Description
State of Control is the third album by the American hard rock band Barren Cross, released on Enigma Records in 1989. The album was produced and engineered by John and Dino Elefante at their Pakaderm Studios in Los Alamitos, California.
Barren Cross shows the mainstream market that Christian metal is not all nice and sweet. This album lives up to the he-vee standards Barren Cross has set for itself, challenging the likes of Iron Maiden and Dio.
Mike Lee’s dark vocals mix well with BC’s power metal, conveying confidence behind the microphone. The low end from bassist Jim LaVerde and drummer Steve Whitaker is thick and precise. Ray Parris, who relies more on getting the job done rather than flash to keep your attention, shows good technique and feeling.
«Stage of Intensity» shows the band in thrash mode, weaving time changes with classical acoustic guitar and crashing snare drums. Lee’s vocals are clear and melodic enough to almost make the words distinguishable to the untrained ear. (You never knew you had to train your ears to listen to heavy metal, did you? ‘Tis so.)
Lyrically, Barren Cross does a balanced and intelligent job of tackling issues from a Christian worldview. On their last effort, ‘Atomic Arena‘, they took on abortion, terrorism, drug abuse, suicide, and religious cults. This time they speak out on child abuse, heartbreak/dating relationships, bigotry and runaways.
«Two Thousand Years» bluntly and clearly shouts the message that, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord/ and you believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead/ then you will be saved and forgiven.”
If you’re looking for bone-crunching metal, look here. [Doug Van Pelt, CCM, May 1989]
2024 Promo, Retroactive Records
Remember those metal cassettes in your collection that had the song titles worn off, and even if you weren’t religious you prayed that it would play just one more time for fear it would wear out? 1989’s State of Control by Barren Cross was that cassette in many-a-metal fan’s collection. Along with Stryper and Guardian, Barren Cross was one of the few bands that actually appealed to metal fans who didn’t shop in Christian bookstores for their music. With the band’s third release they once again expanded their lyrical content to tackle real-life issues like racism and relationships. Mike Lee shows more diversity with this vocal performance by channeling his inner Bruce Dickinson with a raspy voice and the operatic vocals showing only for the higher notes and choruses. The impact of producers John and Dino Elefante is significant with State… adding even more AOR pitch-perfect choruses in the background that gives this melodic heavy metal album its fair share of commercial appeal. One thing is for sure, the album includes exquisite rhythm parts, amazing solos, and everything you expect from elite heavy metal which is why it came in at #32 on the CMR Top 100 Christian Metal Albums. The 2024 Retroactive Records Ocean Blue vinyl/Blood Red vinyl reissue is a collector’s dream featuring a 12×12 full color insert, and write ups from both Retroactive Records owner, and band vocalist, Michael Lee/Drive! And, as a special treat for fans, this reissue includes both bonus tracks, «Your Love Gives» and «Escape in the Night». Limited to just 300 units of each color. Few metal albums impacted the scene and the kingdom like State of Control. Enjoy! For fans of Stryper, Iron Maiden, Guardian, Dio!
Dissonance Productions, 2CD-reissue 2025
The quality and collectability of the best Christian metal albums is demonstrated with the release of this twofer, 1988’s ‘Atomic Arena‘ and 1989’s ‘State Of Control’ by one of the music industry major reissue companies Cherry Red. To quote from The Encyclopaedia Of Contemporary Christian Music, “Founded in 1983, Barren Cross was one of Christian music’s first true heavy metal bands. They followed close on the heels of Stryper but with a heavier sound, akin to Dio or Iron Maiden. The first three albums (including these two) were produced by John and Dino Elefante and featured Christian metal classics like «The Stage Of Intensity». A couple of the songs from the Enigma albums «Imaginary Music» and «Cryin’ Over You» saw some airplay on MTV. In 1989 the group appeared along with members of Kiss and Anthrax on The Morton Downey Show (a televised tabloid talk show) to discuss the topic of groupies in the rock scene.” Sadly, the group’s high media profile was not to continue and in 1990 vocalist and guitarist Mike Lee left to front “a secular group” Bare Bones. Different versions of Barren Cross with varying personnel continued to tour but it was a reunion album, 1994’s ‘Rattle Your Cage‘, which saw the group get their old fire and Jesus focus back. The band’s stated mission “to tell the world of the love of Jesus through heavy music” is clearly demonstrated on both albums and although their evangelistic lyrics are a tad simplistic, they exude passion. Both albums have songs addressing personal problems and social issues. ‘Atomic Arena’ contains the powerful anti-abortion song «Killers Of The Unborn» while «In The Eye Of The Fire» looks at the scourge of suicide and «Terrorist Child» has a lyric which still speaks to our terror-blighted world today. ‘State Of Control’ has a song exposing bigotry, «Bigotry Man», a sin the conservative arm of the American church heaped on all Christian heavy metallers of the time, while «Two Thousand Years» is a neat paraphrase of Romans 10: 9. With a detailed sleeve note this is an excellent package recommended to all metal lovers new or ancient. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, May 2025]
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “State Of Control” – 3:48
A2. “Out Of Time” – 4:06
A3. “Cryin’ Over You” – 4:51
A4. “A Face In The Dark” – 3:53
A5. “The Stage Of Intensity” – 6:30
Side Two
B1. “Hard Lies” – 4:15
B2. “Inner War” – 4:05
B3. “Love At Full Volume” – 2:32
B4. “Bigotry Man (Who Are You)” – 4:37
B5. “Two Thousand Years” – 7:05
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD by Enigma Records. (The CD and cassette editions feature an extra track; “Escape In The Night”, though there are two versions of the CD. The second CD version, distributed to Christian stores through Benson, contains the ballad “Your Love Gives” instead of “Escape In The Night.” Benson’s cassette edition also only includes 10 tracks, similar to the LP version of the album, though replacing “Two Thousand Years” with “Your Love Gives”.) Remastered by Eddy Schreyer and re-issued by Restless Records/Rykodisc in 2003. Also remastered by Rob Colwell and re-issued as a Limited Edition CD by Retroactive Records in 2020, as a part of the label’s Legends Remastered series (limited to 1000 copies and featuring 12 tracks, including both “Escape In The Night” and “Your Love Gives”). Mastered for vinyl by Rob Colwell in 2024 and and re-issued as a Limited Edition 12-inch vinyl LP (pressed on both Ocean Blue Vinyl and Blood Red Vinyl) by Retroactive Records in January 2025 (through Limited Run Vinyl/Limited Run Music), as a part of the label’s Legends Remastered series (limited to 300 copies of each color, featuring 12 tracks, including both “Escape In The Night” and “Your Love Gives”). Re-issued on CD by Dissonance Productions in February 2025 together with Atomic Arena, housed in a double CD digipak (featuring exclusive liner notes from writer Kevin Stewart-Panko who conducted a new in-depth interview with singer Mike Lee).
State of Control, Remastered and pressed on both Ocean Blue Vinyl and Blood Red Vinyl, Retroactive Records 2025
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