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Drivn’ All Night
1992 (no label)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
In My Dreams
Drivn’ All Night
Fly Away
Tell Me Why
This release appeared on various streaming services as an unreleased demo. I had noted that the band’s previous demos – Heads or Tails from 1989, and In the Middle of Nowhere from 1988 – sounded like hair metal that leaned towards pop metal. This one seems to go even more pop by adding piano or keyboards to most songs, while still keeping a pop metal edge. The last song probably being the closest to hair metal. The singer reminds me of Brett Michaels at times. I can’t find any information about the band members for this demo, but they do have a history of changing members. So I don’t know if they changed members or not.
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Heads or Tails
1989 (no label)
Bethany, Oklahoma, USA
Billy Kirkland – Lead Vocals and Drums
Steve Kenney – Vocals and Bass
Darron Jeans – Lead Guitars and Acoustics
Mike Burton – Lead Vocals and Keyboards
In Time of Need
You’ve Got the Choice
Now and Forever
April’s Grave
On the Way to the Top
Kickin’ Back
This is one of at least two demos by this glam metal band that appeared on the Underground Metal II compilation back in the day. They have another demo called In the Middle of Nowhere from 1988, and unreleased demo from 1992 called Drivn’ All Night. I saw their 1988 demo as kind of like Enuff Z’Nuff with a bit of Pretty Boy Floyd. This one I don’t get a whole lot of Pretty Boy Floyd, mainly a power-pop leaning glam metal. Probably more of a late 80s Poison influence that PBF. This demo has a different lead guitarist and set of lead vocalists than the other one, so it does sound a bit different even though they kept the general style intact.
Infinity Rocks Vol 1
1991 Mosaic Records
Woodhaven, New York, USA
Side 1:
Cephas – Close to Me
Creator – Faith in God
The Solid Rock Band – Raindrops
Hearts of Fire – Will You Dance
Eternal Destiny – 100 Percent Pure
Spirit – Love Casts a Shadow
Side 2:
Image – Crossfire
The Keys – A Matter of Faith
Outwork – When the Walls Come Down
Wilderness – Through the Fire (remix)
The Shock – I Found My Strength in You
Several of the tracks from this tape have appeared on YouTube, so I was glad to get to hear the rest of them. This appears to be a compilation of bands mostly from New York state, or a few of the surrounding states. The styles range from metal to alternative, but mostly in the heavy realm. Cephas is a traditional metal band that leans towards the neoclassical side of metal. Creator is also a traditional metal band that sounds a bit like early Saint and Leviticus mixed. The Solid Rock Band is a female front rock/hard rock band (they contribute a ballad here, so I can’t tell how much they rock out). Hearts of Fire is another band that rides the line between rock and hard rock, with some keyboard rocking in the background. Eternal Destiny has been covered here before – this track is one of the funkier metal ones from their Paradise Awaits tape. Spirit has the next ballad, but this seems to be more of a metal power ballad. Side 2 transitions into mostly alternative rock bands. Image is still pretty heavy, but more of a heavy alternative rock sound. This is also not the heavy metal band that was previously reviewed here. The Keys are a bit more of a standard blues-rock sound, with a slight power pop influence. Outwork brings a slower 80s alt rock sound. Wilderness is a standard rock band, maybe even stadium rock. They didn’t get a favorable review in The Cutting Edge in 93, but they aren’t bad here at least. The Shock is middle of the road classic rock band with a bit of boogie here. Their name actually stand for “Sharing Hope Of Christ’s Kingdom,” which reads weird with the “The” in front of it.
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In the Middle of Nowhere
1988 (no label)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Kevin Valliquette – Lead vocals, guitars
Jeff Bright – Lead Guitars, vocals
Steve Kenney – Bass, vocals
Billy Kirkland – Drums, vocals
He’s the One
I Stood Alone
Lost
Endless Love
Can you say hair metal? This demo jumps out of the gate with a strong dose of late 80s hair metal, mixed with a bit of 60s-inspired pop metal like Enuff Z’Nuff and a dash of over-the-top glam metal like Pretty Boy Floyd. They really understood how to write catchy hooks – especially on the opening track and “Lost” (my favorite of the batch). “Lost” was actually on the Underground Metal II compilation, so you might have heard it before. They even have the required glam metal power ballad (“I Stood Alone”). This demo doesn’t have a date on it, but when they later released it to streaming services, it had the date of 1988 on it. They also had another demo called Heads or Tails in 1989 (with a different vocalist and lead guitarist it seems) and an unreleased demo from 1992 called Drivn’ All Night.
Christian Tape Underground 