Musical Style: Varies	Produced By: The Pakaderm Company with Bob Beeman
Record Label: Regency	Country Of Origin: USA
Year Released: 1987	Artist Website:
Tracks: 10	Rating: No Quote
Running Time: 39:18

California Metal ranks among the better Christian metal compilation albums.  The first of five such late eighties releases on Regency Records intended as a showcase for the numerous unsigned Christian bands of the time, California Metal as its namesake implies features bands exclusive to the state in question encompassing styles ranging from classic metal to melodic metal to speed metal to melodic hard rock.  Helping make California Metal such a notable release is from introducing several bands that went on to be household names in the burgeoning eighties Christian hard music scene: Gardian (soon to correctly change its name to Guardian), Deliverance, Neon Cross and Mastedon.  Others include Barren Cross, releasing its debut full length Rock For The King on Star Song records in 1986, and Hero, lone act not to sign with a label.

Please note that California Metal does not represent a hodgepodge amalgamating of thin and poorly recorded demos.  Rather, Regency wisely brought each band into the studio to record its material specifically for the project.  Results speak for themselves in that while not essential to significant amounts of big budget polish, production presents with a crisp, clean and lucid sound.

Barren Cross gets things going with the traditional metal of scorching new track “Deadlock”, which exhibits the potential leading to it signing with mainstream label Enigma Records.  A second version to “Deadlock” from Barren Cross 1988 Enigma debut Atomic Arena is also be good but suffers from a bit too much production polish for my taste.  In my opinion the rawer California Metal rendering does the better job capturing Barren Cross at its high-energy best.  Barren Cross closed its Enigma tenure with 1989 third full length offering State Of Control.

Gardian ensues with first of its two melodic metal numbers “Marching On”.  At time of California Metal, Gardian was still in its ‘space metal warriors’ stage, noting the CD booklet photo of the group in full body armor.  The song traces to 1987 custom cassette demo Rock In Victory that played a role in Gardian also signing with Enigma.  I prefer the California Metal version to “Marching On” (as opposed to that on 1989 Enigma debut First Watch) from featuring the smoother vocal performance from front man Paul Cawley.  Either way, it is home to a fantastic shred guitar solo from Tony Palacios.

Second song “Spiritual Warfare” (later in the track listing) finds Gardian at the height of its ‘space metal warrior’ prowess with ethereal guitars, spacey keyboards and distorted sound effects.  It is more than a worthy album track, noting its exclusion from First Watch, which makes its inclusion on California Metal that much more special.

The first of two songs from Neon Cross follows in “I Need Your Love”.  The Los Angeles based group, drawing its name from a literal ‘neon cross’ it saw while driving down the Santa Monica Freeway, released in 1987 a highly regarded five-song demo entitled Frontline Life that helped it land a deal with Regency and paved the way for its very fine 1988 self-titled debut.  The fact neither “I Need Your Love” nor second “Son Of God” appear on Neon Cross helps make California Metal a unique collector’s item.

I find the melodic metal to “I Need Your Love” the least notable of the two.  No, it is far from bad, but with a somewhat predictable mid-tempo feel does not reach the heights of the better Neon Cross material and certainly not “Son Of God”.  “Son Of God” is a classic with its dramatic portrayal of the crucifixion of Christ (as taken from Luke 23:36-43) featuring narration from the Roman soldiers, Satan, second thief and Christ himself.

Fourth song “I Surrender” attributes to vibrant hair metal band Hero.  Despite not signing a deal, a lack of talent does not hold the group back, noting the presence of former Holy Soldier vocalist Robbie Braunz, whom reminds somewhat of Rob Rock (Impellitteri).  The two Hero tracks to include also “Sing It Out” give prominence to catchy hooks, blazing guitar leads and unremitting energy.  For those that take to Hero, the group also appeared on the Metal Mardis Gras video performing
“Stand Firm On The Rock” and “On Burns The Fire”.

“A Space Called You”, first of two from Deliverance, succeeds as fifth.  Renowned for its ‘Metallica cross Queensryche’ sound, Deliverance associates very heavy and fast paced riffing with the high-end vocals of Jimmy P. Brown II.  Not so “A Space Called You”, which in taking a technical melodic metal heading in line with early nineties releases Stay Of Execution (1992) and Learn (1993) bypasses the all out the aggression to inaugural albums Deliverance (1989) and Weapons Of Our Warfare (1990).

Second “Attack” better embodies the signature melodic speed metal and thrash fans identify with fledgling Deliverance.  Yes, it is assertive, fast and bellicose but also falls a bit flat, at least in comparison to the more focused material gracing the first two albums.  It is not that “Attack” is bad per se, but rather impression is the California Metal production team lacks the know how to accurately capture the vibrant sound of a speed metal meets thrash band.

Final cut “Wasn’t It Love” from Mastedon contrasts with an AOR infused melodic hard rock basis.  When the production team of John and Dino Elefante ended up a song short, they decided to use a piece John composed for Kansas initially entitled “What About Love”, noting his work fronting Kansas albums Vinyl Confessions (1982) and Drastic Measures (1983).  Regency was so impressed with “Wasn’t It Love”, it requested a full-length album, which became the highly regarded 1989 Mastedon debut It’s A Jungle Out There.  

Of the five Regency Records compilation releases, in my opinion California Metal highlights not only the best track listing but also strongest roster of bands.  You cannot go wrong, for example, with Barren Cross, Deliverance, Gardian/Guardian and Neon Cross- not to mention Mastedon and Hero.  Yes, some songs shine better than others and some bands more accurately produced, but overall California Metal makes for a nostalgic listen after the passing of nearly four decades.  Next step is to see it re-mastered and reissued on CD and vinyl with upgraded packaging.

Review by Andrew Rockwell

Track Listing: Barren Cross - "Deadlock" (4:13), Gardian - "Marching On" (3:38), Neon Cross - "I Need Your Love" (3:06), Hero - "I Surrender" (3:47), Deliverance - "A Space Called You" (3:51), Mastedon - "Wasn’t It Love" (4:42), Gardian - "Spiritual Warfare" (4:13), Deliverance - "Attack" (3:44), Hero - "Sing It Out" (3:02), Neon Cross - "Son Of God" (4:16)