1990 – Page 7 – Real 80s CCM

Priority Paid – Sometimes We Scream – 1990

This was the second release from Priority Paid who were from Sydney Australia. I can’t really find much info on the band but I do know that their first album was very well received in Australia. This album appears to have been self released but was picked up by Round Music Group in the USA and was distributed in the US and Canada. That said the US and Canadian version included several tracks from their first release “Image” that I don’t believe was ever released in North America. This EP has that great late 80’s sound that came out of Australia. I really enjoyed this album and I’m sorry i missed it back in 1990.

Tracklist
1 – Back To The River – 3:29
2 – All Guns Blazing – 3:34
3 – Madame Trousseau – 3:11
4 – Counting The Gains – 5:03
5 – Footsteps In The Sand – 3:21
6 – Shine – 3:39

Credits
Bass, Vocals – O.M. Craig
Drums – R.E.S. Pye
Guitar – I.K.A. McDonald
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – P.D. Downey
Vocals, Keyboards, Harmonica – J.R. Burns

Breakfast With Amy – Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt – 1990/1995

Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is the first studio album by Breakfast with Amy and was first released in 1990. I’m a little confused at the release of this album. The band claims it was an Independent release but I see it was released on Narrowpath Records which was a small but established label. Also strangely it was reissued in 1995 on Gray Dot Records which was a new label that year. Furthermore the original version was distributed by Refuge and had a Refuge catalog number assigned to it. Oh and by the way the 1995 version had 3 bonus tracks which are demo’s from their previous sessions. We have included those tracks. Breakfast with Amy is/was an alternative/punk band out of La Habra California. It’s said that the band formed as “Friends Of Amy” as an emergency fill in for a cancelled act for a church in California. You certainly wouldn’t have heard anything like this is my Church which makes me wish I grew up in these California Churches. Apparently this album sold very well and this was the reason for a reissue but the fact that the reissue is on a different label leaves me to believe there was probably more to the story.

Tracklist
1 – Icky – 4:31
2 – Power – 4:09
3 – Cavewoman – 6:04
4 – This Train – 4:18
5 – Mr. Ed – 2:46
6 – Funeral – 3:44
7 – Everything – 4:02
8 – Ferris Wheel – 3:32
9 – Abandoned Houses – 3:37
10 – Social Studies – 4:10
Bonus Tracks
11 – Ferris Wheel (Demo Version) – 9:07
12 – Love Song (Demo Version) – 4:43
13 – Funeral (Demo Version) – 5:32

Credits
Drums – Paul Pelligrin
Electric Bass – Bob Wholer, Tennesee Beans
Engineer [Engineered By] – Dan Bush
Guitar – Christopher Colbert
Guitar, Vocals – Caryn Colbert
Photography By [Cover Photo] – Jack A. Smith
Producer [Produced By] – Amy
Recorded By – Chaz Ramirez
Vocals, Guitar – David Koval
Written-By [All Songs] – Breakfast With Amy

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Narrowpath Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Gray Dot Records
Copyright (c) – Gray Dot Records
Distributed By – GDR Distribution
Distributed By – Refuge Records
Recorded At – Casbah Studio
Recorded At – Half Moon Studio
Published By – Doll Light Music, Inc.
Pressed By – American Multimedia, Inc.

Say What? – Fresh Fish – 1990

This “gem” of an album showed up in 1990 and was released on Star Song records with much mystery. As far as I can tell we still don’t know who actually did this album. They used monikers and don’t ever appear to have taken credit for it. Personally I wouldn’t have taken credit either but I do not like Rap music. Apparently the track “I Can Sing Higher” is making fun of Sandi Patti which at least shows a good sense of humour, Anyway here it is, an 80’s style Rap album in the CCM music genre.

