Tag: 1989

Sacred Warrior – Master’s Command – 1989

This was the second album from Sacred Warrior and the same line up gave us another album much like their first one. The band decided to produce this one themselves and did a pretty good job. I can hear a few spots where I think they could have done better but over all they did a good job. The album takes up where the last one left off and if you liked the first one you’ll like this one. Vocals from Rey Parra are excellent and Bruce Swift’s guitar screams. If I did have to pick out an improvement after the first album I would say it’s the drumming. I don’t know if Tony Velasquez’s drumming improved or if it was a result of the self production but the drumming is excellent where on their first album it was just good.

Tracklist
1 – Master’s Command – 4:53
2 – Beyond The Mountain – 4:25
3 – Evil Lurks – 4:26
4 – Bound In Chains – 3:45
5 – Unfailing Love – 5:31
6 – Paradise – 5:21
7 – Uncontrolled – 3:47
8 – Many Will Come – 3:53
9 – Onward Warriors – 3:13
10 – The Flood – 4:15
11 – Holy, Holy, Holy – 4:27

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Bass – Steve Watkins
Drums – Tony Velasquez
Engineer – Dave Jahnsen
Guitar – Bruce Swift
Illustration – John Dickenson
Keyboards – Rick Macias
Photography By – Michael Seeley
Producer – Dave Jahnsen, Sacred Warrior
Vocals – Rey Parra
Written-By [All Songs By] – Bruce Swift, Rey Parra, Rick Macias, Steve Watkins (2), Tony Velasquez

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Intense Records (10)
Copyright (c) – Intense Records (10)
Distributed By – The Benson Company
Recorded At – Mixing Lab A
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Published By – Broken Songs
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Leviticus – Knights Of Heaven – 1989

This was the last album from Leviticus (there was a 2000’s reboot album) as the band separated after the support tour. This album turned more to a commercial sound perfected by the Elefante brothers. In fact I would say that some of the tracks on this album would fall in the Hard Rock category rather than metal. The album sold well and many thought it was their best work.

Tracklist
1 – Born Again – 3:38
2 – The World Goes ‘Round – 4:16
3 – Isn’t It Love – 4:32
4 – Oh, Lord – 4:51
5 – Feel So Good – 2:20
6 – Strong Love – 3:38
7 – Messiah – 3:55
8 – Over The Hills – 3:55
9 – For Once In My Life – 4:07
10 – Love On Fire – 3:40

Credits
Backing Vocals [Additional Musician] – David Amato
Bass, Backing Vocals – Niklas Frannklin
Design [Cover] – Donna Del Sesto
Design [Cover], Executive-Producer – David Del Sesto
Drums, Percussion – Kjell Andersson
Engineer – Bosse Reimer, Mike Mierau
Engineer [Assistant] – Jeff Simmons
Executive-Producer – Magnus Erikson
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Bjorn Stigsson
Illustration – Robert Fisher
Lead Vocals, Keyboards – Peo Pettersson
Mixed By [Using Eventide H3000B] – Gil Griffith
Producer – Dino, John Elefante

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Royal Music Productions
Copyright (c) – Royal Music Productions
Distributed By – Refuge Music Group
Distributed By – Spectra Distribution
Recorded At – Royal Music Studio
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Overdubbed At – Pakaderm Studios
Mixed At – Pakaderm Studios
Pressed By – Denon Digital Industries

Rage of Angels – Rage of Angels – 1989

This was the one and only album from Rage of Angels and if you have the vinyl version it’s actually quite collectible. This was another late 80’s glam metal band but they were a notch up from some of the metal bands of the time. I am always surprised by the metal bands that come out of nowhere, put out an excellent album and then disappear again. Reportedly the band broke up before the album even came out which is too bad as I really feel they were very good. Two members of the band, John Fowler and Frank Di Costanzo went on to form Steelheart. The other members didn’t appear again on an album and unfortunately drummer John Fowler passed away in 2008. If you like your metal albums you will like this one and if your only a fan of hard rock give it a chance too, you might like it. I did.

