The Crucified
Encyclopedia
The Crucified is an American Christian crossover thrash metal
band from Fresno
, California
that formed in 1984. Its lineup is vocalist Mark Salomon
, guitarist Greg Minier, bassist Jeff Bellew, and drummer Jim Chaffin. The Crucified released two studio albums and three demos
. The band toured California for the majority of its career and appeared at the Cornerstone Festival
outside of Chicago several times. The band broke up in 1993 due to personal differences but came back in 2009.
, California
The four teens knew each other as high school classmates. The name K.G.B. had no meaning to it, the members thought initials "sounded cool". In early 1985, K.G.B. was looking for a new vocalist due to the departure of Stonecipher. Minier asked his friend Mark Salomon
to try out as vocalist and Salomon, interested in the group, accepted to try out. Salomon was accepted into the band after singing a few songs the band wrote with Stonecipher. Sensing pressure from friends to have a meaning behind the name K.G.B., the band made the initials stand for Kids in God's Blessings. Not long after the name change, the band thought the name sounded juvenile and changed it to The Crucified. The name came from Minier thinking of random names that would fit a Christian band. The Crucified added the Bible
verse to the name whenever they wrote it. "For I have been crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."
Greg Sostrom saw The Crucified at a few shows and offered them a recording contract with his new start-up label, Narrowpath Records. The band accepted the offer and started to record songs at Casbah Studios in Southern California. The 15 track album was titled The Crucified
. It was released in compact disc
format, which was a new format in the late 1980s. After the album's release, the band started to tour around California, including appearances at the Cornerstone Festival
as well as opening for D.R.I.
, G.B.H., and Pantera
. Johnson was fired from the band due to personal differences and the guys started looking for a new bassist. Chaffin responded to an ad in a newspaper posted by Jeff Bellew, citing The Crucified as an influence. Bellew joined the band and drove for four hours from his home in So Cal to Fresno every weekend to practice. Eventually the drive became too costly and he moved to Fresno to practice with the band.
. For the next two years the band toured very little, but did play several headlining shows, mostly in Orange County
, California
and neighboring Los Angeles
, San Diego and Riverside Counties
. The Crucified played with many bands in Southern California, among them Scaterd Few
, Mortal
, Vengeance Rising, Focused, P.O.D.
and the Prayer Chain - often to sold out crowds. Rumor had it that Pantera singer Phil Anselmo
offered the band to open on the Vulgar Display of Power
tour, but as the other members of Pantera did not remember The Crucified, the band did not open on the entire tour but did open for Pantera at the Fresno stop of their tour.
As the band members started to struggle with their Christian faith, the members started to not get along with each other as well as they used to. By the summer of 1993, Jim Chaffin called Salomon and told him the band was done. The Crucified canceled what was to be the band's biggest tour and played Cornerstone 1995 as a farewell show. Mark Salomon and Jeff Bellew went on to form the hard rock band Stavesacre
.
The band played their first show in 14 years on June 14, 2009 at the Calvary Chapel Golden Springs in Diamond Bar, California, and also played at the Cornerstone Festival on the night of July 3, 2009.
The band performed their first show overseas on October 31, 2009 at the Nordic Festival in Oslo, Norway.
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Crossover thrash
__FORCETOC__Crossover thrash, often abbreviated to crossover, is a form of thrash metal that contains more hardcore punk elements than standard thrash. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and punk rock...
band from Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
that formed in 1984. Its lineup is vocalist Mark Salomon
Mark Salomon
Mark Salomon is an American singer and author best known as the lead singer of the hard rock bands Stavesacre and The Crucified. Other bands in which he has been a key member include the punk rock Outer Circle and rap-oriented Native Son and is rumored to be one of the voices of Neon Horse, though...
, guitarist Greg Minier, bassist Jeff Bellew, and drummer Jim Chaffin. The Crucified released two studio albums and three demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
. The band toured California for the majority of its career and appeared at the Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around the 4th of July near Bushnell, Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the...
outside of Chicago several times. The band broke up in 1993 due to personal differences but came back in 2009.