Tracklist
1 – Fresh Fish – 4:20
2 – Back In A Big Way – 3:53
3 – Step Off (The Stage) – 3:36
4 – Say What? – 2:40
5 – Brother-Brother – 5:03
6 – I Can Sing Higher – 4:42
7 – VG Veggies – 3:32
8 – We’re Stupid – 3:00
9 – Johnny Fencerider – 4:28

Credits
Art Direction – Toni Thigpen
Design, Illustration – Tufts Design Studio
Mastered By – Brian Gardner
Performer – TMOK (tracks: A5, B3), The Dean
Producer – Mix Master Mighty White
Recorded By, Mixed By – M.M.M.W.
Vocals [Guest] – Tiny Tina (tracks: A2, A5)
Written-By – Mighty White*, The Dean

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Star Song
Copyright (c) – Star Song
Distributed By – Sparrow/Star Song Distribution
Recorded At – Queen Bee Studios
Mixed At – Queen Bee Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering
Copyright (c) – Ariose Music
Copyright (c) – Shepherd’s Fold Music

Bryan Duncan – Anonymous Confessions of a Lunatic Friend – 1990

To say this was a successful album would be an understatement. Bryan squeezed 3 number 1 singles off this album. “We All Need”, “Blessed Are The Tears”, and “I Love You With My Life” all made it to number 1. I was a little surprised there wasn’t a fourth single that charted lower but nope. Don’t know that there’s another album with 3 #1’s and nothing lower. “I Love You With My Life” is actually a cover (is it really a cover when you performed it in the first place) from the 1979 Sweet Comfort Band album Breakin’ The Ice. This song actually made myself ask myself what if SCB actually had kept going and gone in the direction Bryan was headed. There was such great talent in the band that I would have far preferred hearing them back Bryan. That said I don’t want to take away anything from Bryan on this album. It really was the best album of 1990.

Tracklist
1 – Sunday Go To Meetin’ – 4:23
2 – Ain’t No Stoppin’ Now – 4:05
3 – Leave Your Light On (Hopeless Moon) – 4:28
4 – We All Need – 3:27
5 – Lunatic Friend – 4:24
6 – All Is Forgiven – 4:21
7 – Puttin’ In The Good Word – 4:23
8 – Walkin’ – 4:12
9 – Mr. Bailey’s Daughter – 4:03
10 – Blessed Are The Tears – 4:30
11 – I Love You With My Life – 4:40

Credits
Bass – John Pierce, Nathan East
Brass – Dan Higgins, Gary Grant, Jerry Hey, Larry Williams
Composed By – Bryan Duncan
Drums – Jeff Porcaro
Executive-Producer – Tom Willett
Guitar – Dan Lee, Michael Hodges, Tim Pierce
Keyboards – Alan Pasqua, Jerry Peters, John Van Tongeren, Michael Omartian, Peter Wolf, Randy Kerber
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mixed By – Csaba Petocz, Jeremy Smith
Percussion – Dan Posthuma, Jeff Porcaro, Rafael Pidilla*, Sandra Crouch
Producer – Dan Posthuma
Saxophone [Solo] – Dave Boruff

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Mastered At – Future Disc

Redeemer – The Light Is Struck And The Darkness Splits! – 1990

This is one of the odder releases I’ve stumbled across while researching Christian Metal music. This album was only released in Australia though it was reissued in Greece in 2020. Even though it was released in 1990 it was only issued on Vinyl with only 1000 copies printed. The album is a self release gatefold with the lyrics on the inside. I was told they were a thrash band so I prepared myself for that horror when I sat down to listen to the album. Instead I found a project as opposed to an album with several of the tracks having a progressive feel. At best I would describe the thrash tracks as thrash lite. It is actually quite a bearable album and I admit that there are a couple really good tracks here. Remember I detest thrash so this is saying a lot. I was also delighted to hear a female vocalist on a “thrash” album. This is a fascinating project and I congratulate the band on a job well done. Again not my style but really this is a pretty good album.

Tracklist
1 – The Light Is Struck – 2:29
2 – Heavy And Loud – 4:37
3 – Sinner – 4:07
4 – Transmuter – 4:24
5 – Magician – 5:18
6 – Metallic Frenzy – 6:53
7 – Apocalypse Riders – 5:07
8 – Burn In Hell – 5:36
9 – The Darkness Splits – 0:39

Credits
Mick Johnson – Bass
Scott Cooper – Drums
Adam Johnson – Guitars
Craig Vine – Guitars
Cindy Greenwood – Vocals

