Guardian (band)

Guardian
	General information
Genre (s)	Hard rock , power metal , rock
founding	1982 as a merger, ; 1985 as Gardian, ; 1989 as Guardian , 2004
resolution	1999
Website	http://www.houseofguardian.com/
Founding members
singing	Paul Cawley (until 1990)
guitar	Gene Thurston (1982)
bass	David Bach
Drums	Steve Martinez (1982)
Current occupation
singing	Jamie Rowe (since 1990)
guitar	Tony Palacios (since 1989)
bass	David Bach
Drums	Karl Ney (since 1990)
former members
guitar	James Isham (1982-1984)
guitar	David Caro (1985-1988)
Drums	Rikk Hart (1982–1990)

Guardian is a Christian hard rock band that was formed in the United States in the 1980s . Since then, the group of four has released 6 studio albums, 3 Spanish albums and numerous other CDs - many of them under their own label, G-Man Records . The band sold almost half a million records in the United States. In 1999 the breakup of the band was announced. The band members wanted to devote themselves to their own projects. However, every now and then they would take the stage together for special occasions. Finally, the comeback was announced in 2004. But it was not until July 2014 that a new studio album was released.

Band history

Background: From Fusion to Guardian

The history of the band began in 1982 with the formation of the band "Fusion", founded by bassist David Bach, singer Paul Cawley, guitarist Gene Thurston and drummer Steve Martinez. However, guitarist and drummer were soon replaced by James Isham (guitar) and Rikk Hart (drums). The band played melodic metal . In 1984 her first EP Rock In Victory was released . A short time later guitarist James Isham was replaced by David Caro.

In 1985 the band got a record deal with Enigma Records . Since there was already a band called Fusion at that time, the band was renamed "Gardian" (without "u"). Their next EP Voyager was released in 1987. A year later guitarist David Caro left the band.

This was replaced in 1989 by Tony Palacios. The band added the "u" to their name and was now called "Guardian". That year the first album First Watch was released , produced by Oz Fox, the guitarist of " Stryper ". The futuristic elements in their style have been reduced. A very intensive tour of the United States and Japan followed . After the end of the tour in 1990, singer Paul Cawley and drummer Rikk Hart left the band because they could not cope with the tour's stress.

The two EPs Rock In Victory and Voyager as well as other demos, which were created between 1982 and 1988, can be heard on the CD Voyager & Fusion, which was released in 2001 .

The new cast

David Bach and Tony Palacios left the Enigma Records record company , which did not exist for long. Singer Jamie Rowe - previously singer with Tempest - and drummer Karl Ney joined the band. For the new album Fire And Love , which was released at Pakaderm Records , a subsidiary label of Word Records , and the secular label Epic Records at the end of 1990 , the band was able to win the sibling duo John & Dino Elefante as producers. The result is a melodic pop metal album with slight blues influences. The reactions to the album have been overwhelming. The video clip for Power Of Love was a complete success and was played over and over again on MTV . In addition, the final anthem of the album Never Say Goodbye could not be missing from any concert.

In 1993 the follow-up work Miracle Mile was released , which is still the best-selling album of "Guardian". The sound of this album has become even more commercial and is somewhat reminiscent of “ Guns N 'Roses ”. The band's trademark was still Jamie's powerful, rough voice. The album quickly hit the Christian charts and reached the CCM Top Five. The video for the song Shoeshine Johnny also appeared on MTV soon.

After switching from Pakaderm to Myrrh Records , another subsidiary label of Word Records , the experimental acoustic album Swing Swang Swung was created in 1994 , a mixture of blues , rock and worship . Totally unexpected, the album became almost as successful as Miracle Mile . Due to the growing audience in the Spanish-speaking area of America, the first Spanish CD Nunca Te Diré Adiós , on which ten ballads of the band can be heard in Spanish, was released at the beginning of next year .

