Christian metal band from L.A. They originally started out as Fusion, back in 1982. They changed their name to Gardian, and released a demo. Soon they got signed to a major label, and the name changed to Guardian. Released a couple of metal records before changing style to a more rock/AOR direction. They have also released a bunch of albums with Portuguese lyrics. Similar to bands like Mass, Tempest, Stryper a.o.

FIRST WATCH (1989) ROADRUNNER

Aaahh, this record is from the days when white metal ruled!! Back then the Christian bands were just as good as the secular ones. 'First Watch' is an excellent melodic metal disc. Great hooks and great melodies. Produced by Stryper's Oz Fox, these guys set out to be the next big Christian metal band. They were signed to a secular label, and had all the right things going for them. It's a mystery to me why this band never got more attention in the secular scene.

Killer tracks: Mystery Man, Miracle, Saints Battalion, Hyperdrive, Marching On

FIRE AND LOVE (1990) PAKADERM

Guardian made a few changes in the line-up, and released their second effort. The biggest change was the arrival of new vocalist Jamie Rowe (ex-Tempest), who brought a rougher sound to Guardian. It's hard to describe, but with producers John and Dino Elefante (from Mastedon and owners of Pakaderm) Guardian got a more commercial sound. The band sound more hard-rock oriented, than melodic metal, but still with a more polished sound. I like this album, but prefer 'First Watch'. Maybe it's nostalgia? The thing is, that while the album is evenly good throughout the whole record, there are no songs that make me go: "WOW!!". Still, it's an excellent album, which ought to go down well with any pop-metal/hair-metal/hard-rock/metal lover!

Killer tracks: None of them stick out, but all are very good songs!

MIRACLE MILE (1993) PAKADERM/WORD

Guardian's 3rd release, picks up where the second one left off. They go even further away from their metal roots, but it's still a very good melodic hard-rock album. Try to picture a cross between Mötley Crüe and Guns n' Roses, and add a little boogie or funk. The Elefante brothers have produced this one as well, and these 2 albums (the previous one and this) sound very much alike.

Killer tracks: I Found Love, Sweet Mystery

SWING SWANG SWUNG (1994) PAKADERM/MYRRH

And then the s**t hit the fan! Crap all over the place!!!!!! Sorry for the bad language, but this just stinks! I thought this was a bit more to my liking, being the middle album between one I like, and one that starts of OK. But there is only one OK track on this album. After listening to the whole album I can't even remember what song it was. I don't think I'll bother to listen to it again to find it out either. At least not in a while. Now I can see why this band never took the step into the secular mainstream, they just aren't good enough!

I still want to thank Arttie for getting me this disc. One day my Guardian collection will be complete, thanks to you.

Killer tracks: Let The Whole World. That's 1 out of 12!!

BUZZ (1995) MYRRH

Now this band have really changed style. The metal is all gone, and we get a melodic rock album. It's their 5th album, and the line-up is still consistent. I actually were a bit surprised at first, because the first songs are pretty good. Not as good as anything released prior to it, but still some decent songs. But after 4 songs, it all goes downhill. It gets boring, as every song sounds the same. So all in all, not their worst, but not at all their best. "Lead The Way" is an awesome tune. Worse things were to follow, though, so read on!

A cool thing about this disc, is the cover. It folds out, and you can actually choose one of 4 pictures to be the main-cover, depending on how you fold it back. All the pictures show something that is linked to the title.

Killer tracks: Lead The Way, The Lions Den

KINGDOM OF ROCK 1982-1989 (1996) G-MAN

Kingdom Of Rock Mystery Man I'll Never Leave You Miracle Rock In Victory Saint's Battalion Spiritual Warfare Marching On Hyperdrive Voyager

This is an interesting compilation album. It is sort of a best-of pre-Jamie Rowe era Guardian release. Included are 6 tracks from their first album, 2 tracks from the 'California Metal' compilation, 1 demo track, and 1 track from the old days when the band were called Fusion. Combined with liner-notes by founding member David Bach, and vintage footage, this CD is actually rather entertaining. It's a riot seeing photos from the bands early days, with stage costumes that remind me of the Power Rangers!! Space metal indeed! 

BOTTLE ROCKET (1997) MYRRH

This is actually the crappiest album I own! Nothing reminds me of the Guardian I knew from the late 80's. It's only a bad attempt to sound like the pick-of-the-month rock group that year. The only reason I hold on to it is that I'm a maniac collector, and the fact that it only cost me about $1. Stay clear of it!! The only positive thing about it, is that the line-up is consistent!

Killer tracks: ???!!!

THE YELLOW AND BLACK ATTACK IS BACK (1998) G-MAN

After releasing some really terrible albums, Guardian suddenly gets a brilliant idea. They decide to rerecord the classic debut mini-album from Stryper, originally called 'The Yellow And Black Attack'. Everything from the cover-art to the funny band-photo on the back of the trey-card, is done as a tribute to the best known white metal band ever. And what an album this has become! All the songs are done justice, and I had to put the original album on right after hearing it for the first time. Sure it isn't Michaels smooth vocals here, but Jamie is really doing' a good job. And Tony Palacios does a great job on the six-stringer as well. All in all one of Guardian's best moment, and one heck of a killer tribute album!

VOYAGER & FUSION - THE EARLY YEARS (2001) M8

Another collection of pre-album material from our favorite space metal band. All of the tracks on this M8 compilation are from when the band was called either Fusion or Gardian. So expect no well produced material. This is of course a curiosity for the fans rather then anything to use to check out this band. I find the album quite entertaining, and I certainly prefer this to the latter albums of modern rock that these guys have released. I just wished that the liner notes provided would be a little more specific as to where these tracks were picked from. It would also have been nice if the tracks were in chronological order. All we get to know is that some of the songs are from the 1984 six song EP entitled 'Rock In Victory', recorded when they were known as Fusion, but we don't know how many songs are here from that release. We also get to know that other tracks are from the 1987 release called 'Voyager', but again no mention of how many tracks, or which tracks they are. One interesting thing is that the never before release song "I Am Here" features Tony Palacios on vocals! Also worth noticing is that some of the songs that eventually ended up on their 'First Watch' album, are featured here in other versions. Just check out "Miracle Of The Galaxy" (later renamed "Miracle"). The lyrics are pretty different.

LIVE AT CORNERSTONE 2001 (2001) M8

'80's Metal Retro Night' was the theme for this Cornerstone event. The idea was to bring some of the biggest names from the 80's Christian metal scene back on stage for one night of nostalgia and a good time. So I think people were hoping for a full-on retro night. But one of the bands that didn't deliver just that was Guardian. The fact that their first album got totally ignored, and the fact that they played stuff like "Bottle Rocket", was more than a little disappointing. But that said, this is still a decent live recording that represents the band Guardian well. The sound is decent, and the band sounds alive. The song selection is not all bad, with at least some of my favorite songs included. I also renewed my interest in a song like "Psychedelic Runaway". Still, my favorites on this CD are the ballads "The Rain" and "Never Say Good Bye".

Guardian also appear on:  

V/A - 'Classic Metal'

V/A - 'Ultimate Metal'

 Jamie Rowe guest appearances:

Scott Wenzel - 'Film At Eleven'

Liberty N' Justice - 'Soundtrack Of A Soul'

Liberty N' Justice - 'Independence Day'

Tony Palacios guest appearances:

Mastedon - 'Lofcaudio'

Related artists:

Tempest, Tony Palacios, Scott Wenzel