Tag: Bride

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

Bride – Show No Mercy – 1986

Bride were originally known as Matrix and actually recorded 4 demos using that name. They got their break when they were booked to open for Daniel Band in Pottstown, PA. Apparently there were executives from Refuge records at the show and they subsequently signed the band to their new metal sub label, Pure Metal records. The band went into the studio with a budget of $2500 and it shows. The album has a very thin production but fans if Bride cite this as one of the reasons they love this album. I’m actually a little surprised that Refuge didn’t throw some money at them and give them a producer. While I love Refuge they made some very questionable business decisions during their existence. The album is a little darker than their subsequent work that they were better known for. The real star of the album is Dale Thompson’s guitar work which is some of the best in the industry and we also got a little introduction to Dale’s excellent vocal abilities coming on subsequent albums.

Tracklist
1 – Evil That Men Do – 3:38
2 – Now He Is Gone – 3:50
3 – Fly Away – 4:12
4 – Forever In Darkness – 3:44
5 – Follow Your Heart – 4:29
6 – Show No Mercy – 3:37
7 – I Will Be With You – 4:29
8 – Thunder In The City – 5:53
9 – No Matter The Price – 4:19
10 – The First Will Be Last – 4:07

Credits
Bride – Producer, Arranger
Gary Barnes – Background Vocals
Howell Gano – Background Vocals
Scott Hall – Songwriter, Bass
Steve Osborne – Lead Guitar
David Pitt – Background Vocals
Stephan Rolland – Drums
Billy Sutherland – Guitar Special Effects, Voice Box
Dale Thompson – Vocals
Michelle Thompson – Background Vocals
Sharon Thompson – Background Vocals
Troy Thompson – Songwriter, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Piano, Violin
Eric Tripton – Lead Guitar

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Pure Metal
Copyright © – Pure Metal

Bride – Kinetic Faith – 1991

The fourth album from Bride marked a rather abrupt change in style. I was told this was yet another metal album. As I listened to it I thought this is a Rock album not metal. As I read around the internet of peoples impression of this album and I kept reading the same thing. Metal fans who admitted they were metal fans who loved this album. From this I have deducted that Bride pulled off something very hard to do. They transitioned from metal to rock without losing their fan base. The band was still mainly Dale and Troy Thompson but they brought on a new drummer and bass player. I don’t know if this was because of the style change or was part of the design of the style change. It’s no secret that I’m not a huge fan of metal but I love hard rock and I loved this album. To my huge surprise Bride actually received a Dove award for the track “Everybody Knows My Name”. Apparently there used to be a category called “Hard Music Recorded Song Of The Year, who knew. Obviously I never followed the Dove Awards.

Tracklist
1 – Troubled Times – 4:29
2 – Hired Gun – 4:29
3 – Ever Fallen In Love – 4:36
4 – Mountain – 4:12
5 – Ski Mask – 4:31
6 – Everybody Knows My Name – 4:23
7 – Young Love – 3:31
8 – Kiss The Train – 3:58
9 – Crimes Against Humanity – 4:06
10 – Sweet Louise – 4:42

Credits
Art Direction – Toni Thigpen
Band [Bride Is], Bass – Rick Foley
Band [Bride Is], Drums – Jerry McBroom
Band [Bride Is], Guitar, Mandolin, Acoustic Guitar – Troy Thompson
Band [Bride Is], Vocals, Backing Vocals – Dale Thompson
Executive-Producer – Dez Dickerson
Layout, Design – Tufts Design Studio
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar [Additional], Acoustic Guitar, Slide Guitar – Rob Johnson
Mastered By – Roger Seibel
Musical Assistance [Special Assistant] – Bobby Muldoon
Photography By – Russ Harrington
Producer [Produced By] – Steve Griffith
Recorded By, Mixed By – Steve Griffith

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Pure Metal
Copyright (c) – Pure Metal
Record Company – Star Song Communications
Produced For – Gaga Productions
Recorded At – The Goldmine, Franklin, TN
Mixed At – The Goldmine, Franklin, TN
Mastered At – SAE Mastering
Published By – Dawn Treader Music
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Matrix – Monkey See, Monkey Do – 1984

Before there was Bride there was Matrix. Matrix put a lot of effort into getting their music out regardless of a record deal. They actually produced 4 Demo’s before getting a record deal and this is #2 of those 4. This demo had a couple tracks that would later be released as Bride. I listened to both the demo and album versions of “Heroes”, and “All Hallow’s Eve” and I think I prefer the raw sound of the demo versions to be honest. All in all this is a very good sounding Demo and must have been a great prize to have at the time. Of course now it’s almost impossible to come by but luckily Bride re-released all their demo’s on CD in 2001.

