Matrix were Dale Thompson – Vocals and Bass, – Troy Thompson – Guitar – Steve Childers , Steve Gilbert – Drums
Before the band Bride became recipients to four Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association. They had humble beginnings playing churches, clubs, coffeehouses ,or anywhere they could play in the Louisville , Kentucky area under the name Matrix as a three piece band. Dale Thomspon (Bass, Vocals) His brother Troy Thomspon (Guitar) and Steve Childers , Steve Gilbert (Drums) This blogspot is to document they’re journey as Matrix with whatever information I can gather from the internet.
……..A VERY YOUNG DALE THOMPSON PHOTO FROM THE EARLIEST DAYS OF MATRIX 1983?
VERY HUMBLE EARLY BEGINNINGS !
Dale and Troy Thomspon grew up playing southern style church music and at a very early age they had a gospel group called The Hillview Lads. they played many churches and over time it developed into what they are today.
Matrix was Troy and I and Steve Childers who played drums. At that particular time I played bass guitar. This was in 1983. We were very theatrical. We had outrageous costumes and experimented with the use of pyrotechnics and lots of fog and dry ice for smoke. Our influences musically were The Police, U2 and The Cars with a David Bowie visual flair.“
Dale on the early years interview (May 2020)
Interviewer- “What was it that got you into music in the first place, and starting the Bride band”?
” Troy who is my writing partner and brother in Bride. He and I were raised on music, we were raised on gospel music, bluegrass, country music. And we basically I guess saw a band called Asher play at a skating rink in Louisville Kentucky. And they absolutely just blew my mind! Because it was the first christian rock band, I had ever witnessed , and this band Asher was brilliant and would have been popular today. So that was the nudge that it took for me to go and buy a fuzz pedal as they call it. And I put a pickup in my acoustic guitar and started practicing with a fuzz pedal and an acoustic guitar. At the time Troy was playing Bass and I realized. I couldn’t play Rock! I went to Bass And He went to Guitar and He was much better at it than I was. And I played Bass for awhile. Really that was the starting point. When I saw this band Asher. A guy named Billy Sutherland it was His band . He was one of the greatest guitarists to this day that I have ever seen. I had the pleasure of playing with Him in a band called Warrior, after His band Asher had disbanded. The funny thing was . I could’nt play Bass very well and at a certain point I didn’t have a Bass And I knew Billy was trying out Bass players for His new band Warrior. So I bought a Bass amp, and Bass guitar and went to the audition. Billy said I’m going to play some stuff go ahead and play along with me. I said are you going to show me? I really don’t know how to play ! And oddly enough I ended up in the band Warrior, so everything I played I memorized. Because I was not a Bassist.So that lasted about a year, and Troy and I got together and the next thing you know we had a little thing going called Matrix . And that’s how we ended up getting signed when we opened for the Daniel Band in Pottstown ,PA way back in like 1985. “
LINK TO FULL INTERVIEW – https://www.classicchristianrockzine.com/2020/05/ccr-podcast-3-interview-with-dale.html
Dale on the early years Interview (May 2020)
Dale Thomspon 2019 memories on the early years with Matrix –
“Soon I was playing in a Christian Rock band called Warrior and playing
locally at mainly coffee houses. The reception to this form of music was
often negative because as “Christian Rock” we were only drawing the church
people who had no concept of what was going on. After my short stint with
“Warrior” My brother Troy and I formed a group called Matrix. Our rehearsals
took place in my parents garage and needless to say the neighbors often
persecuted us by calling the police. One neighbor in particular would pray
for us as she stood in her yard. Her hands raised in the air, her voice
lifted up for the whole community to hear and she rebuked the devil from our
lives. But the call of God was sure and we pressed on. I let my hair grow, not out
of rebellion but rather I thought that was the way you had to look to play
rock music and I wanted to be authentic and be taken serious. We dressed the
part, looked the part and sounded the part and our life in this life of
controversy was full underway.
” Dale Thomspon 2019 memories on the early years with Matrix –
Matrix played anywhere and everywhere they possibly could – churches, night clubs, and coffee houses. Matrix played wherever the doors were open! Painted in makeup, wearing spandex, teased hair, jumping off amplifiers, and setting off explosions on stage – they constantly pushed the boundaries of what a “Christian” band could do and be.
Dale Thompson- Lost in His Love – Solo
DEMO-1983
Dale Thompson- first demo 1983 – Great sound quality/production on this demo.
Dale Thompson 1986 thoughts on the Matrix early Years !
