[2] Led by the husband-and-wife team of Glenn and Wendi Kaiser, the band sought to evangelize using Christian rock, and addressed a variety of social ills in the lyrics of their music.
Four years later, thanks to an $8000 gift from a friend, Resurrection Band recorded their first album, Awaiting Your Reply, over a two-week period of marathon all-night sessions.
Rainbow's End is significant for being the first album by an American rock band to address the racist system of apartheid in South Africa, a full year before Peter Gabriel brought the issue to the world's attention with his classic song "Biko."
In spite of the increased attention, Resurrection Band funneled any and all profits back into the Jesus People USA community, as members held all monies in common according to the example set by the New Testament church.
In an attempt to be more efficient stewards of those monies, Resurrection Band built their own recording studio in the heart of their community, later nicknamed "Tone Zone."
The split personality of the album was not well-received critically, although it generated two tracks that became live staples for years to come: "Military Man" and "White Noise."
That brief taste of mainstream success had a major influence on the band's next album, Between Heaven 'N Hell, which jettisoned most of the New Wave stylings of Hostage in favor of radio-friendly hard rock more akin to their Colours period.
The catchy "Love Comes Down" was chosen as the band's first single and the music video - featuring much dance choreography - was a far more polished effort and as a result, received far more airplay on MTV than "Crimes" ever did.
Even Christian alternative music had made inroads into the mainstream when The 77s signed with Island Records and their self-titled album received a favorable review in Rolling Stone.
In addition, the Jesus People USA community established the annual Cornerstone Festival during this period, which would serve as a springboard to mainstream success for future Christian artists like Sixpence None the Richer and P.O.D.
Bassist Jim Denton left to attend theological seminary and was replaced by long-time REZ roadie and songwriter Roy Montroy, who would soon become a major creative force in the band.
To that end, REZ returned to the studio in 1988, and the result was Silence Screams, a hybrid of blues, hard rock and heavy metal that served as a musical blueprint for all of the band's successive releases.
Sporting unsettling cover art, Silence Screams deals forcefully with social concerns such as abortion, greed, racial profiling and even terrorism, proving that—as they did with confronting apartheid in 1979—the band was once again ahead of the curve.
With Kaiser focusing more of his attention on his solo work, Roy Montroy became a greater contributor to REZ, and for Reach of Love, he wrote every single track, a feat never accomplished before by any member of the band.
The MTV Unplugged craze was at its highest pitch, and Resurrection Band felt it was an appropriate time to reinvent some of its hard rock material in an acoustic format.
That same year, Grrr Records released Music to Raise the Dead 1972-1998; three CDs with 52 re-mastered songs, an 80-page full-color booklet detailing the history of Rez Band with scores of photos, and one DVD with over an hour of previously unreleased live concert video footage and special features.
[6] All Your Life Music to Raise the Dead Awaiting Your Reply Rainbow's End Colours Mommy Don't Love Daddy Anymore
Live Bootleg The Best of REZ: Music to Raise the Dead Hostage Between Heaven 'n Hell Silence Screams REZ: Compact Favorites Innocent Blood Civil Rites XX Years Live Reach of Love The Light Years Lament Ampendectomy Music to Raise the Dead 1972–1998 (Boxed set)