Feature: Resurrection Band – Transcending genres – a tribute to Rez

This article originally appeared in issue 86 of Heaven’s Metal magazine. The crew had spent months debating and creating the now (outdated?) 100 Greatest Christian Metal Albums of all time. However, It appeared to me that I was on an island by myself for Rez during the debate (sorry guys). Nope, not metal enough (alas my fellow crew members are not wrong). Something I said must’ve pushed a decision, as at number 100 one album was included (1988’s Silence Screams). Perhaps it’s too personal for me, I dunno. Anyway I hope you enjoy this reprint as it were from 2012.

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RESURRECTION BAND:
Transcending Genres A Tribute to Rez

Is the Resurrection Band a metal band? To that question I answer, “Does it really
matter?” Many will say ‘They’re not metal at all as they are far too mainstream. As a
mater of fact they’re simply hard rock at most.’ Our own Heaven’s Metal crew was
unable to reach a consensus on a specific disc. Fair enough.

It came to our illustrious publisher to make an executive decision to get them in this list. It would’ve been a travesty if they hadn’t. Perhaps their art doesn’t deserve to be in this particular list; maybe it doesn’t quite fit. However, in 1978, when their debut release for Star Song Records, Awaiting Your Reply, came out, I’m sure there wouldn’t have been any doubt. Many Christian bookstores sold it behind the counter; like a forbidden experience, you had to ask for it. How much more metal is that?

None of that mattered to me when I saw them for the first time (of seven future
shows) on their Live Bootleg tour of 1984 (second concert I ever attended). It sure
seemed like metalto me. I had only a meager exposure to their catalog at that point,
primarily from their Colours album from 1980. I remember hearing “Colours,” “Amazing,” and “CityStreets” from that album.

Obviously, they played lots of other songs, including their trademark “Military
Man,” yet I was unaware at the time. It was a raucous event, with some fans showing up
in full leather and biker denim. This was a very different crowd from the Petra crowd I’d seen six weeks earlier. More intense, more “street,” not the typical Christian crowd. I always thought it funny when Guns N’ Roses claimed to be from the “street.” The
streets of Southern California were a far cry from the streets of inner-city Chicago.
With Glenn Kaiser and company you got the real deal; there were no pretenses and there were no attitudes, just real people who loved Jesus and played their hearts out. The albums continued to get technically better, both from a production standpoint and playing standpoint. Those first two Star Song releases, the aforementioned Awaiting Your Reply and the follow up Rainbows End, captured an essence of 1970’s hard rock/metal from the production end to the style of song writing.

1980 brought a new label in Light Records, but also a newer, almost rawer
sound. Colours, Mommy Don’t Love Daddy Anymore and the D.M.Z. albums contained
some very good metal/hard rock compositions: “American Dream,” “N.Y.C.,” “Alienated,” “The Chair,” “Stark/Spare,” “Amazing,” “Babylon” and their most enduring song from this period “Military Man.” However, there was some confusion as well, because even though there were many harder edged songs, some pop rock type stuff seemed to arrive as well. “Can’t Stop Loving You,” “I Need Your Love” and several others … so for a fan like me, who grew up on a diet of AC/DC or Judas Priest, what was I to do with a song like “Elevator Muzik?”

When Live Bootleg came out in 1984 on Sparrow Records, Rez again entered
new territory with even better production, but more importantly, better songs. With the
studio releases of Hostage and Between Heaven ‘N Hell, they still flirted with some
poppy new wave type stuff, but they also wrote some fantastic driving melodies. From the haunting “Tears in the Rain” or the commanding “Attention” off Hostage to the AC/DC like “Love Comes Down” and sorrowful “Shadows,” off Between Heaven ‘N Hell, the heavier side of this band continued to grow.

Throughout their history they’d always had some association with the blues, allthe time widening their musical scope to try to win as many folks as possible. I remember Glenn Kaiser speaking about how nearly a third of the Psalms were ones of lament, pain, sorrow, hurt and blues. They used the blues throughout their career,expressing the anguish of the human condition and subsequent redemption of it with an
electrified effectiveness. After all, their mission wasn’t one of just music, but one of
evangelism and social concern that was explicitly stated in their lyrics. It was this
underlying current of concern for their fellow man that inherently forced Rez to expand their musical direction throughout the years.

By the end of 1985, it seemed that the musical soil Rez had plowed in the church
was coming to fruition with a seemingly endless parade of new up and comers. First, it must be said that the team of Glenn and Wendi Kaiser, Stu Heiss, Jim Denton and John Herron had seemingly been going strong for years. The album tour cycle, I’m sure, took its toll, and once they fulfilled their contract with Sparrow with Between… the Rez bandseemingly disappeared.