“Matrix was started by my brother and I in January 1984.” Says Dale
“We had played together in previous small bands, until I split to play bass for Warrior, a good Christian rock band. Troy remained a faithful roadie and explosive expert for us. I sang lead on only one song in Warrior because at that time I was new to the rock scene and was a bit of a folk style singer.”
“I left Warrior after a year and a half for personal reasons in December of 1983.”
“In January of 1984, Troy and I Bumped into the ex-drummer of another Christian rock band called “Strait Gate”. After that the three of us began Matrix. Steve Childress was a fantastic drummer, but after a year, school and work drew him away. He was replaced by Joey Johnson, who was replaced by Steve Gilbert.”
Matrix – Demo #1 – 1983 – PG13
Matrix -Demo #2 -1984 – Monkey See
, Monkey Do
Matrix – Monkey See Monkey do – Demo – 1984
- Hero’s
- Now He is Gone
- Remember Me
- Now you see me now you don’t
- All Hallow’s eve
- Slipping into the light
- We are going to make it
- Forever in darkness
- He’s the flyer
- Follow your Heart
I believe above song list is most correct for this demo. Some earlier compilations replaced “Now He is Gone” with “Fright,” “Forever in Darkness” with “Look at Me Now,” and “Follow Your Heart” with “What Must I Do.” The three songs used to replace the original ones were from the Matrix demo Silent Madness. Several of the songs here made it on to later Bride albums. “Now He is Gone,” “Forever in Darkness,” and “Follow Your Heart” were re-recorded for Show No Mercy in 1986. “Heroes” was re-recorded for Live to Die in 1988. “All Hallow’s Eve” was re-recorded for Silence is Madness in 1989.
These two Demos were used to promote Matrix Image and were sold at their shows and were used to try to get record deals . Though most, if not all the guitar work on these demos was done by local Louisville,Kentucky guitar wizard/virtuoso Billy Sutherland from band Asher, Warrior, LED , Goodnight Maxine and currently The Lord’s of Betamax !
Local Louisville, KY Guitar Wizard Billy Sutherland Playing Matrix song “Who killed the rock Hero” with Dale Thompson on monday december 31, 1984 at New Years Eve barn/party concert .Notice Billy’s 1979 Dean ML Guitar ! (Mickey Mouse Shirt)(Advert Below)
In 1985 Matrix/Matryx released two more studio demos as they started to change in sound from early 83/84 Matrix to Pre- Bride show now mercy album sound.
Matrix-Demo #3 -Silent Madness-1985
THIS WAS A TEN TRACK DEMO.
This was the third of the four Matrix demos that they released before signing to Pure Metal records and changing name to Bride. There has been a lot of confusion over these demos, as several CDs have been released claiming to be the “complete” collection of Matrix demos… when they were not. I finally got my hands on the actual tape and made a rip myself, since all of the collections out there tend to be wrong in some ways. The style is early 80s heavy metal, not too far from what they recorded on the debut Bride album. The cover for this is actually a standard picture from a normal camera that was cropped down to size – and no liner notes. It seems they might have used different images for different copies. “Fly Away” and “The First Will Be Last” were re-recorded for Show No Mercy. “Fright” and “Look at Me Now” were both released as bonus tracks on the Silence is Madness re-issue from 2000, while “What Must I Do?” and “Fright” made it on to the M8 release The Matrix Years. “Melissa” was also on the 2014 collection The Matrix Years by Retroactive Records – but it was a different version that sounded more like late-80s Bride than Matrix.
Matryx-Demo#4-Studio Junkie-1985
1985 MATRYX-STUDIO JUNKIE DEMO CASSETTE TAPE
(MATRIX NAME IS CHANGED IN SPELLING TO MATYRX)
(MATRIX NAME IS CHANGED IN SPELLING TO MATYRX)
THIS WAS A EIGHT TRACK DEMO.
Track-01 – Evil That Men Do. Track-02 – Show No Mercy. Track- 03 – I Will Be With You. Track-04 – I Can Fly Now. Track-05 – Child Of Hell.Track-06 – Butterfly. Track-07 – Studio Junkie. Track-08 – Good Rock and Roll.
