The Lead was an early hardcore punk band, forming in South Florida in the mid-80s. As best as we can tell, they formed in 1984 in Miami, making them the very first Christian hardcore band. An early version of the band that eventually became The Crucified also formed in 1984, but with some significant member changes and a name change (they started as K.G.B.), giving The Lead the slight edge for being the earliest.
It wasn’t just their early beginnings that set them apart. It was also their originality. The Lead was quirky on a number of different levels. The original version of the band had 3 members, and all three took turns on lead vocals, though admittedly guitarist Julio Rey and bassist Nina Llopis did so more often than drummer Robbie Christie. Having a female in the band, who not only played bass, but also screamed lead vocals was rare at the time as well.
Besides the membership configuration, the band’s originality extends to their sound and style. There is no one–I mean no band at all, Christian nor secular–that sounds like The Lead. And The Lead sounds like no other band. Starting out as an intense punk band, shifting into hardcore punk, and then later moving into crossover thrash, the band is responsible for the very first recording in the Christian market to feature blastbeats (yes, even a full year before Vengeance Rising released Human Sacrifice). Additionally, the band frequently dabbled in grindcore (“Puritan” on The Past Behind and “Defiance” from Burn This Record), incorporated heavy metal at times (“Tunnel Vision”), as well as more standard hardcore punk. Although even suggesting they did anything “standard” is probably misleading.
The band released a rather prolific number of recordings in their most active period from 1985 to 1990, including 2 EPs and 3 full-lengths. A number of re-issues and compilations have surfaced in recent years, and the band also surprised fans by issuing a new EP in 2019, simply titled Again. Members have also engaged in other projects. Julio Rey did a solo EP as early as 1982, a project called King James and the Concordances, and then formed death metal/hybrid act Frank’s Enemy after the Lead folded in the early 90s. Nina Llopis has some solo records ranging from alternative rock and post-punk (featured here) to worship. Robbie Christie and Andy Coyle (second guitarist from the crossover thrash era) both contributed to Frank’s Enemy as well.
I have labored over which song to choose from this seminal band, thinking about it for weeks, months, and possibly even longer. The Lead was an early influence on my musical tastes, and along with Vengeance Rising, steered me in a much more extreme direction in my teenage years. But for me, the definitive song from the band has always been “No Religion.” While the song is easily misunderstood (especially if considering only the title), the meaning is actually quite simple: there is no substitute for a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, not even seemingly good religious practices and rituals. Only by God’s grace can we have communion with Him.
“No Religion” comes from The Past Behind EP, which has two different versions. The original appeared in 1987 on the indie Three Equals One label. A year later, the album was fully re-recorded and issued via R.E.X. Music. The version I’ve selected here is the latter one, as it is the one I grew up with and was most accustomed to.
