Sovereign Cross
Sovereign Cross is an 80's inspired Metal band that was formed by guitarist-Gary B Sullivan in 2001 as a way for Sullivan to record his own projects. Sovereign Cross has been active over the years and now have three releases to their credit. In 2004 Sovereign Cross released their debut self-titled album in CD format. After the band's debut release, fans would have to wait another 10 years for a follow-up release that came in 2014 when the band released an EP titled 'Approach The Throne'. Then in 2017 Sovereign Cross released their full-length album 'Rock In The Night'.
Gary had the following to say when asked how he chose the band's moniker: "In thinking about choosing the name Sovereign Cross, I thought about the fact that Jesus actually was the legal heir to the throne of Israel as indicated by scriptures, and by jewish law. That is one of the reasons the genealogies are given in the gospels, to prove this claim. At the time the gospels were written this could have been easily proven through official jewish geneological records. Also, the fact that He will return again one day and take His rightful place as King of not only Israel, but the whole world, as it is His world being its creator. So, Jesus Christ is in fact the Sovereign who willingly chose to die on a Cross as a perfect sacrifice for humanities sins, thus fulfilling the old testament prophecies."
"It was a difficult process trying to find a name that met our desire to have a name and logo of significance that was not already taken by another band. We searched the internet over and over again. At first every band name we could think of seemed to be taken by somebody, and sometimes there were more than one band using the same name. I feel fortunate that (to the best of my knowledge) we are the only band with the name Sovereign Cross, have the unique website address, and hold official government Trademark Registration of the name. From the time I first applied for Trademark Registration it took several years to finally receive final approval."
"It was a difficult process trying to find a name that met our desire to have a name and logo of significance that was not already taken by another band. We searched the internet over and over again. At first every band name we could think of seemed to be taken by somebody, and sometimes there were more than one band using the same name. I feel fortunate that (to the best of my knowledge) we are the only band with the name Sovereign Cross, have the unique website address, and hold official government Trademark Registration of the name. From the time I first applied for Trademark Registration it took several years to finally receive final approval."
In 2017 Sovereign Cross released their follow-up to their 2014 'Approach The Throne' EP simply titled 'Rock In The Night'. This 2017 release was produced by Gary Sullivan, mixed by Phil Soussan & John Cuniberti, and Mastered by Phil Soussan. The cover art was done by none other than artist-Bruce Gruenzel.
Tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, and 8 are all instrumental jam sessions featuring the Guitar work of Gary B Sullivan. On these five tracks, Sullivan does a stand up job with plenty of 80's inspired shredn'.
'Rock In The Night', is some what an all star project when taking into consideration the line-up which consists of Frontman-Mark Boals(Dokken/Yngwie Malmsteen), Guitarist-Gary B Sullivan, Bassist-Phil Soussan(Dokken/Blues Traveler/Ozzy), Drummer-Vinny Appice(John Lennon/Dio/Black Sabbath), Backing Vocalist/Bassist-Dion Colucci(Full Armor), & Bassist-Michael Manring.
Mark Boals(Ring Of Fire/Royal Hunt/Dokken) handles Vocals for Sovereign Cross performing lead vocals on all tracks except track 2 -"Kneel" where we find that Dion Colucci steps up front and center behind the mic. Personaly, I think that having two lead vocalist performing on the same album can be a bit confusing for the listener and definitely think that Boals is the stronger of the two.
Mark Boals is an American rock singer, best known for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen. He was born on December 5, in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As a young child he learned to play the piano and bass guitar. Although Boals has never had any vocal lessons or training, as a teenager he gained experience as a vocalist in many local bands. www.facebook.com/markboalsofficial
Mark Boals is an American rock singer, best known for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen. He was born on December 5, in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As a young child he learned to play the piano and bass guitar. Although Boals has never had any vocal lessons or training, as a teenager he gained experience as a vocalist in many local bands. www.facebook.com/markboalsofficial
Guitarist-Gary B Sullivan began his career back in 1970, at the youthful age of 9, with only a $40 dollar acoustic guitar and a tape recorder. “Ever since I can remember I wanted to be a recording artist,” says Sullivan, whose love for creating and recording music has evolved over four decades.
Over the past years, Sullivan has been very active with many church oriented groups which includes working with the band 'Gabriele' who has toured in the northern parts of California.