1 – Heroes – 3:29
2 – Fright – 3:26
3 – Remember Me – 4:22
4 – Now You See Me (Now You Don’t) – 3:08
5 – All Hallow’s Eve – 2:37
6 – Slippin’ into the Light – 2:58
7 – We Are Going to Make It – 3:37
8 – Look at Me Now – 4:11
9 – He’s the Flyer – 3:42
10 – What Must I Do – 3:56

Bride – Silence Is Madness – 1989

Bride finished the 80’s with an album that was very well received. It definitely toned down the thrash metal sound that most fans had grown use to and started to lean more towards an arena rock sound. That said this is a Metal album and you’ll realize that right away on the first track. That said “Until The End We Rock” is more of an arena rock tune and my pick for a single. The album does have a bit of an oddball track being “Rock Those Blues Away”. Best described as Glenn Kaiser meets Darrell Mansfield it’ll kind of surprise you as you finish off the album. All in all a good offering from Bride and is probably one of my preferred albums from them.

Tracklist
1 – Fool Me Once – 3:58
2 – Hot Down South – 3:09
3 – Silence Is Madness – 5:18
4 – Until The End We Rock – 3:23
5 – Evil Dreams – 4:05
6 – Under The Influence – 4:05
7 – All Hallow’s Eve – 5:12
8 – No More Nightmares – 4:14
9 – Rock Those Blues Away – 5:38

Credits
Bass – Frank Partipilo
Cover – Swartzentruber
Drums – Stephan Rolland
Engineer – Alan Dussel
Guitar, Music By – Troy Thompson
Keyboards, Producer – Armand John Petri
Lead Guitar – Rob Johnson (6) (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 8), Troy Thompson (tracks: 4, 6, 7, 9)
Lyrics By – Dale Thompson, Sharon (tracks: 3, 7), Troy Thompson (tracks: 6)
Music By – Frank Partipilo (tracks: 1, 5, 8)
Photography By – Ken Cavanaugh
Vocals – Dale Thompson
Vocals [Background] – Max Maxwell (tracks: 4 to 7)

Companies, etc.
Produced At – Funhouse Recording Studio
Produced At – Trackmaster Audio
Distributed By – Spectra Distribution
Distributed By – Mainroads Music Group
Copyright (c) – Tower Of Refuge
Copyright (c) – Zalena Photography

Bride – Live To Die – 1988

This is the 2nd album from Bride and is generally thought of as their best album. It has a more polished production sound which is typical of a bands second album.

There is a touch of trash / speed metal on this album but for the main part is standard heavy metal. The track Hell No is generally known as the album single.

Track Listing:
1 – Metal Might – 3:33
2 – Hell No – 3:50
3 – In The Dark – 4:08
4 – Out For Blood – 2:56
5 – Live To Die – 2:52
6 – Fire And Brimstone – 4:25
7 – Whiskey Seed – 3:39
8 – Here Comes The Bride – 2:26
9 – Heroes – 7:10

Credits:
Bass – Frank Partipilo
Design, Layout – Jeff Spencer
Drums – Stephan Rolland
Executive Producer – Gavin Morkel
Guitar – Steve Osborne, Troy Thompson
Producer, Engineer – John Petri
Vocals – Dale Thompson

Various – The Axemen – 1988

This is a 1988 sampler from Pure Metal Records (a division of Refuge Music Group). It features some of the best heavy metal bands of the late 80’s.

Track Listing:
1 – Whitecross – Shakedown – 4:13
2 – Bride – Hell No – 3:50
3 – Saint – Returning – 4:45
4 – Force 3 – Warrior Of Light – 5:32
5 – Lightforce – Babylon – 6:54
6 – Jerusalem – Covered By Blood – 3:34
7 – The Daniel Band – Party In Heaven – 2:57
8 – Rosanna’s Raiders – Serve Someone – 4:04
9 – Novella – Running Home – 4:49
10 – Scarlet Red – You Live Fast – 4:46
11 – Bjorn Stigsson – Come Together – 2:59