Tracklist
1 – Leave You Or Forsake You – 2:52
2 – Reason To Rock – 3:53
3 – It’s Not Late For Love – 4:31
4 – Somebody’s Watching You – 3:53
5 – Hooked On A Good Thing – 4:17
6 – Do You Still Believe In Love – 4:16
7 – Rock For The Rock – 4:39
8 – Are You Ready For Thunder – 4:09
9 – Don’t Give Up – 4:08

Credits
Arranged By – Rage Of Angels
Bass – Dale Glifort
Co-producer [Assisted By] – Rage Of Angels
Design, Layout – Jeff Spencer
Drums – John Fowler
Engineer – Bil Burke, Gary Fulton, Joe Mendek, Paul Krueger
Guitar – Frank DiCostanzo, Greg Kurtzman
Keyboards – Chris Ainsley (tracks: 7)
Lead Vocals – Dan Mariano
Mixed By – Doug Mann, Paul Krueger
Producer – Doug Mann

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Regency Music (2)
Copyright (c) – Regency Music (2)
Distributed By – Spectra Distribution, Inc.
Recorded At – Audio West
Recorded At – Morningstar Studios
Mixed At – Morningstar Studios
Mastered At – Capitol Studios
Designed At – Sudden Images Studio
Manufactured By – U.S. Optical Disc

Mastedon – It’s a Jungle Out There – 1989

Mastedon was a studio project by John & Dino Elefante. The fact that they were dabbling in heavy metal right at the end of the 80’s kind of surprises me but then again it shows their versatility and their love of all styles of music. The “Band” were basically a bunch of high quality studio musicians. John & Dino Elefante both played on the album but left lead vocals to David Robbins who was also the vocalist on the 1989 X-Sinner album “Get It”, another Elefante project. John & Dino Elefante also wrote all of the tracks with the exception of the lyrics on “Shine On” written by Petra’s Bob Hartman. The album is a pretty high quality metal album but some tracks lean more Hard Rock. Most of the Metal songs have a commercial Metal Pop song. My final thought on this album is that it’s pretty good and I look forward to listening their album from 1990.

Tracklist
1 – It’s A Jungle Out There – 3:54
2 – Glory Bound – 4:17
3 – This Is The Day – 4:14
4 – Love Inhalation – 4:39
5 – Islands In The Sky – 3:42
6 – Get Up – 4:00
7 – Love That Will Survive – 4:02
8 – Innocent Girl – 3:42
9 – Shine On – 4:24
10 – Right Hand – 6:05

Credits
Backing Vocals – Dave Amato, Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Bass – Dino Elefante, Jimmy “Flim” Johnson, John Pierce
Drums – David Raven, John Elefante, Phil Rowland
Engineer [Additional] – Ben Rodgers
Engineer [Assistant] – Jeff Simmons
Engineer, Mixed By – Dino Elefante, John Elefante, Mike Mierau
Fretless Bass – John Patitucci (tracks: 9)
Illustration – Robert Fischer
Keyboards – John Elefante
Lead Guitar – Dave “Pittsy” Amato
Lead Vocals – Dave Amato (tracks: 2, 4, 10), Dave Robbins (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 6), Perry Lee (tracks: 4, 8)
Lyrics By – Bob Hartman (tracks: 9)
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Music By – Dino Elefante (tracks: 9), John Elefante (tracks: 9)
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Rhythm Guitar – Dino Elefante
Vocals – Dave Robbins
Written-By – Dino Elefante (tracks: 1-8, 10), John Elefante (tracks: 1-8, 10)

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – R.E.X. Music Inc.
Copyright (c) – Regency Music
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Regency Music
Mastered At – Future Disc
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Recorded At – Pack’s Place
Pressed By – Disc Manufacturing, Inc., Huntsville – 27581

Katsbarnea – O Som que te faz Girar – 1989

Completely unbeknownst to me until very recently there was a huge CCM music scene in South America. Now of course the music was in Portuguese or Spanish but it was a huge scene that for some reason I had never heard of until I met friends though this project. This particular band was one of the big ones. This was their demo that they released in 1989. Apparently it sold very very well and it included future hits such as “Extra” and “Grito de Katsbarnea. The band actually had 12 members including a horns section but don’t let that fool you, this is a Rock & Roll band and a darn good one at that. The band went on to great success with multiple albums all the way until 2013. So if your looking to broaden your CCM knowledge give this one a listen. At least listen to the single “Extra” It’s actually a very good song.

