California Metal, the first of five compilation albums released by
Regency Records
Regency Records is a record label founded by Georgia record producer and TV/Radio syndicator Johnny Carter and North Georgia disc jockey Lamar Gravitt in 1965. Regency Records was originally a part of the C-R-Co (Cherokeeland Recording Company) ...
in the late eighties, was designed primarily to showcase the talents of the numerous unsigned Christian metal bands that had arrived on the scene following the success of
Stryper
Stryper is an American Christian metal and heavy metal music, heavy metal band from La Mirada, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass), and Robert Sweet (musician), ...
. ''California Metal'' was quickly followed by ''California Metal Volume II'' (1988), ''East Coast Metal'' (1988),
[http://www.metal-metropolis.com/various_artists.htm#ultimate] ''Underground Metal'' (1989) and ''Underground Metal 2'' (1989). As a bonus, another album released by Regency along the preceding metal line was ''Classic Metal'' (1990). As far as the title ''California Metal'' implies, all of the artists participating on the project come from the state and bring a variety of metal styles ranging from classic metal, melodic metal,
speed metal
Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...
and commercial
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
to it. What makes ''California Metal'' such a noteworthy release, nevertheless, is the fact it introduced several bands that in time would become household names in the growing
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...
, hard rock and metal music communities: "Gardian" (soon to correctly rename itself as "
Guardian
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...
"),
Deliverance
''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed and produced by John Boorman from a screenplay by James Dickey, who adapted it from his own Deliverance (novel), 1970 novel. It follows four businessmen from Atlanta who venture into th ...
and
Neon Cross. Other artists participating on the project include
Barren Cross
Barren Cross is an American Christian metal band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by high school friends Ray Parris (guitar) and Steve Whitaker (drums). The band released six albums from 1986 to 1994. They have reunited for a few shows in r ...
(who debuted the previous year with its
Star Song
Star Song Communications is a Christian record label that was started in 1976 by Wayne Donowho, who recruited his friend Darrell Harris. It gained notoriety when it issued Resurrection Band's ground breaking debut album, Awaiting Your Reply in 1 ...
release "Rock For The King") and
Mastedon
Mastedon is a Christian rock band formed by brothers Dino and John Elefante (former lead singer and songwriter of Kansas) in the mid-1980s. The band was formed mainly as a studio project and have released three full-length albums and two stand ...
which is the studio project of former
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
vocalist
John Elefante
John Elefante (born March 18, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. From 1981-1984, he was lead vocalist of the rock group Kansas and is currently touring with several groups that have featured members from clas ...
and his brother Dino. Hero was the only band appearing on the album not to go on and make a name for itself.
Leading up to the time of ''California Metal'', Guardian was still in its "space metal warriors" era (the album packaging includes a photo of the band decked out in full body armor). After its demo "Rock In Victory" song from the ''Rock In Victory'' EP (1984) led to the band signing with
Enigma Records
Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s.
History
Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/d ...
, Guardian finalized its line up with the addition of guitarist
Tony Palacios
Tony Palacios is the lead guitarist of the Christian hard rock band, Guardian. Palacios joined the band in 1986 and has remained with them since, releasing nine studio albums, including three in Spanish.
In 1998, Palacios released his first inst ...
and was only waiting for the schedule of producer
Oz Fox
Richard Alfonso Martinez (born June 18, 1961), better known by the stage name Oz Fox, is the lead guitarist of the Christian glam metal band Stryper. Martinez' high school friends called him ''Oz'' in honor of Ozzy Osbourne due to his ability to ...
(Stryper) to open up before recording its full-length debut
''First Watch'' (1989).
While Hero was the only band participating on the project not to eventually sign with a label and record a full-length album, a lack of talent does not hold the band back in that it features former
Holy Soldier
Holy Soldier was a Christian metal, Christian hard rock/glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. They released three studio albums.
History
The band was originally formed in early 1985 by bassist Andy Robbins and guitarist Jamie Cra ...
front man Robbie Braunz.
When the album production team of John and Dino Elefante ended up one track short, they decided to add a song written for Kansas in "Wasn't It Love" (originally entitled "What About Love") under the name Mastedon. Regency Records later requested a full-length album which became Mastedon's debut ''
It's a Jungle Out There!
''It's a Jungle Out There'' is the first album by Mastedon, the studio project formed by brothers John & Dino Elefante. It was released in 1989 on Regency Records, while they were setting up their own label "Pakaderm Records". Long out-of-pri ...
''.
Track listing
* Note: tracks 2 & 7 are available on the Guardian demo album "Voyager" (1982) as tracks 11 & 12 respectively.
* Note: track number 6 is also available on the Christian metal compilation "Classic Metal" (1990) as track number 1.
* Note: track number 6 is now available on the 2006 re-issue of the Mastedon album
"It's a Jungle Out there!" as well as on iTunes.
* Note: track number 2 is available on the Guardian album
First Watch (1989) on the compact disc version only. It's track number 12.
* Note: tracks 2 & 7 are available on the Guardian album "Kingdom of Rock 1982-1989" (1996) as tracks 8 & 7.
* Note: tracks 2 & 7 are available on the Guardian album "Voyager and Fusion: The Early Years'" (2001) as tracks 11 & 12.
* Note: tracks 2 & 7 are available in re-mastered form on the Guardian album "First Watch: 20th Anniversary Edition" (2009) as tracks 13 & 14.
External links
Warlord'' Site
References
{{Reflist
1987 compilation albums
Heavy metal compilation albums
Christian rock compilation albums