Tag: 1990

Haven – Your Dying Day – 1990

This was the introductory album from New Jersey metal band Haven. Released in 1990 you might have missed it in the flood of Metal albums coming out at this time but this one did have some differences. It is more of a white metal album with no keyboards confusing the sound. You certainly won’t mistake this for the glam style metal albums of the time. This is in fact a straight up metal band that relies on great guitar riffs and solid time keeping drums. The vocals are not that high pitch screaming but instead a more middle of the range quality feel. Again this is not my style of music but I can hear the quality here. These guys definitely knew what they were doing. My only complaint is the mix, it just really could have used some more range but instead feels compressed at times. That said you should definitely give this album listen if you missed it at the time. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Tracklist
1 – On Judgement Day – 5:22
2 – Deliver Me – 4:47
3 – Murder – 4:48
4 – Below The Grave – 2:49
5 – The Calling – 5:36
6 – America – 4:38
7 – Escape – 4:34
8 – Help Me Follow – 3:23
9 – I Found Love – 5:35
10 – Your Dying Day – 5:37

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Andrew Bruner
Artwork – Sudden Images
Backing Vocals – Kevin Ayers
Drums – Tim Benton
Electric Bass – Ed Bruner
Electric Guitar – Andrew Bruner
Electric Guitar, Rhythm Guitar – Kevin Ayers
Lead Vocals – Kevin Ayers
Photography By – Mike Ayers
Producer – Doug Mann, Paul Krueger
Songwriter – Haven

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Morningstar Studios
Distributed By – Spectra Distribution, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – R.E.X. Music Inc.
Copyright (c) – R.E.X. Music Inc.
Glass Mastered At – DADC – DIDX-008265

Toni Rossi – Love In The City – 1990

After the dissolution of Daniel Band Guitarist/Vocalist Toni Rossi did a couple of solo projects. This is the first of those 2 projects. If you like Daniel Band you should like this album. It has a Hard Rock sound and is not that far a departure from Daniel Band. It does have a blues feel in places which Rossi does extremely well. It appears that Rossi put together an entirely new band for this project as no members of Daniel Band are credited as contributing to the album. The album was partly produced by Wolf Hassel who Canadians might be familiar with as he was in Sheriff and Frozen Ghost. I can’t find any other connection of him to Christian music so this was probably more of a professional arrangement. Toni did do one more album after this one using the moniker “TRB” (Toni Rossi Band).

Tracklist
1 – Down Where The Love Grows – 3:55
2 – Sooner Or Later – 5:03
3 – Ain’t Nobody Gonna – 4:00
4 – Not What It Seems – 3:24
5 – Love In The City – 5:37
6 – Candles – 0:48
7 – Higher – 4:53
8 – I.C.Y. – 4:38
9 – Love Followed Me Home – 4:23
10 – One Way Inn – 4:11
11 – Dry The Tears – 4:38

Credits
Toni Rossi – Vocals, Guitars, Backing vocals
Frank Catrambone – Drums
Lynn Fuhr – Backing Vocals
David Graham – Keyboards, Backing vocals
John Hughes – Drums
Wayne Morgan – Bass, Backing vocals
Sam Sundarsingh – Backing vocals
Steven Jones – Cover Design, Illustrations
Michael Sarracini – Engineer, Producer
Wolf D. Hassel – Producer

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Spectra Distribution
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Refuge Records
Copyright (c) – Refuge Records

Crossection – Breaking Ground – 1990

The Rawling brothers are back with their second and last album as “Crossection”. It’s even better than their first album and I think if this album had been published closer to 1985 these guys would have been known to everyone who listened to CCM music. Unfortunately they were just a little late and as such they never received the credit they should have. This is a fantastic Pop Rock album with hints of Nightranger and Bon Jovi. It is not metal though you will read that in a few spots on the internet. I have no idea what album those people were listening to but it’s not any of the 3 Crossection albums I have listened to. The brothers did go on to do one more CCM album after this one using the moniker “Doug Rawling And The Fourth Watch”. Of course if your Canadian you’re probably well aware of their country music work up until this day. So if you missed this one in 1990 take a bit of time and give it a listen, you will not be disappointed.

