Living Sacrifice

Living Sacrifice formed in the fall of 1989 by Darren "D.J." Johnson (bass/vocals), Lance Garvin (drums), Bruce Fitzhugh (guitar) and Jason Truby (guitar).
Starting in Little Rock, Arkansas, the average age of the band members was 18. There were not many places for Living Sacrifice to play but then a new all ages club had just opened called Vino's. It was the only place to accept any kind of thrash, metal or punk. Trusty (discord records), a punk band, was one of the only local bands that LS could look to for inspiration because all the "metal" bands were busy playing Metallica covers badly. Living Sacrifice's first show at Vino's, and third show ever, was opening for Shelter (Revelation records), the former Hari Chrisna hardcore band fronted by Ray Cappo (ex Youth of Today).
Two bands that inspired LS in the Christian metal area where Believer (Roadrunner and R.E.X. Records) and The Crucified. After forging a mentor type relationship with Believer, Living Sacrifice recorded a demo to present to their label home R.E.X. Records. It worked. One year after forming, Living Sacrifice was signing to R.E.X. Records.
In 1991, the self-titled album was released by R.E.X. Records (produced by Kurt Bachman of Believer and label exec. Doug Mann). This first record showed obvious influences of the young Living Sacrifice. Bands that come to mind are Testament, Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer. In reality, the Slayer comparisons convinced the band to explore a more death metal sound on the next record.