So Matrix briefly changes their name to Matryx before getting signed to Pure Metal Records and finally changing names to Bride. If you are a Bride fan, you have probably heard all of the songs on this demo, although in different forms. “Evil That Men Do,” “Show No Mercy,” and “I Will Be With You” were all re-recorded for Bride’s first album Show No Mercy. Here they are a bit rawer, and possibly even a tad heavier. The remaining songs have been released as bonus tracks on various Bride re-issues. “I Can Fly Now” was released as a bonus track on the 2000 M8 re-issue of Show No Mercy, as well as the Into the Matrix compilation – but that track is a different version than the one on this demo. Not sure where the other one came from. The rest of the songs were released on the Silence is Madness M8 2000 re-issue except for “Good Rock-n-Roll,” which was on the Into the Matrix compilation. Oh, and the military chant intro to “Child of Hell” was given its own name of “Military Halo” on the re-issues. This was released the same year as Silent Madness, but probably afterwards from what I can find online.
MATRIX -DEMO#5 -MATRIX -LIVE 1983
MATRIX – LIVE 1983 DEMO CASSETTE- 10 TRACK DEMO (POSSIBLY PRE-DATES PG-13 DEMO)
So this may be the earliest recordings by Matrix. It is basically a collection of live songs – I think from different concerts. There are stops between each song that shows how these were compiled from different shows. I’m not sure why they started off with a reprise of a song later on the tape, but it doesn’t feel like a reprise. Anyways, most of the songs are exclusive to this release. “Get Away” was also on PG-13 from the same year, while “Fright” was later recorded for Silent Madness. This is more hard rock than the early metal leanings of the later demos. But considering the date, these were probably still seen as metal back then. According to write -up in White Throne Magazine Issue # 1 this Demo was scrapped for official release due to poor production quality ! But apparently a very few got out !
MATRIX -DEMO # 6 THE UNTITLED DEMO
From Bride Book on the early days!
“We got a call from Dorn Repport, a promoter in Pottstown, PA, and he had heard one of our demos. He was promoting a show with the Daniel Band. He wanted us to be the opening band, and we felt this was a good opportunity for the band to get in front of a big crowd.
I was playing bass on some tunes, Troy was playing bass and guitar, Steve Gilbert was drumming, and we brought in Billy Sutherland, a great guitarist in our home area of Louisville. Billy was brought in like the icing on the cake. He was not a band member, but we felt insecure about our own playing. I had played bass for Bill’s band Warrior in 1982 for nearly the entire year before Troy and I had formed Matrix. I had left Warrior on a sour note; however, Billy and I had remained friends.
We rented a van, loaded our gear in, and off to Pennsylvania we went. The show went very well, and a few people in the crowd had actually heard of us. Somehow they had got their hands on the demo tape, and they knew the words to the songs. We did not really have a song set list planned, so we just made it up as we went, but we agreed on an entrance and an ending.
Because of some sound problems, the show was delayed. At the last moment, we thought we would make a spectacular entrance into the auditorium by coming from the back of the room through the crowd. Steve Gilbert (our drummer) was already on stage, and because of the sound delay the crowd urged him to play a 10-minute drum solo. I remember talking with the guys that Steve would be too worn out to play the show if he did not let up, but he relentlessly and mercilessly beat his drumheads flat.
We were in the back of the auditorium when the band was announced. We made a big entrance by running up through the crowd of about 1000 people and leaping onto stage. I can remember people trying to stop me from getting on stage. They had no idea who we were. We had a big finale planned.
We had flash pots loaded down heavy with powder. As the end of the set came, the flash pots went off. Billy tossed his guitar high into the air, up into the lights. The combination of stage lights and the flash from the explosion blinded him. He attempted to catch his guitar, and he did … “right in the head.” He was knocked to the ground by the impact. I remember standing over him, wondering if he was all right. Other than a cut and a bruise, he was fine.
We had constructed the pots out of wood. Normally we would have had metal cans. When the pots exploded, they blew apart splintering wood over the audience. One boy was hit in the head and was bleeding, but he was excited about being part of the show. I believe he collected some of the wood for a souvenir.
The Daniel Band was signed to Refuge Music Group, and we had no idea that there were record people in the crowd. Refuge did not like us at all, however, they were impressed by the way the fans swarmed around us after the show and bought every tape we had brought. The Pennsylvania crowd loved us for some reason, and we were a hit. It was just months later that we were signed to our first record deal. This would be the beginning of something that Troy and I had never thought would happen. God was setting in motion His plan for our lives. We still were baffled by the events leading up to the record deal.”
(BELOW) MATRIX – LIVE – MARCH 15, 1986 – POTTSTOWN , PA (OPENING FOR DANIEL BAND)- FULLSHOW (ENHANCED VIDEO)
STEVE GILBERT WEARING MATRYX T-SHIRT CLOSE UP SHOT AT 1986 MATRIX POTTSTOWN PA SHOW
Bride’s budget to record Show No Mercy was $2500. Ac
cording to the band, when entering the studio in October 1985, they incorrectly believed it had to meet a release date only a month away. The album ended up rushed, with the production being thin and muddy.
