Exodus – From Darkness Into Light

Exodus
From Darkness Into Light
1984 (no label)
West Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Lonnie Smith – Vocals, keyboards
Tony Feliciano – Guitars
Duane Dennis – Vocals, guitar

1. Choice of the Realms
2. Don’t Run
3. Live for Eternity
4. Metal from the Rock
5. Shadows
6. Show Me the Light

There have been many heavy bands called Exodus – not to mention the famous thrash band that most people would associate the name with now. This is more of a traditional metal band with power metal leanings. If you think early to mid-80s heavy metal, this band was right on track with that. This band was originally known as New Horizons Band in 1980. They changed names to Stairway in 1981 and then to Exodus in 1982. In 1984 they finally settled on Alliance released the less metal Spiritual Battle EP in 1986. But Lonnie was the only member from this demo that was still around for that.

Peter York – Close to the Bone

Peter York
Close to the Bone
1983 (no label)
Melbourne, Australia

Peter York – Vocals, guitar
Graham McCoy – Guitar
Les Price – Keyboards
Duane Mitchell – Bass
Martin Zammit – Drums
Jordie Young – Flute, vocals

Rowan Shinkfield – Double bass on “Willie’s Blues”
Peter Fiddler – Electric guitar on “Blow Your House Away”

Side 1:

1. Key to My Heart
2. I’m Alone
3. Lovely Smile
4. It’s All Right
5. On This Day

Side 2:

1. Noonkanbah
2. Close to the Bone
3. Blow Your House Away
4. Willie’s Blues
5. So Good to Be Alive

This is another Australian release that you can find free online (as well as on YouTube). But this is not the drummer Peter York, nor is it the long-term CEO of Sparrow Records and Capitol Christian Music Group. This is the one from Australia that has 10 albums. I know that the Discogs entry for this release says this Peter York is the one that ran Sparrow. But compare the story of that Peter York with this Peter York. Stylistically there is a lot of variety here. There are some adult alternative leaning songs, rock songs, folk songs, etc. They work well together, and if you like those styles you will probably enjoy them. The next album I can find by York is 1995’s There You Are – but it is listed as his 5th album, so I am assuming there are others in between.

The Hurting Kind – EP

The Hurting Kind
EP
1989 (no label)
Brighton, Brisbane, Australia

Andrew Harris – Lead vocals
Paul Dean Harris – Guitars, vocals
John D. Allen – Guitars, vocals
Rachel Johnson – Piano, keyboards
Paul Taylor – Bass, vocals
Craig James – Drums

1. Past Memories Of You
2. Now That You’re Not Around
3. Hurting Kind
4. Dancing on the Edge
5. Down on the Brisbane Line

I’m not totally sure if this tape belongs here, but in researching an upcoming tape transfer of Under New Management’s Dancing on the Edge, I see that this was a later band featuring former members of Under New Management (Andrew Harris, Paul Dean Harris, and John D. Allen). So at least adjacent? This is described as jangle pop by a label that re-released this tape in 2019. Jangle pop often appeals to fans of 80s alternative rock, but sometimes it doesn’t – so just a heads up on that front. You can listen to the whole thing on YouTube below. If you like that style of music, you can see why LCMR re-issued it.

Dancing on the Wire – Dancing on the Wire

Dancing on the Wire
Dancing on the Wire
1987 (no label)
Adelaide, South Australia

Gerry Holmes – Vocals, keyboards
Steve Daughtry – Vocals, drums

1. Try Again
2. Hold on to Simon
3. Don’t Even Think About It
4. Dance on the Wire
5. One Step
6. Just As I Am
7. Phoenix
8. Keep It Personal

I’m not totally sure if this was ever a cassette release. The cover seems to have two lines on the left side that make it look like it was. Plus the release date was when most people did cassettes. Since it probably was, and its free online, and it has former members of The Puppets, I will include it here. This is more of a techno / new wave / synth pop / etc duo where all instruments are electronically generated. Except for maybe some drums? Different people have different lines drawn between those styles, but the band calls themselves electro-pop so I will go with that. It’s a fun listen for those that enjoyed new wave-adjacent styles in the 80s.

The Difference – Demo

The Difference
Demo
1989 (no label)
Virginia, USA

K. Poynter
Rick Henretty
M. Sumpter
C. May

1. Reach Out
2. Hold On
3. Make the Choice
4. My Heart Cries
5. Words Are Weapons

From what I can find online, this band has nothing to do with Michelangelo and the Difference. But the name sounds like they are maybe alternative, so I gave it a shot. And after an intro made of found sound and some noodling, they do breakout in a driving late 80s alternative rock sound. U2 being a noticeable influence, but they also mix in a louder progressive rock style as well. Kind of like Springchamber did a few years later. But not like that as well. They have a familiar take on alt rock, but also one that is unique as well. But this is all I know about the band.

Missing Information: Who played what?

