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Soldier guitarist Rick Martinez was frustrated at the lack of publicity and label attention his band was receiving, so he set out to form another band called Regime.  From beginning to end the band was cursed with a Spinal Tap-like existence: the drummer quit after a few months, the bass player gave up music, and this begin a rotating cast of characters at those two spots.  They managed to cobble together an independent cassette which received rave reviews, particularly from Doug Van Pelt at Heaven’s Metal Magazine (now HM).  Straight Through Your Heart is that cassette, live tracks, leftover demos, and an unreleased Soldier track.

How has the material held up? Simply put, if you’re a fan of '80’s metal, you missed the boat if you missed Regime.  Filled with guitar solos, Straight Through Your Heart recalls the days of Whitecross and Guardian, as well as MTV mainstays Dokken.  

One of musical fantasies has always been to go through the vaults of record companies, just to hear material that has been shelved, for whatever reason.  If the results produce material like Regime, every record company should appoint someone to do just this sort of thing.  “Give Back Your Heart” is an early Bon Jovi/Stryper rocker, while “To Love Again” is what would happen if Asia did heavy metal.  

Regime brings the goods, especially for a band that only played a few times together.  More projects of this type would be welcome, especially for those completists among us.  If you’ve ever listened to guitar shredders approvingly, this will be right up your alley.\

Brian A. Smith
7 February 2005