Barren Cross is an American
Christian metal
Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...
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 recent years, and plan to record a new album.
By 1984, bassist Jim LaVerde and vocalist Michael Drive (originally Mike Lee) were added. In 1989, the band appeared on ''The Morton Downey Show'' alongside members of
KISS
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
and
Anthrax.
In 1990, Mike Lee left and joined the band Bare Bones but would appear on the Barren Cross' later releases.
Music
Musically, Barren Cross is often compared to
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
, mainly due to the similarity of the vocals between Mike Lee and Maiden frontman
Bruce Dickinson.
Lyrically, the band is noted for its stance on a number of social issues. Their songs addressed, from a
Christian worldview, personal and societal issues such as
suicide,
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
,
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
, and
prejudice
Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...
.
In 1985, they contributed to the
Last Days Ministries'
anti-abortion song ''Fight the Fight''.
Biography
Over the years, Barren Cross has seen their share of successes since their start out of
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in 1982. In 1985, their first EP, ''Believe'', an independent release, garnered national attention and trademarked their raw metal sound. The following year,
Star Song Records released their first full-length album, ''
Rock for the King''. 1988 saw a second full-length release, ''
Atomic Arena'', this time on
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 ...
(now
Capitol Records) alongside label mates
Poison,
Ratt
Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...
,
Slayer,
Stryper, and others.
In 1989, as a follow-up to their Enigma debut, they released ''
State of Control'', and ''Hotter than Hell Live!'', a full production live album on Medusa Records, was released the following year (1990). A few months later, ''Rock for the King'' was reissued and has since become a collector's item. Subsequent to lead singer Michael Lee (now known as Michael Drive) pursuing another project (becoming writer and lead vocalist for the band Bare Bones), vocalist Vincent Van Voltenburg, aka, Vin Van Volt, of the Christian Metal quartet, Full Armor, was introduced as the new lead singer and took the reins for all live performances during the 1990 "State of Control World Tour" which included sold-out shows in Ireland, Germany, Austria and the U.S. Soon after the 1990 World Tour ended, the new lineup with Ray Parris on (Guitar), Jim LaVerde (Bass), Vin Van Volt (vocals) and David LaVai (drums), was to begin writing for the next record which might have included a Vin Van Volt song called "Pain Reliever". The song, a new sound for Barren Cross, was well received by audiences on the State of Control tour. The record with this new lineup would never materialize, and Barren Cross went on hiatus until their last full-length release (to date), the stylistically evolved ''Rattle Your Cage'', released on Rugged Records in 1994. "Rattle Your Cage" featured all of the original members of Barren Cross.
Barren Cross earned some airplay on
VH1,
MTV, radio stations, and several label and metal music compilations. For over twenty years, international music magazines have featured the band consistently. Besides six major label releases, five of them full-length, Barren Cross was known for relentless touring.
Reunion
On May 8, 2008, the band officially announced they would be returning to the music scene, launching
MySpace and
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
pages for the band and remaining active in communication. The band initially announced a reunion which included original lead singer, Mike Lee, but would eventually announce experienced singer, Dean Kohn, would be fulfilling vocal duties.
/ref> A successful short-term reunion with a few international reunion concerts ensued, with announcements of a return to the recording studio with new music. In 2010, Barren Cross announced a special re-release of their debut album, ''Believe EP'', marking the 25-year anniversary of its original 1985 independent release. Mike Lee has since appeared on Barren Cross' most recent live performances. In 2013 Barren Cross released a live album ''Birth Pangs'', which is a recording of their performance at Elements of Rock the previous year.
Band members
*Michael "Mike Lee" Drive – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards
*Jim LaVerde – bass guitars, keyboards, synthesizer, piano, backing vocals
*Ray Parris – guitars, backing vocals
*Steve Whittaker – drums, backing vocals
Discography
*1985: ''Believe EP'' (Independent) (Produced by Dino & John Elefante)
*1986: '' Rock for the King'' (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 197 ...
)
*1988: '' Atomic Arena'' (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 ...
)
*1989: '' State of Control'' (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 ...
)
*1990: '' Hotter Than Hell Live!'' live album (Restless)
*1990: ''Rock for the King'' re-issue (Medusa Records)
*1994: ''Rattle Your Cage'' (Rugged Records)
*1996: ''Atomic Arena'' re-issue (Victor Entertainment, Japan)
*2004: ''Rattle Your Cage'' re-issue (Girder Records)
*2007: ''Paid in Blood – The Very Best of Barren Cross'' compilation (Independent)
*2013: ''Birth Pangs'' – Thirtieth Anniversary – Live from Elements of Rock, Switzerland
See also
*List of Christian metal artists
This is a list of Christian metal artists, including artists that played Christian metal at some point in their careers.
Christian metal, which is also known as white metal or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music with a Christian message. Chr ...
*List of glam metal bands and artists
The following list of glam metal bands and artists includes bands and artists that have been described as glam metal or its interchangeable terms, hair metal, hair bands, pop metal and lite metal by professional journalists at some stage in thei ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
American Christian metal musical groups
Glam metal musical groups from California
Christian rock groups from California
Heavy metal musical groups from California
Musical groups established in 1983
1983 establishments in California
Restless Records artists