Formation
In late 1984, drummer Jim Chaffin, guitarist Greg Minier, bassist Kirk Palmer, and vocalist Wayne Stonecipher started a band named K.G.B. in FresnoFresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
The four teens knew each other as high school classmates. The name K.G.B. had no meaning to it, the members thought initials "sounded cool". In early 1985, K.G.B. was looking for a new vocalist due to the departure of Stonecipher. Minier asked his friend Mark Salomon
Mark Salomon
Mark Salomon is an American singer and author best known as the lead singer of the hard rock bands Stavesacre and The Crucified. Other bands in which he has been a key member include the punk rock Outer Circle and rap-oriented Native Son and is rumored to be one of the voices of Neon Horse, though...
to try out as vocalist and Salomon, interested in the group, accepted to try out. Salomon was accepted into the band after singing a few songs the band wrote with Stonecipher. Sensing pressure from friends to have a meaning behind the name K.G.B., the band made the initials stand for Kids in God's Blessings. Not long after the name change, the band thought the name sounded juvenile and changed it to The Crucified. The name came from Minier thinking of random names that would fit a Christian band. The Crucified added the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
verse to the name whenever they wrote it. "For I have been crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."
Demos and The Crucified
After almost a year of writing and practicing in the Palmer's living room, the guys recorded 10 songs on a demo tape under the name K.G.B. but it was never circulated. Soon after, Kirk Palmer left the band and was replaced by his brother Trevor. 1986, The Crucified gathered together a small amount of money and recorded 15 songs on a tape named Take up Your Cross under their new name, The Crucified, and distributed the demo throughout their local area and via mail order. "Nailed", the band's second demo, was recorded the following year and the band's exposure continued to grow. Shortly after "Nailed" was recorded, the band members graduated from high school and Palmer left the group and was replaced by Mark Johnson. The band recorded "Live at the New Order" in March 1989.Greg Sostrom saw The Crucified at a few shows and offered them a recording contract with his new start-up label, Narrowpath Records. The band accepted the offer and started to record songs at Casbah Studios in Southern California. The 15 track album was titled The Crucified
The Crucified (album)
The Crucified is the first full length album from the crossover thrash metal band The Crucified. The album was released in 1989.-Track listing:All music and lyrics by The Crucified.# "The Pit" - 3:12# "Diehard" - 2:56# "Your Image" - 1:24...
. It was released in compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
format, which was a new format in the late 1980s. After the album's release, the band started to tour around California, including appearances at the Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around the 4th of July near Bushnell, Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the...
as well as opening for D.R.I.
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles is a thrash metal/crossover thrash band from the United States that formed in Houston, in 1982. The band currently comprises founding members, vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, as well as drummer Rob Rampy and bassist Harald Oimoen.D.R.I...
, G.B.H., and Pantera
Pantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...
. Johnson was fired from the band due to personal differences and the guys started looking for a new bassist. Chaffin responded to an ad in a newspaper posted by Jeff Bellew, citing The Crucified as an influence. Bellew joined the band and drove for four hours from his home in So Cal to Fresno every weekend to practice. Eventually the drive became too costly and he moved to Fresno to practice with the band.
The Pillars of Humanity and Breakup
Sostrom called Salomon, recommending Ocean Entertainment as a new label for the band. Freddie Piro watched the band play live and enjoyed the show. Piro asked to fund The Crucified's next album and the band accepted. The band wrote several new songs and recorded The Pillars of HumanityThe Pillars of Humanity
The Pillars of Humanity is the second and last full length album from the crossover thrash metal band The Crucified.-Track listing:# "Intro/Hateworld" - 5:20# "It's All About Fear" - 2:29# "The Wrong One" - 3:41# "Mindbender" - 3:54...
. For the next two years the band toured very little, but did play several headlining shows, mostly in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and neighboring Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, San Diego and Riverside Counties
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
. The Crucified played with many bands in Southern California, among them Scaterd Few
Scaterd Few
Scaterd Few was a Christian punk band originating from Burbank, California. CCM magazine described their music as "pure punk for dread people," stating that it was a cross between Janes Addiction and Charlie Mingus.-Sin Disease era:...
