Joshua is a
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 formed in 1980.
The band has re-formed under three namesJoshua, M Pire, and Joshua Perahiabut has remained centered on guitarist Joshua Perahia. Despite being based in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, they are best known outside of the United States.
Their best-known song, "November Is Going Away" (1983), was a No. 1 hit in Japan.
History
The band's first release was entitled ''The Hand Is Quicker Than the Eye'', which referred to Perahia's guitar skills and songwriting ability. Released by
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 ...
in 1983, the single "November Is Going Away" was the band's biggest hit, achieving No. 1 status in Japan.
Frontman Perahia had a religious experience at a
Hal Lindsey
Harold Lee Lindsey (born November 23, 1929) – known as Hal Lindsey – is a best-selling American evangelical writer. He is a Christian Zionist, a dispensationalist and a television host. He wrote a series of popular apocalyptic books – beg ...
–lead Bible study in 1983, and converted to
Protestant Christianity
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to ...
from his
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
upbringing.
Perahia put together a new band for ''Surrender'' that included singer
Jeff Fenholt.
''Surrender'' was released in 1985. Lyrically, the album marked a change in the band's style to lyrics which were evangelical and confrontational in nature.
Rob Rock
Robert Rock (born June 29, 1959) is an American heavy metal singer who is best known as the longtime frontman of Impellitteri, a position he has held from 1987 to 1988, 1992 to 2000, and now from 2008 to the present day. Rock has also released ...
was involved with their third RCA Record album as Joshua, ''Intense Defense''. In 1988, ''Intense Defense'', which was recorded at Dierks Studios and produced by Frank Mono, was characterized by the editor of ''HM Magazine'' as being "probably the best AOR melodic metal album in the universe."
It sold well worldwide, but not in the United States.
Following ''Intense'', Perahia reformed the band as Jaguar. Jaguar included Robert Basauri (Robyn Kyle) on vocals,
Joe Tafoya on drums, and Bryan Fleming on bass. The band changed members while entertaining record deals and never released material under this name.
In 1995, the group re-formed as M Pire. They released one album under this name, ''Chapter One'', though it was never released in the US. The band then expanded its name, to Joshua Perahia. The addition of Joshua's last name was to avoid confusion as so many bands were using the name Joshua. Perahia states "We went back (from MPire to Joshua) to re-fire.... re-ignite what we had before."
The band lacked a permanent vocalist and hired
Alex Ligertwood
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peop ...
of
Santana to fill the spot on ''Something to Say''. However, while in production, the band recruited Jerry Gabriel and re-recorded the vocals. As a result, the album (except four tracks) contains Gabriel's lead vocals, and Ligertwood's vocals are available in the DVD release.
One song, "The First and the Last", appeared in the
Larry Buchanan
Larry Buchanan (January 31, 1923 − December 2, 2004), born Marcus Larry Seale Jr., was a film director, producer and writer, who proclaimed himself a " schlockmeister". Many of his extremely low-budget films have landed on "worst movie" lists o ...
–directed movie ''The Copper Scroll of Mary Magdalene'' in 2004.
Other projects
Members of Joshua have been involved with various other projects. ''Surrender'' vocalist
Jeff Fenholt was the former lead singer of the
broadway musical
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
''
Jesus Christ Superstar''. Beyond his involvement with ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', Fenholt worked briefly with
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...
and
Driver and later made regular appearances on the
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN was headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, until March 3, 2017, when it sold its ...
. Frontman Robyn Kyle Basauri was later in the Christian metal band
Die Happy and the
Badlands
Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...
offshoot Red Sea.
Rob Rock
Robert Rock (born June 29, 1959) is an American heavy metal singer who is best known as the longtime frontman of Impellitteri, a position he has held from 1987 to 1988, 1992 to 2000, and now from 2008 to the present day. Rock has also released ...
was involved with
Impellitteri
Impellitteri is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, vocalist Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide.
History
Chris Impellitteri for ...
before and after his work with Joshua. The Christian band
Shout was formed in 1987 by three members of Joshua - Joseph Galletta, Loren Robinson, and
Ken Tamplin
Ken Tamplin (born December 11, 1963) is an American vocal coach, YouTuber, and former Christian rock performer. Founder of Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy, Tamplin is known for his vocal range and vocal training methods. He has contributed to his ...
, who also had a successful solo career.
Several members were also in metal bands, mostly based in the LA area. Mahlon Hawk formed Centerfold in 1987 with Kurt Wada.
Steve Fontaine briefly replaced
Peter Goalby in
Uriah Heep,
and Rich Ortz later provided vocals for Sixty Nine.
Donnie Gougeon joined White Sister in 1985,
and Emil Lech appeared on the final
Sound Barrier
The sound barrier or sonic barrier is the large increase in aerodynamic drag and other undesirable effects experienced by an aircraft or other object when it approaches the speed of sound. When aircraft first approached the speed of sound, th ...
album, ''Speed of Light'' (1986).
He was also in the band Driver, which at one point also included Rob Rock and Greg Shultz.
Members
Current
*Joshua Perahia – guitar (1980–present)
*
Mark Boals
Mark Robert Boals (born December 5, 1958) is an American heavy metal vocalist and occasional bassist, best known for his vocals with Yngwie Malmsteen. He is currently a member of the band Foundry.
Boals' first album with Malmsteen, 1986's '' ...
– vocals (2002–present)
*Dino Maddalone – drums (2002–present)
*Bryan Fleming – bass (2002–present)
*
Scott Warren – keyboards (2002–present)
Former
* Mahlon Hawk – bass (1980–1984)
* Glenn Alsup – keyboards (1980)
* Donnie Gougeon – keyboard (1980–1984)
* Michael Morris – rhythm guitar (1980–1984)
* Anthony Zaccaglin – drums (1980–1984)
* Steve Fontaine – vocals (1980–1984)
*Patrick Bradley – keyboard (1984–1987)
*Joseph Galletta – drums (1984–1987)
*
Ken Tamplin
Ken Tamplin (born December 11, 1963) is an American vocal coach, YouTuber, and former Christian rock performer. Founder of Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy, Tamplin is known for his vocal range and vocal training methods. He has contributed to his ...
– rhythm guitar, vocals (1984–1987)
*
Jeff Fenholt – vocals (1984–1987)
*Loren Robinson – bass (1984–1987)
*
Rob Rock
Robert Rock (born June 29, 1959) is an American heavy metal singer who is best known as the longtime frontman of Impellitteri, a position he has held from 1987 to 1988, 1992 to 2000, and now from 2008 to the present day. Rock has also released ...
– vocals (1987–1991)
*Emil Lech – bass (1987–1991)
*Greg Shultz – keyboard (1987–1991)
*Tim Gehrt – drums (1987–1991)
*Michael O'Mara – vocals (1991–1996)
*Erik Norlander – keyboard (1991–1996)
*Jerry Gabriel – vocals (1996–2002)
*Alex Ligertwood – vocals (1996–2002)
*Jason Scheff – vocals (1996–2002)
*Joey Rochrich – bass (1991–2002)
*Eric Stoskopf – drums (1991–2002)
*Richard Baker – keyboards (1996–2002)
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Surrender'' (1985)
* ''Intense Defense'' (1988)
* ''Surrender 1992'' (1992)
* ''Chapter One'' (1995)
* ''Something to Say'' (2001)
* ''Resurrection'' (2012)
EP
* ''The Hand is Quicker than the Eye'' (1982)
Compilation albums
* ''Double Trouble: The Hand Is Quicker Than the Eye & Surrender'' (1995)
References
Citations
*.
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joshua
American Christian metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1980