Feature: Latter Reign – The Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future

by Chris Gatto

Labels like Roxx, Retroactive, and Girder deserve a shout out from christian rock and metal fans for bringing new attention to some of the bands that you forgot, or just plain missed out on back in the day. They put their time, talent, and money on the line investing in some of these “lost musical treasures.” In the case of Latter Reign, all the credit goes to Bill Bafford of Roxx for putting the spotlight back on these guys. Fans of Fear Not, Guardian, and Poison read on as we talk about Latter Reign with vocalist Luis Cardenas and guitarist Brad Smith and explore both members’ solo efforts as well.

Can you tell me a little about the early days of Latter Reign? I know that Luis’ brother July Cardenas was one of the founders and that both of you joined later. During what years was the band active?

Brad- Luis can give more details, but basically, yes, July founded the band and once Luis got saved, July invited him to join. A short time later, I joined the band. A funny, ‘God-thing’, was that my best friend and drummer (Dave Bonavich) that I was jamming with at the time, heard from his hairdresser (July’s wife) that a Christian band was looking for a lead guitar player. He gave me a phone number and told me to go for it. I got in, and a short time after that Latter Reign’s drummer quit. I called Dave, and he joined and made the band complete. LR was active from about ’91-late ’96.

Luis: Latter Reign was originally founded by Ryan Cane, John Christian and July Cardenas they had Doug Bear as their drummer. My brother called me cause they didn’t have a singer and were just jamming on music at a little church. I had become a Christian about a year before and started doing shows with background tracks at events like the premier of the christian movie ‘China Cry’. I would sing a few songs and be done as other christian artists would do the same. I did this at several church functions and events as well. All that said, I was missing jamming with a real band, so I took my brother up on his offer. I came up with some cool rockin’ melodies to their music that first time we jammed and the rest is Latter Reign history.

Your only album during that period was Live for the Day, released in 1991. Was that released independently at the time? Were you free of a record company by choice or by chance?

Brad- LFTD was just a demo tape that we recorded on a reel-to-reel 8-track with Luis’ brother-in-law. It was just something that we sold at shows and shopped labels with. We quickly became known as ‘the best unsigned Christian band in SoCal’! Lol! So, not by choice.

Luis: Yes, the band had already gone through some personnel changes and we were finally writing songs that people wanted to own and play in their car or Walkman. But yes, Live For The Day was basically a demonstration recording that we sold at gigs and through our LR fan club. We wanted to get signed by a record label but weren’t offered any good deals at the time.

Luis has something of a sonic resemblance to Larry Worley of Fear Not fame, and I asked Larry if he remembered Latter Reign. He had good things to say about you guys and remembered producing some music for you decades ago, but couldn’t remember if it had ever been released. Was that some of your unreleased demos?

Brad- Luis’ ‘sonic resemblance’ to Larry was purely coincidental. Luis was an established singer and drummer in the secular world and was influenced by bands like Boston and Scorpions. Now…my riffs and songwriting were definitely influenced by Larry and FN! Larry and the band took us under their wing and helped us wherever they could. We shared stages a few times and had a blast together. Larry recorded and produced the single ‘Desire’, which appeared on Heaven’s Metal, Hard Music Vol.1. Doug Van Pelt was instrumental in getting us on that compilation. That version of ‘Desire’ featured Dave on the drums. The version on Latter Reign II features Luis on the drums.

Luis: Yeah what Brad said lol; although I do like Larry’s voice, especially on the Lovelife recordings. Larry really liked the band and wanted to get some of our newer material recorded at a studio with engineer John Gadessi. They got some good sounds and like Bradley said ‘Desire’ was on the Heaven’s Metal compilation album. All the other tracks from the Larry Worley sessions were never released and are probably in a dusty attic somewhere in California.

Who was your target audience in those days? What kind of gigs did you do, and whom did you play with?

Brad- We played anywhere and with anyone who would have us! We played with Guardian, Fear Not, Barren Cross, Crystavox, Sin Dizzy, Ransom, and various others. We even did a few shows at Sanctuary churches! We were a little out of our elements with our thrash brethren, but it was all good.

Luis: Our target audience were sinners who didn’t know God. We weren’t scared to go outside of the church walls and into parks, clubs and secular establishments. We wanted to get the word out and tell the lost through our music that there was a better way. People came to the Lord all the time at our shows. Hurting people tired of living the way they were. Adults, kids; people from all walks of life, homeless and well off just the same.

Did the death of the MTV era in the mid-90’s end the band for you guys back then, or were there other factors?

Brad- Yes. It affected all 80s-based hard rock and metal bands. God used us for a time and we were thankful for that. However, as our families and careers (day jobs) grew, so did our responsibilities at home. The frustration of the changing industry and lack of a record deal didn’t help either.

