwards (tracks: 4), Mark Heard (tracks: 7), Pierce Pettis (tracks: 3), Randy Stonehill (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6, 8 to 11)
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Fingerprint Recorders
Mixed At – Fingerprint Recorders
Recorded At – Neverland
Published By – Stonehillian Music
Published By – Word Music
Published By – Ideola Music
Published By – Let’s Have Lunch Music
Published By – Pease Farm Produce
This is the second album from Higher Power who were an obscure band out of Canada. Their sound is more mid 80’s with a strong emphasis on keyboards though guitar rifts are still present. None of the band members seem to have worked anywhere but Higher Power. If you know anything more about this band please let us know.
Tracklist
1 – Man Of Sorrow
2 – Love You Forever
3 – Now I Believe
4 – Cast A Light
5 – Jesus Make Me Whole
6 – Rock On Which I Stand
7 – Give It All
8 – Could It Be Love
9 – His Name
10 – I Know
11 – One Day
Credits
Rick Carlson – Keyboards
Dave Dutka – Vocals
Mark Anderson – Vocals
Gord Boyce – Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Vocals
Bryan Boyce – Drums, Percussion
Randy Ritz – Bass
This is the third album from Barren Cross. The lineup was the same as their previous album Atomic Arena. This album is a well polished album with excellent production but with higher quality songs. The lyric quality was much better on this album as the band was obviously maturing. John and Dino Elefante stepped in again to provide production so the quality is there. A music video was produced for “Cryin’ Over You” but I personally didn’t think it was very good. Speaking of not very good the album cover was also questionable in my opinion. This playlist includes the CD bonus track “Escape In The Night”.
Tracklist
1 – State Of Control – 3:53
2 – Out Of Time – 4:09
3 – Cryin’ Over You – 4:53
4 – A Face In The Dark – 3:56
5 – The Stage Of Intensity – 6:36
6 – Hard Lies – 4:18
7 – Inner War – 4:09
8 – Love At Full Volume – 2:28
9 – Bigotry Man (Who Are You) – 4:42
10 – Two Thousand Years – 7:10
11 – Escape In The Night – 3:54
Credits
Art Direction – Regis Patoff
Bass Guitar, Synthesizer [MIDI Synthesizer Pedals], Backing Vocals – Jim LaVerde
Cover – Alex Remlin
Drums, Backing Vocals – Steve Whitaker
Engineer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante, Mike Mierau
Keyboards, Vocals [Additional] – John Elefante
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Mike Lee
Mastered By – Eddy Schreyer
Mixed By – Dino Elefante, Mike Mierau
Photography By – Jodi Summers
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals – Ray Parris
Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Enigma Records
Copyright (c) – Enigma Records
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mastered At – Capitol Studios
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia
Jimmy Abegg and Steve Griffith return for the 3rd offering from Vector. This was another great album with a strong New Wave sound. I really wish Charlie Peacock had still been with the band for this album as his vocal support would have put this album over the top. That said there is nothing wrong with Steve Griffith’s vocals. This album was actually on a smaller label, Spark Music which was a division of GMI Music Partners.
Tracklist
1 – I Want To Know – 4:01
2 – Fine Line – 4:07
3 – Be Undone – 6:28
4 – Where Are You Now – 4:47
5 – I Burn Myself Away – 3:54
6 – I Wait For You – 5:29
7 – Have Mercy – 4:23
8 – Sometimes – 5:02
9 – Simple Experience – 6:39
Credits
Artwork – Craig C. Martinez, Joe Sogge
Bass – Steve Griffith
Coordinator [Project Coordinator] – Bruce Brown
Drums – Aaron Smith, Mike Urbano
Engineer – Steve Griffith
Executive-Producer – Steve Griffith
Guitar – Jim Abegg
Photography By – Craig C. Martinez
Producer – Jim Abegg, Steve Griffith
Vocals – Steve Griffith
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Gaga Records (5)
Copyright (c) – Gaga Records (5)
Distributed By – Gaga Records (5)
Distributed By – Spark Music
Distributed By – GMI
Recorded At – Double Vision, Sacramento, CA
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia
Published By – Steven Michael Griffith Music
This was the first album from One Bag Pig though there was a demo before this that was re-released in 2008. One bad Pig had a distinctive sound that was a mix of Punk and Thrash. They were a bit of a shock to the Christian music scene/ There had been a few thrash bands but not quite like this one. The band got their name from a pic of a pig wearing sunglasses. Carey Womack remarked “That’s one bad pig” and Paul Q-Pek replied, “That would be a great name for a punk band! We should form one.” The rest is history.
