Cerebus Too Late to Pray

Cerebus 'Too Late to Pray' (New Renaissance Records, 1986)

In the mid to late 80s New Renaissance releases were in every magazine and it's clear that Ann Boleyn, of Hellion Fame, cared deeply about her label, which she initially set up so she could highlight what she saw as the 'new renaissance' of metal through a collection of compilation albums. However, their releases were not easy to find, despite distribution deals with the likes of Music For Nations, and they always seemed ever so slightly cheap. Their biggest releases were licensed for other labels, like Sepultura's 'Morbid Visions' or Bathory's 'Under the Sign...' and the biggest names on their roster were found only on compilations; Artillery, Prong, Morbid Angel, Flotsam and Jetsam.

'Too Late to Pray' reflects the lower division paucity which New Renaissance records reeked of throughout the thrash and early death metal boom times. The band can't even spell the name of the underworld's triple headed guardian and the depiction of Cerberus on the cover is the most comedic element of the laughably bad 'Planet of the Apes' post-apocalyptic scene.

Cerebus chucked Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motely Crue and Metal Church into a blender and came up with an unpalatable mess. 'Too Late to Pray' is as mediocre as you can get.

However, what makes this band shine is the fact that their drummer is called Joby Barker, which is quite a funny name. His parents were obviously afflicted by the same form of dyslexia he and his band mates suffered from when naming their band.

What makes Joby even more of a hero, apart from his debonair image, is the fact that he has his own YouTube channel named 'drummerjoby's channel'. A more apt description of his skin pounding skills I could not imagine!

Go to his channel and witness 'Joby Playing Bass Guitar' and be assured that he 'did not speed it up' although you will wish he had. Bizarrely 'Joby plays Electronic drums from studio' is accompanied incongruously by an image of a church. However, that strangeness starts to make sense when you hear the truly glorious 'Once Blind'; you'll find yourself humming 'Lord have mercy on America!' for literally seconds.

Cerebus offer 'Foremost thanks to our Lord'. Proof, if ever it was needed that the Devil has all the best tunes.

Peace