Luis: Trust me- I had my share of MTV in the eighties. I think the industry was changing at a rapid pace and Latter Reign was one of those bands that was caught in the middle of Nirvana’s grunge and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vetter vocals, lol. We were still rockin’ awesome rhythms and riffs with metal rock vocals and hooky melodies with awesome lead guitar solos and drum solos, but the world didn’t care for that anymore. They wanted crazy, spastic shows with loud obnoxious screaming and everybody jumping and throwing things at the same time. Oh, and then others wanted Eddie Vetter’s voice. Times were changing and people just couldn’t mosh to our sound.

What triggered Latter Reign’s rebirth?

Brad- A fan and brother named Darth Creek and Bill Bafford. ‘Rebirth’ might be a bit strong, lol! But we are thankful for getting a chance to finish and release our catalog.

Luis: Yes, Bill is always looking for bands that once were and could be released on his label again which in itself is an awesome thing. We appreciate Bill not for just the LR stuff but our solo projects as well. It’s so awesome to have a label that trusts you and believes in you and your talent. We are forever grateful to Bill and Roxx Records for their unfailing support as we create our music.

How much of 2022’s Latter Reign II and 2024’s Order to Chaos are demos revisited versus brand new material? These two albums seem less Poison and Fear Not, and more crunch and groove in a hard rock vein. Was there a conscious effort to ‘update’ the band’s sound for a new era?

Well, I don’t want to tell your ears what they are hearing, but from my perspective, this is what I hear: LFTD was more a collection of each of our individual songs and I hear more ‘Poison’ influence on the songs that I wrote, for sure. LR II (or at least half of it) was influenced by our time working with Larry and FN. It was very hard-driving blues-based chord progressions. OTC was a very obvious (I think) attempt by us to be more relevant and experimental. It was still heavy, but reaching back to the 70’s, borrowing from what we were hearing around us, and purposefully trying to avoid much of our 80s staples: predictable progressions, big choruses, and lengthy melodic guitar solos. All those things were becoming the ‘kiss of death’ for bands back then.

Luis: Latter Reign was evolving with the times and the Industry. We were growing in our songwriting and sound. As a vocalist I was experimenting outside of the metal structured vocal lines and being more feel oriented. Messing around with cool groovy rhythmic patterns and riffs. We were having so much fun creating and developing something that nobody was doing mostly on Order To Chaos, my favorite LR album. And I can honestly say that we were ahead of the times with that album. People were like ‘WHAT???’ and performing that stuff live was amazing. I mean our audiences were literally tripping out on this newfound sound that LR had.

‘S.O.T. (Sign of the Times)’ and ‘Order to Chaos’ seem like they’re written about today’s headlines. Rez coined the phrase ‘Hard rock for hard hearts.’ The world has always desperately needed the gospel of Jesus. Is it possible that the situation is even more desperate now than it was in metal’s golden era? Some might say that this is Christendom’s second chance to spark a revival through hard rock and heavy metal music. What say you?

Brad- It’s alarming, and almost prophetic how relevant those lyrics are today! Even when I was writing my solo record this year, I was reacting to so many things that just hurt my heart and frustrated me as a Christian since 2020. I would like to see Christian bands being a part of a revival in this country and throughout the world. I’ve been a Christian for a long time, but God seems to have used the events of the past 4 years to open my eyes. If God uses my music to reach and bless people, then great. However, I’ve resolved to invite God into all areas of my life to use me how He sees fit! I hope all Christians, no matter where they are or what they do, begin to say ‘here I am, God, use me!’

Luis: Being in the music industry since the 70’s playing bars, clubs, festivals, arenas, fairs and stadiums all over the world I definitely experienced some crazy stuff. I was around people that were ungodly, vicious, and self centered to say the least. These experiences stay deep in your memory banks and when you least expect it poke out their little heads. Those songs just tell a tale as old as time; how evil is in the world and it fights to keep you in bondage and ultimately to take your soul. We cry out for change but sometimes change never comes and if it does, it’s a constant battle to stay good with everything around you tugging you in all directions. The Truth sets us FREE from all that turmoil and gives us a new start, a new vision and hope for our future. Music is a powerful tool and can definitely change and influence lives.

I’ve noticed that in your music, both you Luis vocally and you Brad on guitar can turn on and off the electric- so to speak- just like you would turn on or off the distortion. Me, I’m all louder, harder, faster- so if I was writing music, the distortion would be permanently on, lol. When you’re writing Latter Reign songs, how do you determine when power is necessary, or when finesse is required instead? Does the ballad still have a valid place in today’s hard rock world?

Brad- Great question! After all these years working together, Luis and I know exactly where we’re going and the sound we’re looking for. We can almost read each other’s ‘musical mind.’ And that goes for all of our projects, whether it’s my solo stuff, Luis’ solo stuff, Crimson Hope (our rock’n Christmas and worship music project), or Latter Reign. Our music influences are, almost exclusively, very dynamic in their approach to songwriting. It’s just in our DNA. In plain English: We bring it down for verses, so you can focus on the lyrics. The second chorus is usually ‘bigger’ than the first. The breakdown is usually preparing for the final knockout punch towards the end of the song. The unspoken rule is to build the song how it wants to be built.