Scepter – Scepter

Scepter
Scepter
1984 (no label)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Wendell Koop – Vocals, rhythm guitar
Joseph Madden – Lead guitar, rhythm guitar, Vocals
Darrell Reimer – Bass guitar
Gilbert Vielfaure – Drums

Side 1:

1. Eye in the Sky
2. Presence
3. Nero
4. Hang On

Side 2:

1. Physical Evidence
2. Forgiven Again
3. Star

This is not the same Scepter that released a soft rock album on Star Song in 1982. It’s also not any of the bands named Sceptre. It is the band that became The Keep later this same year and released Never Surrender on Tunesmith Records. “Eye in the Sky,” “Nero,” “Hang On,” and “Forgiven Again” were re-recorded for that album. Their full-length album is hard rock and rock that almost borders on heavy metal at times. This is mostly a rock album with three hard rock tunes. But it is still a good demo, so you can see why they were signed.

Smash Alley Underground – Demo

Smash Alley Underground
Demo
199? (no label)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

David A. Walker – Guitars, Vocals
(others?)

1. (Blind Men Lead the Blind)
2. (No Parties in Hell)
3. (Unspeakable Evil)
4. Back Alley Shadows
5. Chased by the Enemy

This demo by Smash Alley Underground has a lot of stuff on the cover – but apparently no release date or track names in all of that text. So song titles in parenthesis above are a guess. Some of the songs have weird vocal effects when the chorus would be (like a robotic effect or devil effect), so it’s hard to make out what is being said. The cover compares them to Pantera and Metallica, and that is a good guess for some of the songs on here based on the early 90s sound of both of those bands. So I guess that was when this came out. They don’t stick with just the Pantera thing, though. Some songs have flute and saxophone. The third track has doom-ish parts. The last two tracks are different versions of songs on their 1995 CD Rising From the Shadows. But that CD is mostly a commercial metal album. There is also a guy that gives a short mini-sermon at the end of each song. While he sounds very sincere, I’m not sure the points he is making would really convince many people to change their mind.

Eric A Peterson – Wishbone

Eric A Peterson
Wishbone
1994 (no label)
Chesterfield, Missouri, USA

Eric A Peterson – Everything, except:

Brian Keithly – Drums
Joel Puttcamp – Bass on “Sacred,” “Absence,” and “Epitaph”
Jimmy P. Brown II – All vocals on “Absence of Reality” and “Sacred”
John Effinger – Harmony vocals on “Cry”
Marty Warren – Last guitar solo on “Wishbone”
Dan Henderson – Cello on “Strings”
Nick Misra – Violin on “Strings”
Dave Heard – Viola on “Strings”

1. Absence of Reality
2. Strings
3. Wishbone
4. Sacred
5. Cry
6. Epitaph

Just to get this out of the way, this is not the same Eric Peterson that is in Jesus Freaks. It is the same Erik Peterson that was in Poesis. Their demo was alternative rock. This album jumps out of the gate with a mid-90s thrash metal style song with none other than Jimmy P. Brown II of Deliverance on vocals. The second track is a more mellow instrumental song and then a more thrashy instrumental song. I wonder if the Marty Warren on this tape is the same one that was in Shadoworld who worked with King’s X? Then there is a thrash-style ballad with Brown on vocals. This is followed by an acoustic track and a thrash song, both with Peterson on vocals I believe? Petersen’s Poesis bandmate joins him for bass on three songs. But this demo came out about two years before the Poesis demo. From what I have found, Peterson has another demo called End All that might have been from 1993. The songs were sent to me in a different order than they appear on the j-card. I put the order that they were given to me above. I could really use a full scan of the j-card and tape as well.

Martus – The Devil is Screamin’

Martus
The Devil is Screamin’
1988 (no label)
San Diego, California, USA

Dave Zierenberg – Guitars, synthesizers, vocals
Jim Blagg – Guitars, vocals
Phil Thomasson – Bass guitar, vocals
Ed Taylor – Drums, vocals

Side One:

1. The Devil Is Screamin’
2. Nobody Told Us
3. Have You Heard
4. Merry-Go-Round

Side Two:

1. Kamikaze
2. Out of Bondage
3. Perseverance
4. God is on the Throne

First of all, this is not the same Martus from the Los Angeles area that had future members of Adam Again and Undercover. This is a heavy metal / hard rock band from San Diego. Even though they really don’t look like it in the band pic. The lead singer almost sounds like a power / traditional metal belter, while the band leans more commercial metal / hard rock in sound. Sounds like the tape that the transfer I was sent was made from was in rough-ish shape unfortunately. Not bad, but still some sonic issue that sound like the magnetic tape was warped some. A couple of songs, especially the last track – definitely veer into hard rock territory and leave behind most metal aspects.

The Puppets – The Puppets

The Puppets
The Puppets
1986 (no label)
Adelaide, Australia

Tom Martin – Electric guitar
Gerry Holmes – Keys, keyboard bass
Steve Daughtry – Drums

1. Lottery to Space
2. We Clicked
3. Baby Can’t Talk
4. Give It a Go
5. Batman
6. Another World
7. Happy Ending

This wasn’t technically released back in the day, but it was recorded back then to a form of tape and released recently. So it counts. Plus, it’s a good chance to point to a website that has several rare albums for download that were on vinyl (like iDeA). The sound here is an 80s new wave / synth pop sound that does lean a bit towards the pop side here and there, but with a noticeable guitar presence that comes out on songs like “Give It a Go.” You can download most of the unreleased album for free, except for their cover of the Batman TV show theme song. You can stream that one online, though – they just left it out of the download for copyright reasons. After this, Steve and Gerry formed a more electro-pop band called Dancing on the Wire.