Tracklist
1 – Contato
2 – Retrovisor
3 – Grito de Katsbarnea
4 – Etéreo
5 – Viagem da Oração
6 – Pacote Salvação
7 – Extra
8 – Corredor 18
9 – Salve a tua Paz
10 – Brisa

Credits
Brother Simion – vocal, guitarra rítmica e harmônica
Tchu Salomão – baixo e vocal em “Brisa”
Fábio – bateria
Paulinho Makuko – percussão e vocal em “Corredor 18”
Marquinhos – saxofone
André Mira – guitarra solo
Cláudia Bastos – vocal de apoio
Sandra Simões – vocal de apoio
Patrícia – teclado

Jerome Olds – No Disguise – 1989

Jerome is often said to be the Christian answer to Bruce Hornsby. Indeed his style strongly resembles Bruce Hornsby and this was probably in part his relative success. Actually he had been involved in the CCM scene since 1985 writing several #1 songs for Mylon & Broken Heart. He struck out on his own with this album in 1989 though he did have a self release in 1980. It’s a little disappointing that he is constantly compared to Bruce Hornsby as I think it detracts from his true talent as a singer songwriter. The first single for the album was “Is It Right?” which peaked at #4. “His Love Flows” and “Rejoice” also singled at #12 and #15 respectively. The piano pop sound of this album will likely site well with most people. The surprise track on the album is “Sing Out” which has a more traditional African sound.

Tracklist
1 – Rejoice – 3:06
2 – Is It Right? – 4:22
3 – His Love Flows – 4:25
4 – Dying To See Jesus In Me – 4:18
5 – No Disguise – 2:06
6 – Sing Out – 3:00
7 – God Will Find A Way – 4:10
8 – Bethlehem – 3:32
9 – “The Barn” Video Sequence – 3:08
10 – Keeper Of The Fire – 5:40

Credits
Scott Allen – Composer
Gary Bennett – Vocals
Pat Buchanan – Guitar (Electric), Vocal Arrangement, Vocals
Charles Bullock – Choir/Chorus
Brenda Carter – Choir/Chorus
Russ Fowler – Engineer, Mixing
Gloria Gaither – Composer
Frank Gibson – Preparation
Bill Hatcher – Guitar (Acoustic), Harp
Tim Holbrook – Composer
Adrion Jones – Choir/Chorus
Ricky Keller – Arranger, Bass, Composer, Engineer, Guitar (Electric), Mixing, Percussion, Producer, Synthesizer
Sonny Lallerstedt – Guitar (Acoustic)
Jim Lloyd – Mastering
Donna Maddox – Choir/Chorus
Scott Meeder – Drums, Percussion, Producer
Jerome Olds – Arranger, Composer, Percussion, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals
Solomon Olds – Composer
Cheryl Rogers – Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Producer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals
Terry Simpson – Vocals
Angel Smith – Choir/Chorus
Vance Taylor – Synthesizer
Toni Thigpen – Photo Editing
Oliver Wells – Arranger, Keyboards, Producer

Companies, etc.
Printed By – Sleeveprint Ltd
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Mixed At – Southern Tracks
Recorded At – Southern Living At Its Finest

Watchmen – Generation – 1989

Sometimes it’s difficult to classify an album into any specific style of music. This is one of those bands. Watchmen only had this 1 studio album (they did also have a demo) which kind of surprises me as it is actually very good. There are example of Metal, Rock, and AOR on this album. All are well done and personally I think the vocals are fantastic. Vocalist Greg Sweet did reappear in 2004 in a couple bands but that was it. Anyway this album is very good and was a very pleasant surprise. The only person who I recognized on the album is Kevin Whisler who is also the drummer from Bloodgood. The stand out track for me is “Best Friend” which is an excellent tune with some excellent saxophone work and it has gone on my personal rotation.

Tracklist
1 – Turn – 3:42
2 – Stand Strong – 3:53
3 – Straight – 3:32
4 – Best Friend – 4:33
5 – Breakin’ The Chains – 3:19
6 – United – 3:47
7 – I Will Be There – 4:27
8 – Defenders – 3:51
9 – One Day – 4:07

Credits
Backing Vocals – Dave Van Liew, Doug Larson, Greg Sweet, Kevin Antholt
Backing Vocals [Additional Bck Vocals] – Grant Scott, Joyce Carlsen, Kelee Gates, Les Carlsen, Mark Thornberg, Rene Wood
Bass – Doug Larson
Drums, Percussion – Kevin Whisler
Guitar – Dave Van Liew
Guitar [Additional Guitar] – Ross Nyberg (tracks: 4)
Keyboards – Kevin Antholt
Keyboards [Additional Keyboards] – Brook Lizotte
Lead Vocals – Greg Sweet
Producer – Terry B. Shelton
Programmed By [Computer Programming], Sampler [Sampling] – Kevin Antholt

