While Los Angeles-based Barren Cross never matched the profile of their Orange County counterparts Stryper, the group ranked among the most prominent Christian, or “white,” metal acts to surface during the 1980s. Mike Lee on vocals and guitar, guitarist Ray Parris, bassist Jim LaVerde, and drummer Steve Whitaker formed the band in late 1983; after intensive rehearsals they played their debut show six months later inside a residence for juvenile delinquent girls. Leveraging ties within Christian circles, the quartet contacted producer Dino Elefante—whose brother John fronted prog-rock titans Kansas—and requested career assistance. Elefante consented to helm their aptly titled debut EP Believe, which the musicians self-financed to the tune of $10,000 and issued in May 1985. The move succeeded when Star Song offered a contract, remastered the six existing tracks, and added three fresh cuts that became the 1986 full-length Rock for the King. White metal was gaining traction at the time, propelled by Stryper along with equally committed yet lower-key outfits such as Chicago doom favorites Trouble, yet Barren Cross still faced resistance. Their muscular, Judas Priest-derived approach came across as more authentic than Stryper’s saccharine pop-metal, but most heavy-metal listeners equated the genre’s appeal with its occult imagery; consequently Christian metal struck many as an inherent paradox, and major labels remained skeptical of its sales prospects. Further attempts to reach a major proved unsuccessful, leaving the Elefante-supported 1988 album Atomic Arena and 1989 follow-up State of Control on independent Enigma Records. The 1990 live set Hotter Than Hell, viewed in hindsight, betrayed mounting frustration that soon led the members to disband. Several musicians stayed involved in Christian music circles and briefly regrouped as Barren Cross in 1994 long enough to cut the studio album Rattle Your Cage before parting ways once more.