, Mortal
Mortal (band)
Mortal was a Christian industrial/dance band fronted by Jerome Fontamillas and Jyro Xhan. Both members went on to found the alternative rock group Fold Zandura, and for a time were members of both bands simultaneously...
, Vengeance Rising, Focused, P.O.D.
P.O.D.
Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
and the Prayer Chain - often to sold out crowds. Rumor had it that Pantera singer Phil Anselmo
Phil Anselmo
Philip Hansen "Phil" Anselmo is an American musician who is best known as the lead singer for the heavy metal band Pantera. He is currently the frontman for the Louisiana-based metal act Down. He is also the owner of Housecore Records....
offered the band to open on the Vulgar Display of Power
Vulgar Display of Power
Vulgar Display of Power is the sixth studio album by heavy metal band Pantera. It was released through Atco Records, on February 25, 1992. It is the last album where Darrell Abbott is credited as "Diamond Darrell". One of the most influential groove metal albums of the 1990s, Vulgar Display of...
tour, but as the other members of Pantera did not remember The Crucified, the band did not open on the entire tour but did open for Pantera at the Fresno stop of their tour.
As the band members started to struggle with their Christian faith, the members started to not get along with each other as well as they used to. By the summer of 1993, Jim Chaffin called Salomon and told him the band was done. The Crucified canceled what was to be the band's biggest tour and played Cornerstone 1995 as a farewell show. Mark Salomon and Jeff Bellew went on to form the hard rock band Stavesacre
Stavesacre
Stavesacre was an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California formed in 1995. The band was composed of vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarists Jeff Bellew and Ryan Dennee, bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Sam West....
.
Box-set / Pillars Re-issue / Live Shows
In September 2008, the band was able to acquire their music from Ocean Records and put together a commemorative box-set released through Tooth & Nail Records on June 30, 2009. The band also began offering new merchandise on their website and MerchNow. And on November 17, 2009, Tooth & Nail Records re-released the band's final full-length 1991 release, The Pillars of Humanity.The band played their first show in 14 years on June 14, 2009 at the Calvary Chapel Golden Springs in Diamond Bar, California, and also played at the Cornerstone Festival on the night of July 3, 2009.
The band performed their first show overseas on October 31, 2009 at the Nordic Festival in Oslo, Norway.
Final lineup
- Mark SalomonMark SalomonMark Salomon is an American singer and author best known as the lead singer of the hard rock bands Stavesacre and The Crucified. Other bands in which he has been a key member include the punk rock Outer Circle and rap-oriented Native Son and is rumored to be one of the voices of Neon Horse, though...
: vocals (1985–1993) - Greg Minier: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(1984–1993) - Jeff Bellew: bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(1990–1993) - Jim Chaffin: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(1984–1993)
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Former Members
- Wayne Stonecipher: vocals (1984–1985)(with KGB)
- Kirk Palmer: bass/keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(1984–1985)(with KGB) - Trevor Palmer: bass (1985–1988)
- Mark Johnson: bass (1988–1989)
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Studio albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1989 | The Crucified The Crucified (album) The Crucified is the first full length album from the crossover thrash metal band The Crucified. The album was released in 1989.-Track listing:All music and lyrics by The Crucified.# "The Pit" - 3:12# "Diehard" - 2:56# "Your Image" - 1:24...
|
| 1991 | The Pillars of Humanity The Pillars of Humanity The Pillars of Humanity is the second and last full length album from the crossover thrash metal band The Crucified.-Track listing:# "Intro/Hateworld" - 5:20# "It's All About Fear" - 2:29# "The Wrong One" - 3:41# "Mindbender" - 3:54... |
| 2009 | The Complete Collection
Tooth & Nail Records Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today... Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
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Demos
| Year | Demo details |
|---|---|
| 1985 | Take up Your Cross
|
| 1986 | Nailed
|
| 1989 | Live at the New Order
|
| 1992 | Nailed/Take up Your Cross Nailed/Take up Your Cross Nailed/Take up Your Cross is a compilation album from the crossover thrash metal band The Crucified of the band's first two demos that were originally released in 1986 and 1987 .-Track listing:All music and lyrics by The Crucified.... Tooth & Nail Records Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today... |
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