Tracklist
1 – River’s Edge – 4:13
2 – Give It A Rest – 4:13
3 – Too Much Sadness – 4:28
4 – Touch The Sky – 4:30
5 – Fork In The Road – 5:08
6 – Where You Go – 5:14
7 – High And Dry – 3:12
8 – Tears For The Taking – 4:42
9 – I’m Missing You – 4:12
10 – Against The Grain – 6:11

Credits
Dale Johnson – Keyboards, Vocals
Nevin Eggum – lead & rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Douglas Rawling – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Bruce Rawling – bass, acoustic guitar, lead vocals
Martin Zinger – drums, vocals

Companies, etc.
Manufactured For – Image 7 Music, Vancouver
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Image 7 Music Inc.
Copyright (c) – Image 7 Music Inc.

Guardian – Fire And Love – 1990

This is the second album from Guardian. There were a few personnel changes with Jamie Rowe coming in on vocals and Karl Ney on drums. Jamie Rowe had been with Tempest and was a great fit with Guardian. Though this album is often called a metal album I disagree. To me it’s more Hard Rock but I admit does have a few metal “moments”. Often it’s compared to Bon Jovi but again I don’t really agree. It really does have it’s own sound but I more often hear Def Leopard than Bon Jovi. Further enhancing this album is the fact that John & Dino Elefante were involved in the project with John helping with Songwriting and Keyboards. Both brothers engineered and produced the album. There was a music video produced for “Power Of Love” but no one seems to know if MTV ever played it. Guardian definitely turned it up a notch for this album and it definitely deserves a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Power Of Love – 4:33
2 – Send A Message – 4:00
3 – Time Stands Still – 4:26
4 – Forever And A Day – 5:11
5 – Takin’ On The World – 3:52
6 – Fire And Love – 3:25
7 – Turnaround – 4:18
8 – Time And Time Again – 4:52
9 – The Rain – 5:31
10 – Never Say Goodbye – 5:06

Credits
Accordion – Glen Hirami
Art Direction, Design – Terry DeGraff
Backing Vocals – Max Alpha, Dino, Jamie, John, Tony
Bass – David Bach
Cover [Consultant] – Sandra Ney
Drums – David Raven, Karl Ney
Engineer – Dino Elefante, Jeff Simmons, John Elefante, Mike Mierau
Guitar – Tony Palacios
Keyboards – John Elefante
Lead Vocals – Jamie Rowe
Mixed By – Dino Elefante, Mike Mierau
Mixed By [Assisted By] – Gil Griffith
Pedal Steel Guitar – Ron Eglit
Photography By – Jeff Jones
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Vocals – David Bach, Karl Ney, Tony Palacios

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Pakaderm Records
Copyright (c) – Pakaderm Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Pressed By – Denon Digital Industries
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mastered At – Precision Mastering

Deliverance – Weapons Of Our Warfare – 1990

For their second album Deliverance turned up the thrash to 10. Upon reading reviews of this album it seems like this album is loved by the people who love this genre. A few even said this may be the best Christian trash album ever. Obviously I can’t really comment on this as I don’t like thrash and to me it all sounds the same. I did find the track “23” quite interesting as it makes a reference to Psalm 23. I just can’t get used to thrash metal making a reference to a Psalm. Anyway while I may not care for the album I can tell that it is a good album judging from the reviews. It’s history of re-releases, 2008, 2014, and twice in 2017 is a further testament to it’s popularity. So if you’re a metal head with a love of thrash this obviously is the album for you.