Seventh Angel ‎– The Torment – 1990

This is the first album from Seventh Angel after 3 fairly popular demos. They signed with the UK’s Under One Flag but I think had some sort of deal to retain the masters. I say this because over the years this album has been re-issued on at least 9 other labels. I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve seen that before. Anyway Ian Arkley started the band up in late 1989 and the band quickly rose to be one of the top Thrash bands around. In fact this album was ranked #51 on the Top 100 Christian Metal Albums of All Time in 2010 by HM Magazine. If you’re into thrash this album will give you everything you want from a Thrash album. Normally all these varying styles would leave people questioning an album but not this one. It supplies everything thrash has to offer on one album including a nearly 10 minute track which is pretty rare in the Thrash genre.

Tracklist
1 – Tormented Forever – 4:18
2 – The Charmer – 7:16
3 – Forbidden Desires – 3:43
4 – I Of The Needle – 5:38
5 – Expletive Deleted – 3:23
6 – Dr. Hatchet – 6:04
7 – Locked Up In Chains – 5:07
8 – Acoustic Interlude – 0:39
9 – Katie – 9:41
10 – Epilogue – 1:48

Credits
Artwork – Rodney Matthews
Bass – Simon Bibby
Drums – Tank (7)
Guitar [Rhythm] – Scott A. Rawson
Producer, Engineer – Paul Hodson
Vocals, Guitar – Ian Arkley

Companies, etc.
Licensed From – Edge Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Edge Records
Copyright (c) – Edge Records
Glass Mastered At – MPO

Scarlet Rayne – Theater Humanitarian – 1990/2008

Scarlet Rayne was a late 80’s metal band out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They released a 3 track demo in the late 80’s but at this time we are unable to find a copy. The internet tells me that they actually turned down a record deal and instead chose to release this album independently. They released 1000 CD’s and 1500 Cassettes. Not big numbers but it must have been well received as they became quite popular. The internet also tells me that after some personnel changes they changed names to SolScape and recorded a second album but unfortunately the band split and never released the album. This album was reissued in 2008 by Arkeyn Steel Records with 4 bonus tracks. We have included those bonus tracks here. As for the album it’s a fairly commercial Metal sound but the vocals do stand out as being well above average for the time of the recording. Pretty good metal album here and if that’s your style of choice you should definitely give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Scarlet Rayne – 5:58
2 – Alpha & Omega – 4:41
3 – Tales Of The Lost – 4:31
4 – Covered Fear – 5:40
5 – C.F.C. – 4:40
6 – Sands Of Time – 6:50
7 – Through Eyes Of The Past – 6:51
8 – Midnight Excursion – 0:41
Bonus Tracks
9 – Razorback – 4:12
10 – Lost Meaning – 5:04
11 – Lions Den – 3:18
12 – How Now – 3:59

Credits
Artwork, Layout – Kostas Athanasoglou
Bass, Vocals, Guitar – Kyle David
Drums, Percussion – Crash
Guitar, Vocals, Bass – Danyl J.

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Arkeyn Steel Records
Copyright (c) – Arkeyn

1990 Release

2008 Release

Gideon’s Army – Grace – 1990

The third and last album from Gideon’s Army picks up where Warriors Of Love left off but it has a feel of maturity to it. At this point I think the band had settled into the style that they liked as there was some style fluttering in their first 2 releases. Unfortunately this was the last album from their band and I feel they were just hitting their stride. Darin Warren stepped in to replace Dave Angles on guitar and his sound fit in well with the band. I missed this band entirely in the 80’s and really wish I could have seen them live, I just get the feel that they were good live. Original copies of this release are apparently few and far between which suggests to me that it just didn’t sell well. Luckily it was re-released in 2015 by Retroactive Records so it’s easy to get a copy now.

