D.M.Z.

Description

D.M.Z. is the fifth studio album by the American hard rock outfit Resurrection Band, released on Light Records in 1982. Also distributed by Elektra/Asylum Records, a division of Warner. The album was recorded and mixed by Roger Heiss at the band’s own Tone Zone Studios in Chicago, Illinois; June – August 1982, with the band producing. (This effort also served as the last “Resurrection Band” album for several years as the moniker would change to Rez Band, and later Rez.)

Resurrection Band is back with more of their substantive heavy-metal rock ‘n’ roll on ‘DMZ’ (Elektra/Light 60207), album number five for them. Rez Band have always produced their own records, and this time out they recorded in their own studio, Tone Zone. ‘DMZ’ is a fine record with a lot of potent material, but at times the recording slides below the standard the band set with last year’s ‘Mommy Don’t Love Daddy Anymore‘.

Again Rez Band’s strongest songs come from the heart, pen, and voice of Glenn Kaiser. «No Alibi», «Lonely Hearts», «Military Man», and «Babylon» jump off the album, grabbing the listener’s attention with extremely positive results. Stu Heiss’ guitar work is also especially energetic and piercing throughout, while Jim Denton’s smooth, fretless bass and John Herrin’s rock-solid drumming lay a firm foundation. Wendi Kaiser’s wailing vocals work best on «Area 312», a song of loneliness in Chicago’s telephone area code. The production and sound are high quality on the rock tunes, but power-poppers lik «I Need Your Love» and «Reluctance», which are otherwise fine songs, could have used more luster on the vocal tracks. «So In Love With You» is a punchy synthesizer-rocker with a very memorable melody that would be chart-topper material if only Christian radio were ready.

‘DMZ’ is one of Resurrection Band’s all-around best efforts, and it may be their most listenable for repeated playing. The lyrics still pack a wallop, though they are not as heavy and ominous as on past efforts. With ‘DMZ’, Rez Band calls us to live as peacemakers in the shadow of the Prince of Peace, all with the realization that the war still rages around us. It’s a sound that keeps on fighting. [Quincy Smith-Newcomb, CCM, December 1982]

Girder Music Promo, 2021

D.M.Z. was Resurrection Band’s third and last release for Christian label Light Records. The album offers some of Resurrection Band’s greatest musical moments beginning with «Military Man», a blistering opening track sung by Glenn about the loss of a soldier’s humanity in the struggle to survive. «White Noise», Wendi’s all-time best raw vocal on a song about the rhetoric of a culture that prioritizes stockpiling arms over feeding children. However the real magic begins with a ninety-second feedback-drenched guitar solo by Stu Heiss that is Resurrection Band’s answer to Van Halen’s «Eruption» and is generally considered to constitute the single greatest non-Phil Keaggy guitar moment in Christian rock. «Area 312» (named for Chicago’s area code) is a teenager’s lament about the loneliness of the inner city. It’s a heavy album both lyrically and musically and one that we are sure glad graced our speakers almost 40 years ago. To have it remaster for vinyl is a moment that so many of us though we would never see.

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/d-m-z/660842330)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Military Man” – 3:38
A2. “Reluctance” – 2:11
A3. “Babylon” – 2:33
A4. “I Need Your Love” – 3:22
A5. “Area 312” – 3:54

Side Two
B1. “No Alibi” – 4:39
B2. “White Noise” – 3:41
B3. “Lonely Hearts” – 3:00
B4. “The Prisoner” – 2:54
B5. “So In Love With You” – 3:38

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP by Light Records. Re-issued on CD by Light Records in 1991. Remastered and re-issued limited to 1000 CDs by Retroactive Records ‎i 2005, distributed by Brutal Planet Distribution. Re-issued again in 2017 in a 4 panel digipak limited to 500 copies featuring the same re-master that was used on the 2005 Retroactive Records jewel case re-issue. This re-issue uses the original 1982 vinyl record release to reproduce the artwork. Remastered by Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound and re-issued by Girder Music (through Limited Run Music/Limited Run Vinyl) in May 2021 on both CD and 12-inch vinyl LP featuring Gatefold Jacket (125 units pressed on Explosive Orange/Yellow Swirl Vinyl; 75 units pressed on Transparent Red Vinyl; and 50 units pressed on Black Vinyl).