X-Terra – Who Said

X-Terra
Who Said
1989 (no label)
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA

Clint Reed – Lead vocals, guitar
Anne Kachline – Bass, backup vocals
Bob Kachline – Drums, backup vocals

Side 1:

1. Who Said
2. I Need You
3. Take Heed
4. Crusin’ for a Bruisin’

Side 2:

1. Keep the Faith
2. Too Busy
3. Eye of the Hurricane
4. Ready or Not

This might have been the closet that X-Terra came to a full length album in their early years. This demo seems to be surrounded by shorter tapes just called “Demo” – a three song demo in 1988, and a three song demo in 1990 that just had three songs from this demo (“Who Said,” “Eye of the Hurricane,” and “Ready or Not”). They have gotten a bit more heavier since their 1987 demo, but still are not going in the groove metal direction they started with 1992’s Experience the Power. They started in 1985, and were still recording in at least 2017, so this is probably one of the longest running bands in the underground.

X-Terra – New Terrain

X-Terra
New Terrain
1994 (no label)
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA

Clint Reed – Guitars, lead vocals
Anne Kachline – Bass, back-up vocals
Bob Kachline – Drums, back-up vocals

Tom Borthwick – Hammond organ

Side 1:

1. Watch Be Ready
2. Warrior
3. Father’s House
4. Sunshine
5. How Long
6. Emotional Overload

Side 2:

1. Wolves
2. Perilous Times
3. The First Shall Be Last
4. Nowhere to Run
5. Modern Man

I wonder how many tapes this band has put out? They definitely kept them coming, that is for sure. I know I keep harping on this, but I have yet to see why they get the groove metal label. It probably came from one of their many releases, as they do seem to change styles somewhat from album to album. This tape feels more classic rock influenced, especially a mixture of AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. They are not outright cloning either, so keep in mind they still sound like a 90s hard rock band. It’s just that you can detect the classic rock influences in the mix. They play their brand of hard rock well. Don’t get me wrong with pointing out they are groove metal – its not a criticism, just an observation.

X-Terra – X-Terra

X-Terra
X-Terra
2000 (no label)
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA

Rich Wilkens – Lead vocals
Josh Haynes – Lead guitar, vocals
Russ Straw – Rhythm guitar, vocals
Anne Kachline – Bass, vocals
Bob Kachline – Drums, vocals

Side 1:

1. Warriors
2. Prayers
3. Where’s Your Love
4. Witching Hour
5. The Gadarene
6. Be My Home

Side 2:

1. Choose Life
2. Woe to the Wicked
3. Do What Jive
4. Wolves
5. Tower of Babel
6. Found Trusting

X-Terra had been around for quite a long time by the time this demo was put out. Its also interesting to see a cassette from 2000. They start off with some tasty traditional metal/almost thrash metal riffs, and then start mixing in elements of nu-metal/groove metal here and there. However, if you hate those genres, keep in mind that they still ground this all in mostly traditional metal. I kind of like some modern metal, but if more bands went this direction I would have liked them more. I often see this band described as “groove metal.” There is a little bit here and there in this demo, but they are still not really like the Mustard Seeds, Atomic Opera, etc in the groove metal genre.

X-Terra – Demo

X-Terra
Demo
1987 (no label)
Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA

Clint Reed – Vocals, guitar
Anne Kachline – Vocals, bass
Bob Kachline – Drums

1. Rockin’ for Jesus
2. The Sky is Red

As far as I can tell, this is the first demo by X-Terra, the heavy metal trio with one dude doing guitars and vocals and the husband/wife team holding down the rhythm section. The first track is kind of a bluesy/Southern-rockish track with Clint on lead vocals, while the second track is more of a metal ballad with Anne and Clint on lead vocals. The band was still going strong as of 2017, so they must be doing something right. While they were straight forward hard rock/metal on this release, they did go in a more groove metal direction in the future.

X-Terra – Experience the Power

X-Terra
Experience the Power
1992 (no label)
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA

Clint Reed – Guitars, lead vocals
Anne Kachline – Bass, back-up vocals
Bob Kachline – Drums, back-up vocals

Side 1:

1. Don’t Lock Him Out
2. Sell Anything
3. First Stone
4. In One Ear
5. Brother’s Three

Side 2:

1. Mighty Oak
2. Machine Man
3. Wake Up
4. Watch Out
5. Shepherd

I had heard of this band off and on before, but didn’t realize they are still going and have a good 11-12 releases between demos and full lengths. They started in 1985 and their latest release was in 2017. I was also pretty sure they were a heavy metal-ish band… but the first song had me doing a double take. It was a mellow almost-indie rock sounding intro, until the guitars fill in and you can tell it is not indie rock. They seem to describe their sound as “groove metal.” That kind of fits, as they are heavy, but with a bit more groove than typical metal. However, “groove metal” is a genre that describes bands like Atomic Opera, Mustard Seeds, Driving West, etc – usually more Beatles influence than you find on this demo. But they are close enough that its still the best point of reference.