Tracklist
1 – Supplication – 1:48
2 – This Present Darkness – 2:47
3 – Weapons Of Our Warfare – 4:25
4 – Solitude – 6:05
5 – Flesh And Blood – 7:27
6 – Bought By Blood – 3:17
7 – 23 – 5:49
8 – Slay The Wicked – 4:03
9 – Greetings Of Death – 2:49
10 – If We Faint Not – 4:25

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Band [Deliverance Is], Bass – Brian Khairullah
Band [Deliverance Is], Drums – Chris Hyde
Band [Deliverance Is], Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – George Ochoa
Band [Deliverance Is], Vocals [All Vocals], Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar – Jimmy P. Brown II
Co-producer [Co-produced By] – Jimmy P. Brown II
Design Concept [Cover Concept By] – Jimmy P. Brown II
Engineer [2nd Engineer] – Brian “Missing” Person
Engineer, Producer [Production Assistant] – Eric “Homefilth” Kibbe
Illustration [Cover Illustration By] – Joe Yakovetic
Layout – Joe Potter
Mixed By – Bill Metoyer
Photography By – Douglas Cloutier
Producer [Produced By] – George Ochoa

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Intense Records
Copyright (c) – Intense Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Published By – Broken Songs
Published By – Carlotta Publishing
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Adam Again – Homeboys – 1990

When a band with only five studio releases is able to have four placed on a list like this, it says something about the band that is beyond impressive. And the thing is, I am not a huge Adam Again fan stylistically, but utterly recognize the Gene Eugene Andrusco and crew created some of the most impressive music ever recorded over that very short five album career. And I don’t just mean the most impressive music ever recorded in CCM…but anywhere! The title track kicks off things with such an unforgettable groove and some impressive and memorable lyrics. Eugene’s is master storyteller here and anyone who remembers their youth and childhood will find something here to reflect upon. The loss of friendship and innocence is difficult and real. Obviously raised with a love for blues, R&B and cool funk/soul, Eugene was able to capture those grooves and place them firmly into the heart of alternative music. Often compared vocally to Michael Stipe and, in the early days, musically to The Talking Heads, on Homeboys there is more jazz, funk and heavier rock influences than either of those comparisons. Very few bands with the above comparisons and influences would be able to create a song like “Hide Away.” Mellow without ever being soft there is something more Van Morrison like here and it is utterly brilliant with a perfectly included violin accompaniment. The vocal passion in the album’s closer, No Regrets, again points to why this band was so amazing. Eugene and then wife, Riki Michelle, join forces here to bring the message home. The most auto-biographical record for Eugene, Homeboys is a classic along with two more that will follow.

Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – Homeboys – 3:41
2 – The Fine Line – 4:32
3 – Hide Away – 2:51
4 – Bad News On The Radio – 3:52
5 – Inner City Blues – 5:44
6 – Dance Around In Circles – 2:39
7 – This Band Is Our House – 5:56
8 – Save Me – 4:11
9 – Occam’s Razor – 3:35
10 – No Regrets – 5:24

Credits
Art Direction, Layout, Photography By – Bruce Heavin
Assemblage [Assembled By] – Dave Collins
Bass – Paul Valadex
Drums – Jon Knox
Engineer [Additional] – Greg Lawless, Ojo Taylor, Paul Valadez, Super C
Keyboards – James Werning
Lead Guitar – Greg Lawless
Mixed By – G. Eugene
Mixed By [With] – Greg Lawless (tracks: 1, 2, 5 to 10), Jeff Simmons (tracks: 3, 4), Paul Valadez (tracks: 1, 2, 5 to 10)
Producer [Produced By] – Gene Eugene
Recorded By – G. Eugene
Saxophone – Dan Michaels
Vocals – Riki Michele
Vocals, Guitar, Electric Piano [Rhodes], Organ [B-3] – G. Eugene
Voice [Preaching] – Rev. Howard Finster, Man Of Visions

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Brainstorm Artists International
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – The Mixing Lab
Recorded At – Neverland
Recorded At – Winetree Recording
Recorded At – Pakaderm West Studios
Mixed At – The Mixing Lab
Mixed At – Pakaderm Studios
Engineered At – Icehouse, Upland, CA
Engineered At – A&M Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering
Published By – Chenka, Chenka Music
Published By – Jobete Music
Manufactured By – JVC

