Tag: R.E.X. Records

AP2 was the continuation of, or the evolution of the forerunner Argyle Park. The first incarnation of the band recorded one album, Misguided, for R.E.X. Music in 1994, performed only one live performance at Cornerstone Festival in 1995, then broke up shortly after amidst a plethora of controversy in Christian music circles. The bulk of the controversy involved the band not being positive enough or evangelistic enough. While the bands’ members were all known by pseudonymous aliases, it is fairly well-known that the creative forces behind the project were Scott Albert (AKA Dred and Deathwish) of Circle of Dust/Celldweller and childhood friend Chris Martello (AKA Buka), who at the time worked for MTV Sports and was responsible for getting lots of Christian alternative/punk/hardcore bands into MTV programming.… Continued →

Cleveland’s Six Feet Deep were instrumental in the advent of “new school” hardcore that was emerging in the early- to mid-90s. They were one of the few Spirit-Filled Hardcore bands that didn’t end up on Tooth & Nail or Solid State (No Innocent Victim was the other major example). After an independent demo cassette aptly titled Self in 1992, they released two fantastic metallic hardcore albums: 1994’s Struggle and 1996’s The Road Less Traveled. The debut issued on Christian indie stalwart R.E.X. Music and the sophomore on Flying Tart/R.E.X.… Continued →

Greg Minier, the famed guitarist of The Crucified (and later of grunge/alternative/metal project Applehead) released a solo EP of straightforward thrash metal (the yin to The Crucified’s crossover yang), under his last name. The mini-album contained 7 songs and featured Greg playing all the instruments as well as handling the vocal duties. I remember talking with several metalheads at the time and we all agreed it was unfair for the Lord to bless some individuals with so much talent, while others of us got so little!… Continued →

Perhaps better known as the bassist/vocalist of hardcore punk cum crossover thrash band The Lead, Nina (full name Nina Llopis) released her debut album No Shadow of Turning for R.E.X. Music in 1991. As my friend and fellow fan Tim “Greybeard” Henderson (ex-Warlord) said, “This is a perfect example of 1991 music!” He’s so right. The album had hints of goth rock/post-punk, alternative rock, and jangle pop–a description which doesn’t make logical sense unless you lived through the early 90s. Musically similar to other early 90s female-fronted alternative bands like The Darling Buds and Concrete Blonde, the effort was a huge departure from her previous material with the hardcore/thrash band from which we’d come to know her.… Continued →

Haven was a heavy metal/power metal band from New Jersey active in the late 80s and early 90s. The band released two stellar full-length albums for R.E.X. and a third independent release that moved away from heavy metal into hard rock and alternative territory. Fans were often divided on Haven, particularly over the vocals. They were kind of a love ’em or hate ’em thing. Personally, I really enjoyed the unique style. There were enough similarities to Geoff Tate (Queensryche), Mike Lee (Barren Cross), or Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) to draw comparisons, and yet there was a roughness to the high-pitched vocals that made them stand out.… Continued →

I first heard Sixpence None the Richer while listening to a cassette demo in the Christian bookstore in 1993. They had me from the opening acoustic guitar riffs on “Field of Flowers,” the opening track from The Fatherless and the Widow. That album was fantastic, but even so, it was only a foretaste of what was to come. While the band are largely known for their romantic pop radio hit, “Kiss Me,” from their self-titled third album, many fans and critics alike are drawn to their sophomore album, This Beautiful Mess.… Continued →

The 90s comprised an amazing decade for alternative Christian music. We had metal, punk rock, emo, industrial, and out of left field we also had an amazing run of alternative-tinged folk rock. I was primarily a metalhead/hard alternative guy when I got hit by this amazing run of folk acts like Lost Dogs, Nicolas Giaconia, Acoustic Shack, and the UK’s own Eden Burning. While Eden Burning had been going in their native England for several years prior, their first US release was Vinegar and Brown Paper, for Storyville Records, a folk imprint of R.E.X.… Continued →

Believer is a Pennsylvanian 4 piece technical thrash metal band. Forming in 1985 they changed their name from Deceiver. I remember buying their Sanity Obscure LP in my hometown of Normal, Illinois & then later getting a cassette tape of Dimensions. A few years back they released 3 2-song singles & I haven’t seen anything from them since. This SOTD I have seen as one the origins of the symphonic metal scene. Below are the Latin lyrics along with their meaning & a live video also.… Continued →