Perhaps a rest and a sabbatical for the band was in order. During that time, Jim Denton went to seminary and moved on to other ministry. Yet in the Christian press, I don’t remember seeing much about them. It was like they had simply vanished, and in
the period between late 1985 and 1988 all seemed quiet, at least to this fan. You must
remember this was all before the internet and instant communication.

The landscape of Christian metal/hard rock had changed pretty radically by 1988.In 1983, Rez, Barnabas, Jerusalem and Daniel Band had been the torchbearers of hard driving music with a Christian point of view. In five short years, the explosion of heavy
metal and hard rock with a Christian point of view was enormous.

Obviously, the burst of Stryper onto the scene in 1984 brought about a lot of change, but by the time 1988 hit there was Barren Cross, Bloodgood, Bride, Sacred Warrior, Saint, Leviticus, Messiah Prophet, Philadelphia, Whitecross, Trytan, and
Vengeance Rising just to name a few. These bands had grabbed the attention and wonder of us metal fans almost to the exclusion of what had gone on before. These
bands provided albums devoid of three or four musical styles per release but just stayed the course with loud and pounding metal.

When it had been announced that Rez was going to put out a new album, I was excited. I really looked forward to 1988 as that new album Silence Screams would be forthcoming. With its release, there was again another progression in songwriting and production, and it even included a secular cover, “In the Presence of the Lord.”
I remember reading that Glenn knew what he meant when he sang that song, and there was no doubt of that. Wendi never sounded better, and with new bass player Roy Montroy aboard, there seemed to be no doubt what direction they were going
musically – even harder driving rock n roll with an even bluesier edge than before (with
enough metallic sheen to grab you.)

I believe that Rez hit their heaviest stride with the next string of albums Silence
Screams, Innocent Blood and Civil Rites. These three albums contained some of the
strongest songwriting and production with an emphasis on consistency throughout each
release. You wouldn’t find any pop styling or techno influenced material, but you did find
metal-edged bluesy hard rock.

Yet it seemed at times – in the conversations of the day – that they were overlooked by many fans as “old school” and as somewhat passé. I found this, both then and now, hard to believe. How anyone can honestly overlook this period of the band in particular is just amazing to me. From the rock n roll anthems “Light/Light” and
“Right on Time,” to the pure metal atmospherics of “Altar of Pain,” “80,000” or the blues rock drenched “Where Roses Grow,” “Rain Dance” or “Lovespeak,” this simply was not the same band of 1978-1985.

Stu Heiss seemed to play it with a more straightforward approach (less jazz
inspired solos) and Glenn Kaiser showed why he is one of the most underrated guitar
players, period. There is something to be said for technical prowess, but to harness that and dig deep and share your soul through your instrument is something else all together.

After releasing their classic double live album XX Years, 1993’s Reach of Love
and the Ty Tabor produced Lament (which in and of itself could be an entire article for
that album itself), the Resurrection Band called it a day. (With a nod to the acoustic
album, 1997s Ampendectomy.)

It’s hard to truly gauge their impact and their contribution to music with a
Christian point of view. Just from a cursory observation, it seems clear that their
purpose was two-fold: first, to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the joy of the new
life in Him; secondly, and not intentionally, they plowed up the hard and stiff ground of a subculture that likes to have things nice, neat and easily cataloged.

It’s safe to say that if these musical missionaries hadn’t answered this call the
impact that other artists, who came later, would’ve been less. Surely our Lord can do
and use whom He desires, and yes, He could’ve used another artist perhaps, but He
didn’t.

The music and the lyrical impact Rez has had on me is one of immeasurable
proportions. I’m often reminded of the time that I struggled with the silence of God in my
own life. It was one of the many desert experiences we as believers have. I was
listening to their song “Rain Dance” from Silence Screams. Driving down the freeway I
kept imploring the Lord, “Please let me know that You’re here.” It was during that time the lyric of “Lord send Your rain/rain/rain/rain” came across my stereo speakers. It was at that precise moment that sprinkles of fresh rain appeared on my windshield from the overcast sky. A coincidence? It was a reminder to me that the Lord is still ever present. It was those types of reminders and insights that the Resurrection Band included
in their lyrical content and in their concert testimonials. It’s been those kinds of insights
that have elevated them from mere evangelical musicians to a status of insightful observers of the human condition in all its ugliness and shame.

Yet instead of just providing a nice, neat Jesus answer, they remind us that life is
hard for all, even and especially the believer. But the power we receive from the Lord
can give us the strength and the hope to carry on. It’s that hope that has made me a
grateful fan. If you desire more from music than just entertainment – such as encouragement and a reflection of our true selves – then one must see Rez as one of
the most important Christian artists in the history of metal/hard rock ‘n’ roll.

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