Holy Soldier – Holy Soldier – 1990

Holy soldier formed in the 80’s by bassist Andy Robbins and guitarist Jamie Cramer and they quickly gained popularity in their hometown of Los Angeles. They commonly played secular outlets but maintained an evangelical message. In 1988 they released a demo and it was very popular in both secular and Christian circles. They were subsequently signed to some sort of deal between Word (Myrrh) and A&M Records. I’m not sure but I think they may have been the first Metal band sign by Word but admittedly I could be wrong. The album did really well in Christian circles and actually had some moderate success with secular audiences. The album achieved two Dove Awards in the hard rock song and album of the year categories. Point of trivia of the album is that is was produced by Bloodgood guitarist David Zaffiro and he did a great job. The album has a polished commercial sound and was as good as anything published at the time in the secular Metal genre.

Tracklist
1 – Stranger – 3:25
2 – See No Evil – 5:28
3 – The Pain Inside Of Me – 6:35
4 – Cry Out For Love – 3:28
5 – Tear Down The Walls – 3:58
6 – When The Reign Comes Down – 5:17
7 – Lies – 4:58
8 – Eyes Of Innocence – 3:55
9 – Love Me – 4:15
10 – We Are Young, We Are Strong – 5:15

Credits
A&R [A&R Direction] – Mark Maxwell
Art Direction – Laurie M. Fink
Art Direction, Design – F2 Design
Backing Vocals – Andy, Jamie, Michael, Steven, Terry
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Charles Meserole, Donna Rood, Donny Russell, Evelyn Watson, Marc Anthony, Michael Plissner, Sherie Hopper, Vanessa Beckrum
Band, Bass – Andy Robbins
Band, Drums – Terry “The Animal” Russel
Band, Guitar [Guitars] – Jamie Cramer, Michael Cutting
Band, Lead Vocals – Steven Patrick
Bass [Bass Overdubs] – Jerry Watts (tracks: 3)
Coordinator [Artwork Coordination] – Roz
Edited By [Digital Editing By] – Daniel Hersch
Effects [Keyboard Effects] – Charles Meserole
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Bobby Salcedo, Dave Hackbarth
Engineer [Drun Track Engineer] – John Hanlon
Engineer [Overdub Engineer] – Charles Meserole
Engineer [Second Engineer] – Brian Herbert, Chuck Rodriguez, Jeff Piergeorge
Management [Managed By] – Daryn Hinton
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Mixed By – Joe Chiccarelli
Photography By [CD Portrait Photos (b/w)] – Aaron Rapoport
Photography By [Front Cover Photograph] – John Scarpati
Photography By [Live Photograph of Steven Patrick] – Perry Cooper
Photography By [Live Photographs] – Nigel Skeet
Producer [Produced By] – David Zaffiro
Technician [Drums By] – Ross Garfield

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Produced For – Zaffiro Productions
Published By – Most Triumphant Music
Published By – Dayspring
Published By – Barkloid Music
Published By – Word Music
Recorded At – Wayne Cook Studios
Recorded At – Neverland Studios
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mixed At – Master Control, Burbank
Edited At – DigiPrep
Mastered At – Masterdisk

Eternal Ryte – World Requiem – 1990

This is Eternal Ryte’s one and only on label album. They were yet another band out of the late 80’s California metal scene. They are known for doing the circuit of Secular bars that was considered trendy for Christian Metal bands at the end of the 80’s. As for the album it’s a pretty good metal album but is a little over produced in my opinion but you can still hear the skills of the band. Bobby Smith’s guitar stands out to me and also I found the writing to be a step up from most metal bands of the era. Unfortunately when Pure Metal was sold to Star Song Eternal Ryte is one of the bands that was released so we have to enjoy this album as other than their demo’s it is all we would get. Unfortunately the album is a little difficult to come by these days so it demands a bit of a premium.

