Liberation Suite (sometimes LibSuite) was a Jesus Music era Christian rock band. They originated in San Marcos, Texas but soon moved to Great Britain, where they found their greatest success. [1] Cross Rhythms characterizes the band as having a "special relationship" with the United kingdom and a straightforward approach to music and ministry. [2] Typical of Jesus music, they played songs in a variety of styles including country, new wave, and rock. [3]
Liberation Suite formed early in the Jesus Music era, prior to 1971 in San Marcos, Texas. [4] The group got their start as a backup band for a choral group called Sound 70 based in San Marcos, Texas, but began traveling with evangelist Bill Lowery and the Christ is the Answer tent ministry in 1973. [5]
In 1974 they moved for six months to Northern Ireland, [4] which was at that time war-torn by The Troubles. Here they ran what was essentially a street concert ministry, as well as playing many concerts in schools, colleges, and large concert halls. [5] During this time they also played at the inaugural Greenbelt Festival in England. They then moved to London after being signed to Word Records' Myrrh label. Throughout 1975 the band toured with Malcolm and Alwyn, Barry McGuire, and Jamie Owens. [4] In 1976 they toured Europe with Chuck Girard before moving back to Texas until 1979, when they relocated to Los Angeles.
During a brief reunification period in 1980 they recorded their second album, Stride For Stride, and again toured Europe. [5] They moved back to Texas in 1981, members moving into other types of ministry or work, regrouping from time to time for a few concerts or recording. Several other versions of the band lineup toured parts of America and Europe, and recorded in 1990–92.
In 2008 they released Live In Europe, a live concert from 1976, recorded in Sweden. [6]
The Insyderz were an American Christian ska-punk band from Detroit, Michigan. They formed in 1996 and disbanded in 2005. The band reformed in 2009, but have not been actively playing shows in the last few years. The Insyderz are one of the "big three" bands which represented the Christian ska scene, alongside the Supertones and Five Iron Frenzy.
The Orange County Supertones were a Christian ska band from Orange County, California. The band was signed to Tooth & Nail Records and its imprint, BEC Recordings, before becoming an independent band. The band temporarily disbanded in 2005, though reunited in 2010 to resume touring and recording before permanently disbanding in 2017. The OC Supertones were one of the first widely successful Christian ska bands.
Hi-Fi Revival is the sixth studio album released by The O.C. Supertones. It was the first of three sessions the Supertones recorded in Franklin, Tennessee at Dark Horse Studios. Matt Morginsky and Ethan Luck lived together at this time and demoed over 50 songs for Hi-Fi Revival in their basement. 17 of the un-used songs made it on to their side-project album, Grand Incredible. The rest of the demos were never released. CCM characterized the sound on this album as displaying stripped down ska core rhythms, with the horn section now "providing color instead of the dominant sound."
Servant was a Christian rock group that grew out of the counter-culture Jesus Movement of the sixties and seventies. The band was founded in Victoria, British Columbia in 1976 by Jim Palosaari and performed to audiences throughout North America, Europe and Australia for over 12 years. Originally named "Higher Ground", the group later changed their name to Servant. The lyrics of their songs were known for challenging the Christian Church to turn back to social justice and caring for the poor.
Jyro Xhan is the stage/pen name of Filipino American musician GD La Villa. He lives in California. He is a singer, songwriter, producer, guitarist and keyboard player. He has been in several bands such as Jyradelix, Cush, Juggernautz, but most notably Mortal and Fold Zandura. He was the main songwriter and lead singer for both bands. He first used his pen name in 1988 on a demo tape but spelled it "Gyro" until the release of Fathom where it became Jyro. He is married to Carla Joy Phillips. The title track from Mortal's 1995 album Pura is dedicated to her.
Reborn is the ninth release, and sixth album, from the Christian metal band Stryper, and the first full-length album of new material since Against the Law in 1990. Reborn was slated to be a Michael Sweet solo record, but after their reunion tour, Sweet played it for the other members, at which time Oz Fox suggested it should be a Stryper record. So the other members came in and learned their parts from the original demos. Sweet says in his autobiography, Honestly: My Life and Stryper Revealed, that he convinced Big3 Records, which had signed him for a solo release, to make it a Stryper record deal. Thus, Reborn became the first all-original Stryper record in 15 years.
Sin Disease was Scaterd Few's first full-length studio album. CCM magazine described the release as "pure punk for dread people," stating that it was a cross between Jane's Addiction and Charlie Mingus.
Sonicflood is an American contemporary worship music band from Nashville, Tennessee, that has been touted as "The Fathers of the Modern Worship Movement." The group took the name "Sonicflood", a reference to a line in the Book of Revelation, chapter 19, verse 6.
