Whitecross 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 from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, formed in 1985 by singer Scott Wenzel and guitarist

Rex Carroll Rex Carroll is a guitarist and known for his work in the Christian metal band Whitecross (band), Whitecross. Rex Carroll is also the leader and guitarist of other bands including Fierce Heart, King James (band), King James and the Rex Carroll Band ...

, and re-formed in 2000. The band won three

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

s in the 1990s.

History

Whitecross formed in 1985 in

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

, releasing their first recording in 1987. Their early albums, which often invite comparisons to

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 ...

, are laced with fast, technical

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

work. In 1994, Rex Carroll split with lead vocalist Scott Wenzel. Wenzel retained the use of the name "Whitecross" while Carroll went on to form King James with Jimi Bennett (see below). At this point the band's sound underwent a drastic change. Whitecross has won three

s with ''Triumphant Return'' (in 1990) and ''In the Kingdom'' (in 1992) winning "Metal Album of the Year" and ''Come unto the Light'' from the ''Unveiled'' album winning "Hard Music Recorded Song of the Year" at the

25th GMA Dove Awards The 25th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 28, 1994, recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 1993. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Amy Grant. Award recipients Artists ...

in 1994. In 1994 prior to work starting on the ''Unveiled'' album, guitarist Rex Carroll left to form the band King James and pursue other musical ventures. In 1998, singer Scott Wenzel took a two-year break to do

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

work in Paraguay,

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. During this time, Whitecross went on hiatus before re-emerging at Cornerstone Festival in 2000 when Carroll and Wenzel re-formed the band with Carroll, Wenzel, Michael Feighan and newcomer

Benny Ramos Benny Ramos is an American musician and producer from Chicago. He is currently the bassist for King James (band), King James, the Rex Carroll Band, The Royal Guard, and for Whitecross (band), Whitecross, which he joined in 2000 for their reunion ...

providing bass, keyboards and vocals. Finally having achieved a long-sought lineup stability, the band started performing on a regular basis. In 2005, the band went back into the studio to record ''Nineteen Eighty Seven'', which featured re-recordings of nine of the ten songs from the band's self-titled debut album (''You're Mine'' being the exclusion), as well as a re-recording of the song ''Love on the Line'' (previously unavailable on CD) and a new guitar instrumental by Rex Carroll. On April 5, 2008, they played at the Legends of Rock festival in

Ennepetal Ennepetal (; wep, Iämpedal) is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was created in 1949 out of the former municipalities Milspe and Voerde. It was named after the river Ennepe, which flows through t ...

, Germany. Beginning in July 2008, they played the first of several short tours in Guatemala featuring shows in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

Panajachel Panajachel (, Pana) is a town in the southwestern Guatemalan Highlands, less than from Guatemala City, in the department of Sololá. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The elevation is . P ...

Huehuetenango Huehuetenango () is a city and municipality in the highlands of western Guatemala. It is also the capital of the department of Huehuetenango. The city is situated from Guatemala City, and is the last departmental capital on the Pan-American Highw ...

and other cities. In 2017, Carroll and Feighan joined with David Bach and

Jamie Rowe Jamie Rowe (born April 7, 1970 as Earl Wilson Rowe, Jr.) is a musician best known as the lead vocalist of the Christian hard rock band, Guardian. He has also been vocalist for New York-based AdrianGale, power pop band, London Calling (which br ...

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, Unite ...

to record ''Revival'', a new compilation of Whitecross and Guardian tracks and went on a short tour to promote the project.

Members

Current * Dave Roberts - lead vocals (2020-present) *

– guitar, vocals (1985–1993, 2000–present) * Michael Feighan – drums, vocals (1991–1995, 2000–present) *

– bass guitar, vocals (2000–present) Former * Scott Wenzel − lead vocals (founding member) (1985–2018) * Mark Hedl − drums (1987–1988) * Jon Sproule − bass guitar (1987–1988) * Mike Elliott − guitar (1989) * Rick Armstrong − bass guitar (1989) * Butch Dillon − bass guitar (1991) * Scott Harper − bass guitar (1992–1993) * Barry Graul − guitar (1994–1995) *

Tracy Ferrie Tracy Ferrie is an American musician, who is the current bass player for the classic rock band Boston and was the former bass player of Christian metal band Stryper. Biography Ferrie grew up in Northern Indiana where he was encouraged by his hi ...

− bass guitar (1994–1995) * Quinton Gibson − guitar (1996) * Troy Stone − guitar (1996) * Brent Denny − bass guitar (1996) * Peter Stenlund − lead vocals (2019-2020) Timeline

Albums

With Rex Carroll

Without Rex Carroll

Compilations

Videos

*''The Reign Goes On'' - 45 minute VHS, 1992

Star Song Communications 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 19 ...

References

* {{Authority control American Christian metal musical groups Christian rock groups from Illinois Heavy metal musical groups from Illinois Musical groups established in 1985 1985 establishments in Illinois