He served in the U.S. Army Reserve band, performed guitar in live stage productions such as Godspell and The Scroll, has been a church music leader, and has been involved in the recording of several albums. He has performed live over 1000 times in various contexts over the years. Sullivan has collaborated on recordings with John Cuniberti, Vinny Appice(Black Sabbath, Dio, Last In Line), Phil Soussan(Ozzy, Billy Idol, Last In Line), Michael Manring, and many more. www.facebook.com/pg/sovereigncross/posts/?ref=page_internal
Over the past years, Sullivan has been very active with many church oriented groups which includes working with the band 'Gabriele' who has toured in the northern parts of California.
He served in the U.S. Army Reserve band, performed guitar in live stage productions such as Godspell and The Scroll, has been a church music leader, and has been involved in the recording of several albums. He has performed live over 1000 times in various contexts over the years. Sullivan has collaborated on recordings with John Cuniberti, Vinny Appice(Black Sabbath, Dio, Last In Line), Phil Soussan(Ozzy, Billy Idol, Last In Line), Michael Manring, and many more. www.facebook.com/pg/sovereigncross/posts/?ref=page_internal
Bassist-Phil Soussan(Beggars & Thieves/Big Noize/Carnival Of Dogs) brings the rumble to this project with his thundering Bass lines. Soussan is not new on the Rock scene having worked for such artist as Jimmy Page, Steve Lukather, Edgar Winter and Richie Kotzen. Soussan is not only known for his work as a Bassist having also gained respect for his abilities in songwriting and producing. He has worked with such artist as Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Vince Neil, Johnny Hallyday, Dokken, Jani Lane, Toto, Blues Traveler and John Waite. He also played on Ozzy's 1986 album 'The Ultimate Sin' and co-wrote the hit - "Shot In The Dark". Soussan was able to play with Vince Neil in a band called 'Black Plague'. The band was formed for the Movie- 'The Adventures of Ford Fairlane' with Andrew Dice Clay. A few years later, Soussan wrote and recorded some songs on the Vince Neil Band's first official album 'Exposed' released in 1993. philsoussan.com
Dion Colucci handles Bass for the band only on two different tracks - "Kneel" and "Approach". Colucci cut his teeth by playing with various Rock bands beginning back in 1983. In 1985 Colucci formed the White Metal band - 'Full Armor'. In 1988 Full Armor released their self-titled EP which yielded fruit by way of the track- "White Knights" which garnered attention from both 'E & E Records' and 'White Throne Magazine'. "White Knights" quickly found itself on a Metal compilation album titled 'White Metal Invasion'.
“I would like to thank Michael Bloodgood (Bloodgood) and Timothy Gaines (Stryper) who have been a huge influence in my ongoing development.” - Dion Colucci www.bandmix.com/dion-colucci
“I would like to thank Michael Bloodgood (Bloodgood) and Timothy Gaines (Stryper) who have been a huge influence in my ongoing development.” - Dion Colucci www.bandmix.com/dion-colucci
Drummer-Vinny Appice has quite a resume having worked with such bands as DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN AND HELL, WWIII, AXIS, RICK DERRINGER, JOHN LENNON, and more. He has recorded and co-written songs on over 25 albums and CD's including many multi-platinum records. Having toured the world for over 2 decades resulted in the sell of millions of records! Vinny has also had a hand in playing on many movie soundtracks including Wayne's World 2, Heavy Metal, Iron Eagle, and Bedazzled. For additional information on Vinny, check out his official site: www.vinnyappice.com
Lyrics are overtly Christ centered leaving
little doubt to who the band serves as one can see in the following lyric:
little doubt to who the band serves as one can see in the following lyric:
Sovereign Cross has delivered up a solid piece of work with their third release 'Rock In The Night'. Those who like a good mixture of instrumentals along side tracks with vocals will find this release a breath of fresh air. If you are into bands that have a strong 80's era sound then you won't be disappointing with this release. You can find 'Rock In The Night' at any of the following sites:
Musicians:
Mark Boals-Vocals
Gary B Sullivan-Guitars
Phil Soussan-Bass
Vinny Appice-Drums
Dion Colucci-Backing Vocals/Bass on "Kneel" & "Approach"
Michael Manring-Bass on “Harmonic Waves.”
Mark Boals-Vocals
Gary B Sullivan-Guitars
Phil Soussan-Bass
Vinny Appice-Drums
Dion Colucci-Backing Vocals/Bass on "Kneel" & "Approach"
Michael Manring-Bass on “Harmonic Waves.”
#80'smetal
#metal
#metal