Luis: Yes we’re big on dynamics and building a song as the song calls for it. Vocals tell a story and can’t always be crazy and big and the same with the arrangement of a song it should build and reach a climax point.

What’s next for the band? Have you played shows? Will there be new material? Are your goals and targets different than they were the first time around?

Brad- We’re not sure what’s next. We’ve played no shows (except a reunion party in ’08). We’re just taking it a little at a time. We have not ruled out a new album and we have not ruled out playing shows.

Luis: Latter Reign has endless possibilities, the sky’s the limit. As far as writing and recording Latter Reign will probably put out more albums as long as God gives us life. Live performance is a different story. Maybe a show here and there but going on the road is no joke. Away from family, practicing, traveling is just not the best way to live when you get up in years. So as far as goals- to do a certain amount of shows is definitely different than before. But our goal to reach the hurting is the same, and I think that Brad and myself will continue to reach the masses through our Latter Reign albums and Bill at Roxx Records’ support.

Luis, you have had an illustrious career in rock. Your band Renegade preceded Latter Reign in the 80’s. Can you tell us a little about that? And you have released a few solo albums, often in different styles, with some songs in Spanish. Can you tell us about each of those? How important are solo albums to keeping your creativity alive?

Luis: Renegade is a band that I put together in the early eighties and had good international success. Our album Rock & Roll Crazy went gold and sold well all over the world. Check out the Renegade ‘Let It Out’ MTV Special live performance from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on YouTube.

My solo album Animal Instinct went platinum and the video ‘Runaway’ was nominated for a Grammy Award. ‘Runaway’ was the number 1 video in the world in 1986 through 1988 winning many film festival awards internationally. ‘Runaway’ played on MTV, VH1 and all video programs all over the United States and overseas. Check out ‘Runaway’ Luis Cardenas on YouTube. I was inducted into the Guinness Book of Records in 1987 for playing the biggest drum set in the world. I have three more solo albums Touch of Paradise, Generations, and just released Stages.These are available on Roxx Records

Is Animal Instinct still available or will you ever rerelease it?

So Animal Instinct is still available through Allied Artists Records. I myself can’t re-release it cause it’s owned by Allied Artists but they did a remastered version that includes my videos ‘Runaway’ and ‘Hungry For Your Love’. I don’t own the rights to it.

I do have several copies of the ‘Animal Instinct’ original vinyl album that I do sell online for $25.00 or $30.00 autographed.

Anyone interested can reach out to luiscardenasmusic@hotmail.com or private message me on Facebook Luis Cardenas artist page.

Thanks my Brother

Brad, your solo album Broken Bones and Bullet Holes was just released and Luis was heavily involved as well. It has a decidedly more Zakk Wylde vibe than Latter Reign. What did you enjoy about this album? Same question as Luis- when you’re in a band, how important is making a solo album to keeping your creativity alive?

Brad- Luis co-produced, co-wrote some parts, played drums and did bgv’s on BBBH, so, yeah, heavily involved. He kicked my butt when I came up with any cheesy or sub-par stuff, so I appreciate him soooo much for that! I did the same for him on his record! Lol -yeah, the ZW/BLS comparison has been used quite frequently regarding BBBH and, I can’t deny it, I’ve always been a huge Zakk fan. However, I didn’t really set out to sound like that, but the song “BBBH” was the first song I wrote for the record. When I finished writing and rough tracking it, I was like ‘wow, ok, that sounds like a cross between BLS and, perhaps, a missing Fear Not song! So, I went with it! Not all the songs are in that vein, but a few definitely are. I didn’t limit myself by saying ‘If it ain’t Zakk, I’m throwing it back!’ The title track lyrics set the tone and attitude for the record and reflect my walk and observations from the last few years.

Luis: Brad and I have found a great dynamic that works for both of us in writing and recording our music. We compliment each other’s creative findings and constructively criticize and motivate each other to do better and work harder where need be. I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to certain musical aspects and so is Brad when it comes to other musical aspects and together we have developed an awesome working relationship and have become closer as friends and brothers in Christ because of it.

I believe that if an artist is talented enough to do his or her own material as a solo artist then have at it.

This is you only- and your sole creation as you want it to be heard and enjoyed by the listener. Even though you may have other musicians playing on your solo project, you’re basically leading them in creating the sound you want to portray. It’s like your baby that you’re presenting to the world and you’re holding nothing back. It’s a vulnerable position for sure putting a solo album out, because it’s just you and it could be loved or hated. Nevertheless, it’s unbelievably gratifying when you have been blessed with this GOD given talent to write and create music in your own way.

Any last words, gentlemen?

Brad- Thank you for taking the time to chat with us.

Luis: Chris we appreciate your interest in our music and value your support. God Bless.

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