The Metal Files

80s Texas metal.  I love it.  There was so much of it that I’m still playing catch up.  Back in Virginia in the 80s, my only real knowledge of Texas metal was Watchtower and Pantera (pre-Cowboys).  Since moving here in 2006 I’ve gotten an amazing education on the scene that they had here.  I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and become friends with guys who were in a lot of these bands.  Just recently the guitarist for Karion gave me a copy of the CD/DVD set of their old demo and it’s great.  Read about that here.  While doing some research on Karion’s history I found a demo by a band called Talisphere which featured Karion’s singer, Chris Cronk.

This 3 song demo is so damned good and it’s unfortunate that there’s not a whole album.  Chris Cronk told me a week or so ago that a new release by Talisphere is in the works.  The songs on here are great American traditional metal and almost what you’d expect from San Antonio.  I was pleased that this didn’t sound like Pantera.  So many bands tried to emulate their sound but fortunately for me, Talisphere stayed true.  Chris’s vocals are powerful and soaring.  For those that don’t know, he auditioned with Fates Warning to replace John Arch before they settled on Ray Alder.  I think I may have enjoyed the post-Arch era stuff a bit more with Cronk.

Chris Cronk – Vocal
John Fiarro – Guitar
Sean Noone – Guitar
Henry Sanchez – Bass
Mario Sevilla – Drums

Download the demo here.