CJSS was formed by guitar wizard David T. Chastain during early 1984 with t… Read Full Bio ↴CJSS was formed by guitar wizard David T. Chastain during early 1984 with two other members of the band Spike, drummer Les Sharp and bassist Mike Skimmerhorn, and vocalist Russell Jinkens who had gained fame for his stint in local Cincinnati cover band Prizoner.

Spike had recorded and released the album 'The Price of Pleasure' in 1983. Spike toured the United States with many acts, the most well known being Black Sabbath. David was not satisfied with the commercial slant of Spike's material and was at constant odds with the band's management and booking agency whom had been trying to push the band in a even more commercial direction. In order to play the music they loved the four musicians decided to form the band CJSS.

The band's first show was October 4, 1984 at Bogarts. The club's management had expected a week night crowd of only a few hundred but were pleasantly surprised when well over a thousand fans showed up. This was just the beginning as CJSS regularly appeared at the Cincinnati venue drawing huge throngs throughout the 80's. Even to this day the band still holds all attendance records at the club. The largest being November 15, 1986 with a crowd of 1452 paid and more turned away at the door.

In the summer of 1985 the band went into the studio and recorded the album 'World Gone Mad.' This album was released in January 1986 and was received very favorably worldwide. This album included some of the band's classic cuts such as; 'Hell On Earth' 'World Gone Mad' 'Destiny' and the band's contemporary version of the Zeppelin classic Communication Breakdown.

After doing a short tour of the US the group went into the studio in the summer of 1986 and recorded the bands pinnacle release 'Praise the Loud.' The album was released in October 1986 to intense worldwide acclaim. The track 'Metal Forever' became a rallying cry for metal fans. The praise lavished upon the band was universal. CJSS had released two classic metal albums in the less than one year. A feat unmatched in metaldom.

It is safe to say that when musical historians look back at the metal era 'World Gone Mad' and 'Praise the Loud' will be considered metal classics.

The CJSS classic Cds "Word Gone Mad" and "Praise The Loud" has just been re-released by Lion Music on one new remastered and repackaged Cd "2-4-1" . This timeless collection still holds up well and is a must have for fans of traditional metal. Get your copy before they are all gone.