And so Matrix /Matryx changed there name to Bride and recorded Show no mercy on a shoestring budget 0f $2,500 of which they went overbudget by $250. They got a check from pure metal for recording cost which bounced which further complicated the sour record deal. Local guitar whiz Steve Osbourne was brought in to help recording lead guitar for show no mercy LP and was brought on tour for show no mercy tour. Billy Sutherland also helped with guitar Special effects on Show No Mercy Album.
Bride – Into The Matrix-2014 (REISSUE)
Phenomenal Sound on this 2014 CD reissue Bride -Into The Matrix thanks to Retroactive Records & J Powell at Steinhaus studios for this amazing remaster of this rare gem! This contains entire original versions of Matrix -PG13 & MSMD demos plus two bonus tracks !
In 1986 Heaven’s Metal Magazine Vol#2 Issue#2 Matrix announce new Band name Bride Used with Permission from Doug Van Pelt @. http://heavensmetalmagazine.com
In 1986 Heaven’s Metal Magazine Vol#2 Issue#2 Matrix announce new Band name Bride Used with Permission from Doug Van Pelt @. http://heavensmetalmagazine.com
HEAVEN’S METAL MAGAZINE ISSUE # 4 DATED DEC 1985 – FIRST AND ONLY MATRIX REVIEW ! USED WITH PERMISSION FROM DOUG VAN PELT AT – http://heavensmetalmagazine.com
HEAVEN’S METAL MAGAZINE ISSUE # 4 DATED DEC 1985 – FIRST AND ONLY MATRIX REVIEW ! USED WITH PERMISSION FROM DOUG VAN PELT AT – http://heavensmetalmagazine.com
1986- BRIDE- SHOW NO MERCY – ALBUM CREDITS
Dale Thompson – Vocals
Troy Thompson – Guitar/Bass/Keyboards/Piano/Violin
Steve Osborne – Guitar
Scott Hall – Bass
Stephen Rolland – Drums
Guests :
| Billy Sutherland – Add. Vocals/Guitar Special Effects |
| Steve Osborne (R.I.P. 2011) – Lead Guitar |
| David Pitt – Backing Vocals |
| Howell Gano – Backing Vocals |
| Gary Barnes – Backing Vocals |
| Sharon Thompson – Backing Vocals |
| Michelle Thompson – Backing Vocals |
……..And Saddly, The END of MATRIX!
More Coming Soon………I HOPE…………………….!!!
MATRYX ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MATRYX ROCKS !!!!!!!!!!
MARK KRISCAK
christiandemohub 
Great article! Some of this info I had never heard before, such as Sutherland playing on the Matrix tapes. New photos, too. Cool…
Do you have copies of these tapes? I ask because Silent Madness is so rare that I’ve only been able to get my hands on a very bad rip of the tape, and would love to hear it in better quality!
Thank you for writing the article,
-es
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Thanks ! For the kind words! I’m Hoping to rearrange site better once I acquire more Info! I talk to Billy Sutherland on facebook occasionally (His new band called LORDS of Betamax) Billy told me Dale was using His guitar skills in early day’s of Matrix for demo recording mostly PG13-MSMD and some(Few) early Matrix shows where Matrix and Warrior were on same bill ! Troy Thompson wasn’t yet developed as a guitarist for beginning years of Matrix , that’s why Steve Osbourne was brought in for Bride in the 86-88 period ! Yeah Billy Sutherland had a band in Louisville called Warrior back in 1982-85 ? I’m pretty sure Billy’s entire band Warrior played for entire studio recording of the 1983 Matrix-Pg13 and 1984 Matrix-MSMD demo tapes with Dale Thompson did vocals only ! Dale’s vocals are beyond incredible! Anyway’s you can hear the amazing incredible talent in the musicianship on the 2014 reissue of Bride – into the matrix . Anyway’s , I would love to get my hands on the Matrix -Silent madness demo I’ve been searching on eBay hoping someday it might show up someday? and I buy it ? If I find it I let you know! I would love to hear even the crappy tape quality version ? Thanks and God Bless you !
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Cool article. I have a page on bride on my website, with a bit on Matrix. But you have lots more info than I have!
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Thanks for the compliments ! I’m Always looking for any Info on this Band Matrix , hopefully someday more info/recordings will be made available ?
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I feel bad. I *have* Silent Madness. I even found a (slightly) better rip than the one Fundy sent me. I just keep forgetting to post it online! Or send it to people! >.<
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