The change of style

With the engagement of producer Steve Taylor 1995 there was a style change at Guardian. The album Buzz , a mixture of grunge and modern rock , was released this year and received a lot of new fans and a lot of positive criticism. However, the band also lost some fans who condemned the style change to modern trends in the strictest possible terms and would have preferred to hear another metal work by "Guardian".

In 1997 Bottle Rocket was released , a modern rock album with little grunge influences. The CD could not build on the past successes. In the same year, Guardian's second Spanish CD was released: Promesa contains ten songs by the band in Spanish .

1998 came with The Yellow and Black Attack Is Back! once again released an EP that was very positively received by fans of the old days. On this EP, “Guardian” re-recorded all the songs from the 1984 debut work by “ Stryper ” - The Yellow and Black Attack - in the typical 80s glam metal style. So little was changed in the originals. The CD was recorded and marketed independently and the edition was strictly limited.

The resolution

In 1999, the dissolution of "Guardian" was finally announced. The band members wanted to devote themselves to their own projects. Then released "Guardians" record label Smashes: The Best Of Guardian (1993-1997) . Since the CD mainly contains songs from Buzz and Bottle Rocket , “Guardian” released its own compilation of their hits a short time later: Sunday Best contains songs from Fire And Love to Swing Swang Swung that cannot be heard on Smashes , so it's one Kind of complement to smashes . A concert of their farewell tour is on Guardian Live! to listen. From now on Jamie Rowe devoted himself to his solo career, but also worked as the singer of " AdrianGale " and " London Calling ". David Bach found work as an A&R man with ForeFront Records . Tony Palacios started out as a studio musician and has mixed many records for many musicians and bands. From now on, Karl Ney took care of business matters for bands like the " Newsboys " and others.

The comeback

At first it was never really quiet about "Guardian". In 2001 they performed at the Cornerstone Festival . At the beginning of the next year, they released their third Spanish album with ten new songs, the last of which is in English . This CD was recorded without the participation of David Bach. This was followed by some appearances in South and Central America, where their popularity has grown steadily. However, it then became quiet about "Guardian". It wasn't until 2004 that the four band members met again to think about a reunion. They agreed and announced their comeback. In 2005 there were some gigs. Work on a new album began. The search for a satisfactory record deal has so far been unsuccessful. In the spring of 2009 the band grew by another member, the guitarist Jamey Perrenot, and recorded 4 new Guardian classics in his house. These were released in digital form on the House of Guardian EP . As a foretaste of the upcoming album, another EP entitled Three to Get Ready was published in 2011. In order to generate the necessary money for the production of the new album, a fundraising campaign was started on the kickstarter platform in 2012, in which mainly fans from the USA and Europe took part. In July 2014, after 17 years, the new studio album entitled Almost Home was finally released .

Discography

Official albums

First Watch (1989, Enigma / Capitol )
Fire And Love (1990, Pakaderm / Word , Epic )
Miracle Mile (1993, Pakaderm / Word, Epic)
Swing Swang Swung (1994, Myrrh / Word)
Buzz (1995, Myrrh / Word)
Bottle Rocket (1997, Myrrh / Word)
Smashes: The Best Of Guardian (1999, Myrrh / Word)
Guardian Live! (2000, ForeFront Records )
Almost Home (2014, G-Man Records )

Spanish albums

Nunca Te Diré Adiós (1995, Myrrh / Word)
Promesa (1997, Myrrh / Word)
Dime (2002, G-Man Records)

Independent and other CDs

Kingdom Of Rock (1996, G-Man Records)
Delicious Bite-Size Meat Pies (Live) (1996, G-Man Records)
The Yellow And Black Attack Is Back! (1998, G-Man Records)
Sunday Best (1999, G-Man Records)
Live At Cornerstone 2001 (2001, M8 Records )
Voyager & Fusion: The Early Years (2001, M8 Records)
House of Guardian: Volume One EP (2009, G-Man Records)
Three to Get Ready EP (2011, G-Man Records)