Circle of Dust, aka Brainchild, aka Scott Albert, aka Klayton, aka Celldweller, aka a plethora of other names has been around since the early 90s. I have been following Scott’s music career since then & receive emails from him at least bi-weekly. The guy is a mastermind, but a jack of all trades, master of none (if you catch my reference!). Currently he works a lot with FixT records which basically does a lot of “industrial” artists & makes tons of video games soundtracks. This reincarnation was I believe his foray into the secular industry as was using the Brainchild moniker when it was released as the disc titled Mindwarp on R.E.X.… Continued →

One of the longest-running indie/alternative bands in the Christian scene, The Choir emerged in the 1980s initially as Youth Choir, shortening the name after the release of one album and one EP. The band formed in 1983 and were instrumental in the early 80s Calvary Chapel scene in Southern California, that also included stalwarts like Undercover, Altar Boys, and 4-4-1. Where some of their counterparts flirted with punk and harder alternative sounds, The Choir’s sound rarely ‘rocked’ so much as it created atmospheres and layers that have never been easily pigeonholed into any particular scene or sound and yet have toyed with dream pop, indie pop, and at times even shoegaze.… Continued →

Arizona’s No Laughing Matter were kind of a ‘love ’em or hate ’em’ kind of game. Dark and broody, they didn’t fit in with most CCM at the time. Heck, even the alternative stuff wasn’t quite this dark, for the most part. Scott Roman’s dramatic wail was an acquired taste. The guitars alternated between goth-rock and the occasional nod to funk (see “Helltown”). Of particular interest were the deep bass grooves. They were one of Christian music’s very few, true “post-punk” bands in the proper sense of the term.… Continued →

Code of Ethics hit on the Christian music scene in 1991 with their brilliant debut Visual Paradox for R.E.X. Music (later re-issued on Forefront), having already released an independent cassette demo a year prior. The album was a synth-pop triumph, taking the best of techno-pop and alternative dance and fusing them into a singular whole that was as danceable as Information Society, but as catchy as Pet Shop Boys or Erasure. I once had a chance to catch the band live, opening for The Prayer Chain.… Continued →

Welcome to what is probably the most underrated album in Christian alternative music history. The problem is largely that it just wasn’t heard by enough people. This Pennsylvania band comprised one third of the ‘holy trinity’ of Christian jangle pop, rounded out by Virginia’s The Throes and Minnesota’s The Swoon (coincidentally all band names beginning with the definite article). They released their one and only album, not counting their independent demo cassettes, through Talkingtown (also home of metal band Armageddon) and co-released through R.E.X. Indianland is a real slow-burner of an album.… Continued →

Industrial music has a long and complicated history, which we don’t have time to get deeply into here. Its roots lie in avant garde experimentalism of the 1970s, its name coming from literal industrial sounds as its inspiration. As the genre developed, it became intertwined with other styles–most notably dance music and techno, or at the other end of the spectrum heavy metal, and occasionally even hip-hop. For the longest time, Blackhouse (featured here) was the only industrial band exploring Christian themes, but all of their albums were released as imports and mostly on secular and/or independent labels.… Continued →

There are so many different types of Living Sacrifice fans. People who started listening from the beginning, and those who joined somewhere along the way. Fans who praise their experimental phase, those who prefer the -core era, and those who swear by the traditional metal era. Heck, I even know one guy who claims they only released one album (he’s a thrash fan), and all the others were recorded by imposters! The band has certainly seen a number of different phases, most easily broken down into two main categories (metal and -core) with a few other splinters.… Continued →

The progressive thrash metal band, Believer has began to release their long-awaited new music. Though not all at once. It seems that they are releasing them two songs at a time, or at least this EP only had two tracks. This EP, just called 1 of 5, has two tracks: “Home” and “888”. The band formed in 1986 as Deceiver, but changed their name to Believer the next year. They released three albums though the label R.E.X. Music and then went their separate ways in 1993.… Continued →

Doug Mann, the founder and original owner of R.E.X. Records, home to several Christian metal acts, including Living Sacrifice, Six Feet Deep, Believer and Circle of Dust, was featured on the As The Story Grows Podcast for a two part interview. R.E.X. Records was a label, pre-Tooth and Nail Records, that was home to several Christian bands. Certain bands, formerly on the label, have not spoken ill about Doug Mann, but have stated that it was a bad experience being on R.E.X. As The Story Grows is hosted by Travis Turner (ex-Aletheian, Solamors, UnTeachers), but for the first part of the Doug Mann interview, Living Sacrifice Vocalist/Guitarist Bruce Fitzhugh co-hosts.… Continued →