Tag: Ransom

Ransom – Soul Asylum – 1992

This is the second and unfortunately last album from Ransom. The album leans a little more Rock and a little less Metal than their first release but it should satisfy fans of both genres. I’m more Rock oriented and I love this album. Lisa Faxon’s vocals shine again and are even better than their first release. Producer Lanny Cordola stepped in for this album and though he didn’t have many productions under his belt at this point he knocked it out of the park with this one. It is a very very well produced album. The last track is rather odd in that it’s a blues tune that doesn’t fit with the rest of the album BUT it features Oz Fox (Stryper) so it is a must listen. I’d love to hear the story of how that arrangement occurred. Anyway this is a great Rock album and deserves to be listened to.

Tracklist
1 – Soul Hymn – 4:29
2 – Exit (Euthanasia) – 4:35
3 – Windows Of My Heart – 4:22
4 – The Lies – 3:20
5 – Prayer Asylum – 4:37
6 – Only The Just Let Go – 4:12
7 – Not That Kind Of Girl – 4:19
8 – Watching Over Me – 4:42
9 – Higher Ground – 4:13
10 – Sister Blue – 4:16

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Bass – Michael Preciado
Co-producer, Engineer – Mike Mierau
Drums [Additional Musicians], Percussion [Additional Musicians] – Joe Calletta
Guitar – Tony Ortiz
Illustration [Original Illustration] – Kevin Short (2)
Keyboards [Additional Musicians] – Roger Mielke
Layout – Brian Godawa
Mastered By – John Matousek
Other [Hair And Make-Up] – Dawn Gill
Photography – Wayne Armstrong
Producer – Lanny Cordola
Vocals – Lisa Faxon

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Mixing Lab A
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Mixed At – Front Page Recording
Mastered At – Soundworks West

Ransom – Ransom – 1991

Ransom was started in the mid-eighties as First Aid by bassist Michael Ciado and vocalist Lisa Faxon. The band changed names and produced a 3 song demo in 1988 as Ransom. Shortly after that Intense Records signed them and this is the result. Ransom was one of the few Christian metal bands with a female singer so they stood out on that front. The album has a strong commercial metal sound and is actually quite heavy with ballads which was odd in this genre at the time. I believe that generally ballads were put on albums because that’s what you’re supposed to do. Ransom however actually seemed to like ballads and put more effort into them. As for the album it’s very well produced and all the instrumentation is really good. Songwriting is a little weak at times but this is a first album so that’s not uncommon. Personally I rank it a little better than most reviews of the time but I have always preferred my metal with a commercial slant. The album was re-mastered and re-issued on Intense Millennium Records in 2011 and they included the 3 tracks from their demo as a bonus. I have read that the drummer listed as Randy Kantor was actually Joseph Galletta from Shout but I can’t actually confirm this and there’s some confusion on the issue on different web sites.

Tracklist
1 – Lasting Love – 4:26
2 – Rumors – 4:22
3 – Memories Of You – 3:18
4 – Fool That I Am – 4:26
5 – Break Into Darkness – 3:01
6 – Tonight – 4:17
7 – Etched In Stone – 3:42
8 – Fallen Angel – 5:07
9 – Your Broken Heart – 3:56
10 – I’ll Never Leave You – 4:31
11 – When I Die – 2:44

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Ed Mctaggart
Backing Vocals [Additional] – J.J. Honeycutt, Michael Jolly, Steve Manning
Backing Vocals [Additional], Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Doug Beiden
Backing Vocals [Additional], Keyboards [Additional] – Jim Morris
Bass, Backing Vocals – Michael Ciado
Drums – Randy Kantor
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Tony Ortiz
Keyboards – Brent Jeffers (tracks: 6)
Mastered By – John Matousek
Photography By – Michael Seeley
Producer, Engineer, Keyboards [Additional Musician] – Jim Morris
Technician [Technical Director] – Tracy Henry
Vocals, Backing Vocals – Lisa Faxon

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Intense Records (10)
Copyright (c) – Intense Records (10)
Recorded At – Mixing Lab A
Mixed At – Mixing Lab A
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Mixed At – Mixing Lab B
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia
Mastered At – Soundworks West

Various – California Metal Volume II – 1988

This 1988 Regency Records sampler featured some of the best California Metal bands of the time and some very exclusive tunes. I have listed below where you can find the albums with the songs. Note that the CD and the cassette have one more track than the vinyl version.

Tracklist
1 – Vision – Runaway – Unreleased
2 – Emerald – Traitor – Unreleased until 2001 then bonus track on Armed For Battle re-release CD
3 – Recon – Light The Fire – Only released on a 1989 Demo
4 – Soldier – Borderline – On 1988 album Babylon
5 – Judea – Heart Of Stone – Unreleased Band
6 – Mastedon – Get Up – On 1989 album It’s A Jungle Out There
7 – Ransom – Sin Killer – Unreleased
8 – Emerald – Born To Die – Unreleased until 2001 then bonus track on Armed For Battle re-release CD
9 – Judea – Knock – Unreleased Band
10 – Soldier – Tears – Unreleased until 2002 then bonus track on The Definitive Collection 1985-1989 CD
11 – Recon – Dreams – On 1990 album Behind Enemy Lines

Tracklist
1 – Vision – Runaway – 4:56
2 – Emerald – Traitor – 2:39
3 – Recon – Light The Fire – 3:25
4 – Soldier – Borderline – 3:33
5 – Judea – Heart Of Stone – 4:32
6 – Mastedon – Get Up – 3:58
7 – Ransom – Sin Killer – 4:34
8 – Emerald – Born To Die – 4:17
9 – Judea – Knock – 4:24
10 – Soldier – Tears – 3:57
11 – Recon – Dreams – 4:59