The Archers were an American contemporary Christian music group. They were originally brothers Tim and Steve Archer, Fred Satterfield, Nancye Short and Billy Rush Masters. After Masters and Short departed in 1977, sister Janice Archer joined. They enjoyed greater longevity than most of the pioneering CCM artists, recording chart hits in the decades of the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. Their hits included, "Jesus Is The Answer", "Little Flowers", "It Wouldn't Be Enough", "Fresh Surrender", "Stand Up!", and "Heaven In Your Eyes". Former Maranatha! Music artist and CCM pioneer Erick Nelson defined The Archers' role in the development of contemporary Christian music as representing one-half of a convergence: traditional vocal groups like The Archers got hipper while the hippie rock groups got more mellow—eventually both evinced the polished, commercial sound that would be identified as stereotypical contemporary Christian music.
At the End of the Day is the fifth studio album from heavy metal band, Galactic Cowboys. Multiple reviewers found that the album contained subtle references to Christianity, but provided plenty of subtext to interpret meanings with.
One Bad Pig is a Christian punk and metal crossover band from Austin, Texas, which formed in 1985. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music describes them as "quite possibly the most popular hard-punk act ever to arise within the Christian music scene." They were known for their mischief and irreverence on stage, as reflected even in their reunion at Cornerstone in 2000.
Vengeance Rising was an American Christian thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Fronted by vocalist Roger Martinez, they originally formed as Vengeance in 1987, but changed their name in 1989 to avoid conflict with another band from the Netherlands. Band members Larry Farkas, Doug Thieme, Roger Dale Martin, and Glen Mancaruso left following Once Dead and formed the band Die Happy. Roger Martinez stayed on to record two more studio albums, but aside from him, Vengeance Rising's lineup changed for each subsequent album. While the group was a ground breaking Christian metal band, today Vengeance Rising is known for vocalist Martinez's turning from Christianity to Satanism to atheism. AllMusic describes Vengeance Rising's history as "one of the most entertaining and bizarre stories in the realm of heavy metal."
Holy Soldier was a Christian glam metal band from Los Angeles, California.
Bloodgood is an American Christian metal band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984. By 1988, Bloodgood represented one of the four largest Christian metal bands alongside Barren Cross, Leviticus, and Whitecross.
DigHayZoose was a Christian funk and modern rock band from Kansas City, Missouri. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music describes them as "One of the first Christian alternative rock bands of the 1990s". Their name, when spoken, is audibly similar to saying "Dig Jesus" in Spanish.
Idle Cure was an arena rock band from Long Beach, California. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music calls their sound "the best example of cloning a sound for Christian markets", likening it to that of Def Leppard's Pyromania. They targeted a youthful audience, distinguished by overtly evangelical religious lyrics.
Mortal was a Christian industrial/dance band fronted by Jerome Fontamillas and Jyro Xhan. Both members went on to found the alternative rock group Fold Zandura, and for a time were members of both bands simultaneously. The band is known for its lyrical intelligence, incorporating advanced theology with what has been billed as "Industrial Praise and Worship." According to CCM Magazine "Mortal has had a much greater influence... on industrial music than its modest output would suggest."
A Christian music festival is a music festival held by the Christian community, in support of performers of Christian music. The festivals are characterized by more than just music; many feature motivational speakers and evangelists, and include seminars on Christian spiritual and missions topics, service, and evangelism. They are often viewed as evangelical tools, and small festivals can draw 10 times the crowd of traditional revival meetings. While the central theme of a Christian festival is Jesus Christ, the core appeal of a Christian music festival remains the artists and their music. Critics point out that the dichotomy of business and religious interests can be problematic for Christian festivals. In similar ways as the Christian music industry in general, festivals can be drawn away from their central theme and gravitate toward commercialization and mainstream acts in an attempt to draw crowds.
Lust Control is a Christian thrash punk band, originally formed in 1988. They are known for their explicit lyrical content, which is devoted to matters of sexual purity and sin, including abstinence, masturbation, pornography, sex ed, and related topics. For their unwavering views on sexual purity, CCM magazine has called Lust Control as "the Josh McDowell of the Christian rock world." Musically they have been likened to The Ramones or The Dead Milkmen. The band formed as a joke and was not meant for long term exposure, which has led some to refer to it as a Christian version of Spinal Tap. Lust Control received the title of "The Worst Christian Band of the Decade" for the 1990s from HM.
Between Thieves was a Christian musical group that formed in Keller, Texas in 1990. Their name represents the location of Jesus Christ at his death; "And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left." They formed under the name Judah, and during both periods they were comparable to the Newsboys.