Tracklist
1 – Tightrope Dancer – 3:53
2 – Requiem – 4:37
3 – Someone To Love – 4:42
4 – Say Hello – 4:20
5 – The Killer – 4:48
6 – Surrender – 3:07
7 – On The Line – 4:02
8 – You And Me – 3:42
9 – The King – 5:02
10 – No More Lies 5:15

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Fred Gustafsson
Percussion – Scott “Smash!” Earnest
Written-By, Guitar – Bobby Smith (27)
Written-By, Lead Vocals – Phil St. Vincent

Mastedon – Lofcaudio – 1990

Brothers Dino and John Elefante returned with the other members of Mastedon to give us their second album in 1990. It was released on their own brand new label, Pakaderm Records. I’m a little unclear on their fascination with the elephant species but it’s kind of cute. The album actually has 4 lead vocalists, Dave Amato, Tom Bowes, John Elefante, and Dean Longacre. I don’t think I’ve seen 4 lead vocalists on an album before. As for the album it is somewhere in between metal and rock but I think it leans more metal so I’m categorizing it that way. You can actually hear Dino and John’s Kansas influence on a few tracks which is a nice bit of throwback.

Tracklist
1 – Holiest One – 4:50
2 – Life On The Line – 4:25
3 – Run To The Water – 4:30
4 – When It All Comes Down – 4:30
5 – Taken Down Below – 4:33
6 – Stampede – 2:27
7 – Living For You – 4:16
8 – Thief In The Night – 2:47
9 – People Of This Time – 4:54
10 – It Is Done – 3:43

Credits
Arranged By – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Backing Vocals – Bob Carlisle, Dave Amato, John Elefante
Bass – Dino Elefante, John Pierce
Cover, Design, Illustration, Layout – Robert Fischer
Drums – David Raven, Mac Jack, Phil Rowland
Engineer – John Elefante, Mike Mireau
Engineer [Additional] – Jeff Simmons
Guitar – Dave Amato, Dino Elefante, Michael Thompson, Steph Burns, Tony Palacios
Keyboards – John Andrew Schreiner, John Elefante
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Vocals – Dave Amato, Dean Longacre, John Elefante, Tom Bowes

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Mastered At – Masterdisk
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios

Angelica – Walkin’ In Faith – 1990

The second album from Angelica was very well received. Surfing around the Internet I found many glowing reviews. When I listened to the album I found it to be excellent. This album was easily as good as anything on the radio in the late 80’s. The lineup for this album did change up a bit with vocals now handled by Jerome Mazza. Quite frankly he nailed this album, actually the whole band did. The production is excellent which kind of surprised me as it was produced by band member Dennis Cameron. In my opinion when bands self produce their album it has a good chance of being a disaster but occasionally an album proves me wrong and this is one of those albums. Cameron produced, mixed, played guitar, played drums, and provided background vocals. This is quite the workload. Anyway this is a great Metal album with a couple tunes that lean more Hard Rock. Not my preferred style of music I admit but I quite liked this album.

1 – Walkin’ In Faith – 4:42
2 – Hold On – 4:28
3 – All I Can Do – 4:50
4 – Soul Search – 4:13
5 – Time And Time Again – 4:14
6 – Sing And Shout – 4:25
7 – Set Me Free – 4:35
8 – Not Too Late – 5:20
9 – Bring Into Being – 4:41
10 – Harvest – 3:24

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Robert Pallen
Co-producer – Daryl Wicker
Engineer – Daryl Wicker
Guitar, Drum Programming, Backing Vocals – Dennis Cameron
Illustration [Cover] – Jeff Foster
Keyboards – Daryl Wicker (tracks: A2 to A4, B1 to B5), Dennis Cameron (tracks: A1, A5)
Layout – Joe Potter
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Jerome Mazza
Mastered By – John Matousek
Mixed By – Daryl Wicker, Dennis Cameron, Scott Seehower
Producer – Dennis Cameron
Written-By, Composed By, Arranged By – Dennis Cameron

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Intense Records
Copyright (c) – Intense Records
Distributed By – Word (UK) Ltd.
Recorded At – GCC Production House
Mastered At – Soundworks West