Tracklist
1 – Godarchy – 3:09
2 – Isaiah 6 – 2:38
3 – Let´s Be Frank – 3:38
4 – People Cry Out – 3:57
5 – Frat Rats – 2:26
6 – Smash The Guitar – 3:44
7 – Kingdom Come – 4:33
8 – Take A Flying Leap – 2:15
9 – I´m Not Getting Any Older – 4:28
10 – Looney Tune – 1:24
11 – Don´t Be Fooled – 3:19
12 – Blow And Go – 2:14
Credits
Arranged By – Billy Smiley, One Bad Pig
Artwork [“Pig” Art By] – Jamie Cervantes
Band, Bass – Streak Wheeler
Band, Drums – Philip Owens
Band, Guitar – Paul Q-Pek
Band, Lead Vocals [Lead Screamer] – Carey “Kosher” Womack
Chorus [Gang Chorus Vocals] – Chad Brock, Dale Oliver, Dave Mullen, Ric “Tubes” Florian
Concept By [Cover Concept By] – One Bad Pig
Design [Package Design], Layout – Jeff Spencer
Engineer [Engineered By] – Lee Groitzsch
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Mixed By – Billy Smiley, Lee Groitzsch
Percussion – Chris “Slick” McHugh, Mike Connell
Photography By – Weston Wolfe
Producer [Produced By] – Billy Smiley
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Pure Metal Records
Copyright (c) – Pure Metal Records
Distributed By – Spectra Distribution, Inc.
Recorded At – Warner Bros Nashville Music Recording Studios
Recorded At – Downstage Studio
Mastered At – Mastermix
Published By – Smiling Swine Music
Published By – Place Of Refuge
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia
Ken Tamplin and the gang are back with their second Rocking album except for drummer Dennis Holt that is, who was replaced by Joseph Galletta. No idea why probably just the usual band politics and don’t worry, he didn’t go hungry, he appeared on at least 8 albums in 1989. Now that’s a work ethic. Anyway back to the boy’s of Shout. This album is much like the first one. Again it got labelled Metal but really there’s just a couple metal tracks. The rest are good old fashioned Hard Arena Rock. What I found humorous about the album was the last track which is labelled “The Pay The Bills Song”. It is the epitome of an Arena Rock song of the era LOL. I see the humour on the face of it but part of me wonders what “the rest of the story” is. Anyway another great air guitar album so sit back and enjoy.
Tracklist
1 – Borderline – 4:28
2 – When The Love Is Gone – 4:16
3 – Give Me An Answer – 3:51
4 – Faith Hope And Love – 3:38
5 – Getting Ready – 3:54
6 – In Your Face – 5:10
7 – Getting On With Life – 3:59
8 – Waiting On You – 3:51
9 – Moonlight Sonata – 0:28
10 – It´s All I Need – 3:27
11 – Ain´t Givin’ Up – 3:48
Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Bass Guitar, Vocals – Loren Robinson
Drums – Joseph Galletta
Guitar [Participated Players Starting From The First Snare] – Alex Masi (2) (tracks: B1), Joey Price (tracks: B1), Lanny Cordola (tracks: B1), Marty Friedman (tracks: B1), Michael Angelo* (tracks: B1), Randy Hansen (tracks: B1)
Keyboards – Mark Hugonberger
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Chuck King
Mastered By – John Matousek
Photography By – Nigel Skeet
Producer, Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar – Ken Tamplin
Tracking By [Tracking Engineer] – Eric Kibbe
Tracking By [Tracking Engineer], Mixed By [Mixing Engineer] – Dave Jahnsen
Companies, etc.
Licensed From – Frontline Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Music For Nations
Copyright (c) – Take Out Music
Published By – Take Out music
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Mixed At – Mixing Lab B
Mixed At – Mixing Lab A
I have to honestly say that this is not my favourite Choir album. I believe the quality of the album is good and it actually has some great lyrics. That said I found the album to kind of have no flow and I have a difficult time even describing the album. The vocals are good and actually it’s a pretty good album overall but I just didn’t like it that much, I’m not really too sure why. Strangely there is a cover of a George Harrison tune, “Behind That Locked Door”, which is OK I guess. I didn’t like the original but this version is an improvement if for no other reason than Mark Heard played the autoharp. I just find it doesn’t fit on the album that’s all. Another point of trivia is that three members of Adam Again also appear on the album. It is rumoured that they were recording in a neighbouring studio.
Tracklist
1 – Someone To Hold On To – 3:48
2 – To Cover You – 2:31
3 – Robin Had A Dream – 4:17
4 – Spin You Around – 4:10
5 – When She Sees Me – 4:11
6 – Wide-Eyed Wonder – 3:35
7 – Happy Fool – 3:30
8 – Car, Etc. – 6:21
9 – Behind That Locked Door – 3:01
10 – To Bid Farewell – 4:39
11 – Car, Cont. – 1:02
Credits
Bass Guitar, Vocals – Robin Spurs
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Steve Hindalong
Executive-Producer – Tom Willett
Guitar, Electronics [Treatments], Lead Vocals – Derri Daugherty
Lyricon, Saxophone – Daniel Michaels
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mixed By – Mark Heard
Producer – D. Daugherty, S. Hindalong
Producer [Additional] – David Hackbarth, Mark Heard
Recorded By – David Hackbarth
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Produced At – Neverland Studios
Mixed At – Neverland Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc
