The Lead – Real 80s CCM

Various – East Coast Metal – 1988

This 1988 Regency Records sampler featured some of the best East Coast Metal bands of the time and some very exclusive tunes. There are a few unreleased tracks and other than that I have listed below where you can find the albums with the songs.

Tracklist
1 – Apostle – The Sword – On the 1988 Demo “Hymns”
2 – Rage Of Angels – Reason To Rock – On the 1989 Album “Rage Of Angels”
3 – Arsenal – Message Of Love – Unreleased
4 – The Lead – Tunnel Vision – On the 1987 Album “The Past Behind”
5 – Taker – Yesterday, Today & Forever – On the 1987 Demo “Mat. 11:12”
6 – Second Chance – The Blazing Wasteland – On the 1988 Demo “The Blazing Wasteland”
7 – Arsenal – Stand Strong – Unreleased
8 – Believer – The Chosen – Unreleased until “Extraction From Mortality” in 2001
9 – Taker – Living By Faith – On the 1987 Demo “Mat. 11:12”

The Visitors – Death Of A Gunfighter – 1983

Before The Lead there was The Visitors. They self produced this 7″ in 1983. It highlights their punk roots and quite frankly I wish they would have kept this style as they were good at it and quite frankly CCM needed this style right at this time. But alas they would do punk for a few more years and then switch to thrash. But it’s fun to hear where they came from.

Tracklist
A – Death Of A Gunfighter – 4:06
B – I’ll Never Know – 2:38

Credits
Written-By – Julio Rey
Vocals, Bass – Peter Lopez
Vocals, Guitar – Julio Rey
Drums – Juan Carlos

The Lead – The Lead – 1985

This self released 7″ with 4 tracks is the initial release from “The Lead”. By keeping the songs short they actually fit 4 tracks on it. # of the tracks are good quality punk tracks and 1 track leans towards the thrash metal that they would be better known for. In my opinion their punk is much better than their Thrash but they decided they wanted to go the Thrash route. I also think Nina Llopis vocals were better than Julio Rey’s but in the end we would hear more of Julio than Nina. I really don’t care for their later work but I will admit I really liked this 7″ release.

Tracklist
1 – It’s Thru You – 1:40
2 – Better Off – 2:02
3 – Get Out Of My Face – 1:42
4 – Question What Authority? – 2:04

Credits
Drums, Percussion – Robbie Christie
Guitar, Vocals – Julio Rey
Mastered By – Mike Fuller
Producer, Engineer – Mike McNamee
Producer, Graphics – The Lead
Vocals, Bass – Nina Llopis

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Sync Studios
Mastered At – Criteria Recording Studios

The Lead – Automoloch – 1986

This demo from The Lead was released in 1986. From what I read the band had been together at this point for 2 years and this demo was released as well as the “Return Fire” demo in 1986 but I don’t know which demo came out first. I’ve read several reviews that the band started as a punk band and transitioned to Thrash Metal. This album is pretty early in their career and I don’t hear much punk, I think at this point they were strictly a thrash metal band. That said, my definitions of musical styles may not be yours. The interesting track on the album is a cover of Rez Band’s “Alienated”. It’s actually a pretty good cover and I was pleasantly surprised.

Tracklist
1 – No One’s an Atheist – 3:04
2 – XB – 3:07
3 – Sick Of This – 4:20
4 – You Don’t Need Him – 3:33
5 – Calling Out To You – 2:12
6 – Alienated – 1:46

Credits
Julio Rey – vocals, guitar
Robbie Christie – drums, vocals
Nina Llopis – bass, vocals

The Lead – The Past Behind – 1987

The Past Behind is a thrash album by the metal band The Lead that was released in 1987.

Strangely they re-recorded the album and released it on R.E.X. Records with a new cover in 1988. As I have no knowledge of Thrash Metal I have no idea if this is a good album or not.

Track Listing:
1 – Abomination – 1:58
2 – National Pride – 0:40
3 – He Won’t Take A Joke – 3:26
4 – No Religion – 2:04
5 – Old Warrior – 1:16
6 – Tunnel Vision – 4:45
7 – Puritan – 0:12
8 – Jesus Became Sin – 2:07

Credits:
Backing Vocals – Ivan Zyklon Gripweed
Drums, Vocals – Robbie Christie
Executive-Producer – Doug Mann
Guitar, Vocals – Julio Rey
Photography By – Leyla Arner
Producer, Engineer, Backing Vocals – Mike McNamee
Vocals, Bass – Nina Llopis
Written-By – Julio Rey