The Lead

Item: The Past Behind
Author: Chris M. Short

The Past Behind

(1987)

Reviewed by Chris M. Short

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Label Three Equals One / R.E.X. MusicHM Magazine #114July/August 2005

grindcore hardcore punk thrash metal

Jim Reid sang, “I was just a teenage Jesus freak / Got drunk on punk and then I found my feet.” Yeah. In the mid-80s, I was all about punk rock (what is now called “80s hardcore”), and being a misfit in rural Minnesota. The sound and fury was the perfect release for my teenage rage at the jocks, the social elite, and the parental dictatorship. While the spit-strewn anthems of “secular” hardcore worked successfully to weird out my classmates, it didn’t fly with my God-fearing parents. Once again, I had to find a “Christian” equivalent. By sending well-hidden cash for zines from Orange County, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, and Texas, I was in tune with a burgeoning yet scattershot Christian punk scene. This is where I received the answer to my searching prayers: The Lead.

The Lead was one of the most unique hardcore acts (secular or sacred): 1) their music was extremely fast and abrasive; teetering between thrash metal and punk rock (their only counterpart was early-era Husker Du... no, seriously); and 2) they had a female singer (remember, this was a male-centric genre). Nina Llopis (bass), Julio Rey (guitars), and Robbie Christie (drums) comprised this powerful trio from Florida. Llopis and Rey shared lead vocal duties, and it was Llopis’ vocals that took The Lead’s songs to another planet. Her vocal range was expansive: from the typical chant-sing of hardcore to blood-curdling screeching, and she could make that transition in a single breath.

The Past Behind is a weird eight-song mini-LP: “Abomination,” “No Religion,” “Old Warrior,” “Tunnel Vision” are Llopis-driven tunes that burn with pure aggression and evangelical arrogance (quite zealous, even a bit freaky). Rey absolutely dominates vocally on the magnificently brief songs “National Pride” and “Puritan.” Blazing leads, rapid-fire searing rhythms, this band is absolutely at the top of the 80s hardcore game.

Afterward: As heavy metal replaced punk (and all its strains), the punk bands began to incorporate metal elements into their music (tagged the listless “crossover”). The Lead followed this trend and made a peculiar move; re-recording the entire The Past Behind record and releasing on New York Christian major/indie label, R.E.X. Oddly, this re-recording was actually slower than the original release – there was goofy “demon vocals” on certain tracks, and dark metal overtones. Overall, a tighter performance, but The Lead weren’t competent musicians and didn’t possess the chops to play this brand of metal. Another release followed (Burn This Record), but the band would soon disband and Llopis would release an adult-alternative record. Go figure.