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Regency Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Regency Records
Copyright (c) – Regency Records
Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Manufactured By – Music Manufacturers

Bloodgood – Out of the Darkness – 1989

This was the 4th studio release for Michael Bloodgood and the band. For this album Guitarist David Zaffiro and drummer Mark Welling were out and Kevin Whisler and Paul Jackson on guitars and drums, respectively were in. Of course Michael Bloodgood maintained his position on bass and Les Carlsen continued vocals. Fans of Bloodgood said this album was a bit of as return to their previous heavier work but myself I believe it’s all in the production. This album doesn’t quite have that commercial Pop influence so it sounds much more raw which is a much better sound for Bloodgood. My personal take away track is the Rez Band reminiscent track “Hey! You”

Tracklist
1 – Out Of The Darkness – 3:43
2 – Let My People Go – 4:09
3 – America – 4:04
4 – It’s Alright – 3:44
5 – Top Of The Mountain – 6:30
6 – Hey! You – 4:05
7 – Mad Dog World – 4:25
8 – Changing Me – 6:38
9 – New Age Illusion – 3:18

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Paul Jackson, Terry B. Shelton
Arranged By [All Songs] – Bloodgood, Kevin Whistler, Paul Jackson
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Backing Vocals – Les Carlsen, Michael Bloodgood
Bass – Michael Bloodgood
Co-producer [Co-Produced By] – Les Carlsen, Michael Bloodgood
Drums – Kevin Whisler
Electric Guitar – Paul Jackson
Engineer [Engineered By] – Terry B. Shelton
Illustration [Cover Illustration] – Jeff Foster
Lead Vocals – Les Carlsen
Mixed By – Les Carlsen, Michael Bloodgood, Terry B. Shelton
Orchestrated By – Brook Lizotte, Terry B. Shelton
Performer [Bloodgood Is] – Les Carlsen, Michael Bloodgood
Producer [Produced By] – Terry B. Shelton

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Intense Records
Copyright (c) – Intense Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Produced For – Black Coat Productions
Recorded At – Black Coat Productions
Published By – Broken Songs
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Tempest – Eye of the Storm – 1989

The second and last album from Tempest had a more commercial Metal sound than their first. This album saw a change of band members with Darren Lee taking over bass and Bobby Andrews on drums and apparently Joe English also supplied a drum track for the album. A year after this album came out the band dissolved but I don’t know if they did a tour in support of the album or not. There isn’t actually a lot of info on Tempest in the 80’s but Mick Rowe did revive the band in 2017. Along with Thom Schultman and Rex D.Scott from X-Sinner they recorded a 4 song EP and apparently played several live dates.

Tracklist
1 – Storms – 1:41
2 – Rock For The Light – 5:30
3 – Goin´ Nowhere – 3:15
4 – Goodbye – 3:24
5 – Let Them In – 3:30
6 – True Love – 3:00
7 – All For One – 3:21
8 – Eye Of The Storm – 2:32
9 – Lost Without Your Love – 3:16
10 – Midnight – 1:58
11 – U.S.A. – 3:03

Credits
Bass – Darren Lee
Cover, Design – Jeff Spencer
Drums – Bobby Andrews
Guitar – Mikk Rowe
Lyrics By – J.R. Rowe (tracks: 2, 6, 7, 9, 11), Mikk Rowe (tracks: 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11)
Music By – J.R. Rowe (tracks: 6), Mikk Rowe* (tracks: 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11)
Photography By – Eric Hassler (2)
Producer – Dan Rudin
Vocals – J.R. Rowe
Written-By – Chris Kachulis (tracks: 5), Peter Maroney (tracks: 5)

Apostle – Apostle – 1989

Apostle may be the biggest and/or best Metal bands to never have an album deal. It’s unknown why they never has an album deal but I’m gonna say I suspect it’s because they never got an offer they liked. The Florida based band had several demos which sold very well. I don’t remember seeing a group that had more demos over such a long period. As is common with demos there appears to be some confusion regarding this particular demo. Several sites show it as called “Metal for the Master” and was released in 1983. The cassette cover doers not show a title and has a copyright date of 1989 so that is the info I went with.

Tracklist
1 – King Of The Saints
2 – Overcomer
3 – Conquerors
4 – Born Again
5 – Parting The Red Sea
6 – Unlimited Power
7 – Armageddon
8 – King Of Kings
9 – Bread Of Life
10 – Holy Soldier

Credits
Bass – Mark Borrero
Drums – David Paul McKee
Vocals, Guitar – Matt Harding