Tracklist
1 – Knowing You – 3:45
2 – Lonely Lover – 4:20
3 – Christina – 4:45
4 – Grace – 5:21
5 – Make Up Your Mind – 3:10
6 – Open Arms – 4:23
7 – Tough Love – 3:24
8 – With The One I Love – 4:21
9 – Turn Up The Heat – 4:11
10 – Sending You – 4:08

Credits
Mark Greves – Lead Vocals & Bass
Darin Warren – Lead Guitar
Doug Naruo – Keyboards
Jerry Anderson – Drums & Lead Vocals
Brenda Perdue – vocals
Melody Lynn – vocals
Ron Davis – vocals
Dave Angeles – guitars on 7, 8, 10
Don Walker – drums on 7, 8, 10

Kreyson – Angel On The Run – 1990

Kreyson is a Czechoslovakia metal band started 1989 by Ladislav Křížek after he left Citron. The album was not released in North America so I have no idea how it became so popular here. Kreyson was popular in the Nordic countries as well as Czechoslovakia and actually went on to record 3 more albums in the 90’s They also reformed in the mid 2000’s and released 3 more albums. It is obvious they were very popular in their home country and I admit I had no idea there even was Christian music in Czechoslovakia. The album itself is a great metal album and I was really impressed with the quality of their work. The album has very good production but that’s not surprising as the producer is probably the top producer there was in Czechoslovakia. Eventually this album was released in more markets and today is available digitally. Thank goodness for that as this album deserves to be heard by everyone that likes this style of music.

Tracklist
1 – Kreyson – 4:05
2 – Skalp – 3:11
3 – Deep In The Night – 4:29
4 – No Blue Skies – 4:15
5 – Faraway – 4:22
6 – Angel On The Run – 3:07
7 – Dreamin’ – 3:59
8 – Golden Ark – 3:34
9 – Need You – 5:48
10 – Fade Out – 3:14

Credits
Arranged By – Jan Němec, Kreyson
Bass Guitar – Karel Adam
Co-producer – Rolf “Rock ‘N’ Rolf”
Drums – Robert Vondrovic
Engineer – Jan Němec
Guitar – Daniel Krob, Jaroslav Bartoň
Lead Vocals – Ladislav Křížek
Lyrics By – A. Winter
Lyrics By [Original Czech Lyrics] – J. Krůta (tracks: A5), L. Křížek
Music By – J. Bartoň (tracks: A5, B8, B10), L. Křížek
Performer – Kreyson
Producer – Jan Němec

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Tommü Records
Recorded At – Studio M
Mixed At – Studio M

Dana Key – The Journey – 1990

This is Dana’s first solo album. It follows Eddie DeGarmo’s solo album in 1988. DeGarmo & Key were still a group but apparently the guys felt the need to do a solo effort. I listened to Eddie’s album back to back with this one and I gotta say I think this one is better. Dana is a far better vocalist and I think his songwriting is better. Looking at other reviews I think most people preferred Eddie’s album but not me sorry. The real highlight of the album is a cover of Larry Norman’s “The Outlaw” which was also released on the Larry Norman tribute album “One Way (The Songs Of Larry Norman)” and actually singled at #15 on the CCM charts. The album had 2 other singles, Up From The Dead made it to #7 and Pray For Peace to #6. This is another album I really liked and there’s a few cuts here that might end up in my regular rotation.

Tracklist
1 – We Need A Savior – 3:57
2 – The Outlaw – 4:27
3 – Bow Down – 3:58
4 – Sister (It’s A Mean World) – 2:52
5 – Come To Me – 3:23
6 – Live In The Light – 3:09
7 – Prelude: Here, There Or In The Air – 0:35
8 – Pray For Peace – 3:42
9 – Kingdom Of Grace – 4:10
10 – The Death – 1:49
11 – Up From The Dead – 3:41
12 – Here, There Or In The Air – 4:12

Credits
Art Direction – Buddy Jackson
Design – B. Middleworth, Jackson Design
Engineer [Additional] – Billy Whittington (tracks: 11), Rusty McFarland (tracks: 6)
Executive-Producer – Dan R. Brock
Guitar, Lead Vocals – Dana Key
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Mixed By – John Hampton
Photography By – Ken Crenshaw
Producer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Ron W. Griffin

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Produced For – The ForeFront Communications Group, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – The ForeFront Communications Group, Inc.
Copyright (c) – The ForeFront Communications Group, Inc.
Published By – DKB Music
Published By – Straw Bed Music
Published By – Glenwood Music Corp.
Recorded At – OmniSound Studios
Recorded At – Crosstown Recorders
Recorded At – Ardent Studios
Mastered At – Mastermix