Tag: Canada

I first heard this song probably circa 1995 & was immediately intrigued. This Canadian band takes their name from John 9:7 where it talks about the pool of Siloam. Their drummer has a story of where he came to Jesus after almost dying of a drug overdose. This SOTD contains the following lyrics that still make sense to this day: Let’s blame the world’s demise on God’s design, Apathy.   … Continued →

Elim Hall was ahead of their time in so many ways. It’s a real shame that they are just a blip on the radar screen of indie rock nowadays, as their preeminence is hard to over state. One of the earliest alternative rock bands to be signed to a major label in the CCM market, their only label release was snappy, melodic, memorable, and well-produced (somewhat surprisingly by Gary Chapman, along with veteran Jesus rocker Tim Marsh). This Canadian band wrote incredibly catchy, somewhat complex (for pop music) songs that were primarily in the power pop realm, but infused with touches of new wave and at times a punk-like urgency.… Continued →

This 4 piece Canadian band released a demo & 1 LP. They sound pretty tight to me & I’ve heard thousands of bands. The Chrisman tape underground has a little info on them if you want to check that site out. Anyways, enjoy from 1993.   … Continued →

Steadfast is an obscure pop punk band from Canada it appears. One fan remarked on my Youtube page that they changed their name to Out of the Monetary after this release at some point   … Continued →

This band had a pop punk vibe. They seem to have been independent & from Canada. Hope y’all like it    … Continued →

Hard to find much on this Canadian band, but it was released on a comp that featured both Christian & mainstream artists in the hxc/thrash scene back in the day. Check it out as is indeed a rarity. Seems they released 1 EP before calling it quits. … Continued →

This veteran, Canadian singer-songwriter has been active since at least the early 70s (probably earlier), since his debut eponymous album came out in 1970. I first became acquainted with his music in the 1990s, reading an album review in CCM Magazine, but also hearing equally about his accolades from the secular press. I took a chance on buying a live album, when I found a copy of his 1990 live album (he’s done at least 5 live albums), Bruce Cockburn Live on cassette. I’d heard he was a folk artist, and a songwriter, so I was prepared for the mostly acoustic sounds on the tape.… Continued →

The Awakening was a progressive pop-rock/AOR band from Canada, active in the 1980s–not to be confused with the goth/industrial band from South Africa. This Awakening was poppy enough to be CCM-adjacent (in fact, this is probably the poppiest SOTD I’ve ever featured), but yet had a slight progressive/alternative edge that set them apart from other bands. The band released three albums, culminating in their excellent Into Thy Hands (Reunion Records, 1988). It featured 12 tracks of progressive pop goodness, not too dissimilar to 80s-era Yes. Lyrics were filled with encouraging but never preachy biblical references.… Continued →

Manic Drive began as One Cross. Hailing from Canada, they have branched a few genres including modern rock, power pop & dance. They have several good songs & have even toured with Winter Jam. This SOTD has always been my fave & its lyrics elude to how sin has taken a part of him & he wants to be back with Jesus.   … Continued →

Zerbin is an indie Canadian rock band. The 2 band members are Jason Zerbin (hence the name) & Peter Moi. This SOTD is very catchy so hope you like it. … Continued →

Formed from the ashes of another Canadian band, Stutterfly, this band released 2 LPs that anyone who is into modern rock should own. Point blank. This band separates itself from the myriad of a modern rock band due its guitar tones & vocalist Charles Finn vocal stylings. Every single song they have done I like so don’t miss this way too short-lived band. … Continued →

FM Static was a pop punk side project of Canadian Thousand Foot Krutch. The SOTD has made a lasting impact on me & falls within a category of songs that I am planning a writeup on.  Its fun music contains lyrics that entail a very depressing subject of a guy who does not practice monogamy. … Continued →

Another quirky 90s alternative rock fun band, Hokus Pick (Maneuver) hailed from Canada. The band focused on writing sarcastic silly lyrics that portrayed a deeper message of Christian truths such as revealed in this SOTD – that  Jesus will hold true to His promise that He will return. Now that is an optimistic feeling. I chose this SOTD for a few reasons, with one being to make my son laugh. Listen to the guy yell at the beginning lol!  Also included a live show from them.… Continued →

It’s amazing how one can listen to music for years, decades even, and still find an obscure gem from days gone past that was missed out. Vancouver’s Cannon Heath Down only released one album: 1987’s Heart-Throb Companion (and a cassette demo 2 years later). The self-produced album was only released on LP, and its stellar take on indie pop will appeal to fans of The Ocean Blue, Morrissey, Game Theory, Riverside, The Mighty Lemon Drops, etc. The album fetches top dollar too, as I’ve seen copies listed at triple digits.… Continued →

Canadian’s hard rock Daniel Band found its way to my collection via a local pawn shop in my hometown in Illinois back in the early 90s I would guesstimate. My mother used to buy these old totally illegal rips of bands on cassette tape. It seems so weird now that these arena rock bands we thought of as heavy metal back then! My fave bands back then was Petra, Harvest & White Heart & Whitecross & so this band made sense. Between the lyrics & the rocking music, this song has a special place in my top songs ever.… Continued →

Shiloh is my absolutely fave dance/DJ band of all time. Forming under Shilotrance probably in the late 90’s, the Canadian Moreh brothers have an extensive catalog which a good chunk of it can be found on Beatport’s website. Their music can mostly be found as MP3 singles/vinyl, but they ended up releasing 2 physical LPs:  Bleed & Elements which are very worth checking out if you are into this musical genre. I have had the privilege of conversing with Justin over the years through social media & he sent me Shilohtrance’s whole back extremely rare back catalog which had been released on the old mp3.com… Continued →

Reflescent Tide is one of the first Christian rock bands I heard of way back in the mid 90s. There was a college show out of the University of Illinois that had a DJ that would play all kinds of music I had never heard of. The 3 piece band out of Canada had a 2 cd career. Their follow up actually had a music video which is grainy on YouTube They do not look like rock stars akin to most music released at the time.… Continued →

Canadian emcee Rel McCoy (formerly RELIC) has released a brand new video for his song “Part of the Plan.” The jazzy track features guest raps by RationaL and lyrics that question religious platitudes during times of doubt and difficulty. Check out the video here: https://grownuprap.com/2020/01/30/exclusive-premiere-rel-mccoy-part-of-the-plan-feat-rational-video/… Continued →

This 5-song EP contains 3 songs of melodic death metal (tracks 2-4) sandwiched in between 2 longer, unusual songs that genre-wise feature a hybrid of nu metal, doom metal and some classical instrumentation. Stylistically, the middle 3 tracks are similar to bands like Pantokrator, World to Ashes and similar melodeath bands (or In Flames and At the Gates from a mainstream perspective), but there is not a huge emphasis on the lead guitar. These are the strongest tracks with the most cohesive sound. The first and last tracks are more original, but ironically also weaker.… Continued →

Toronto-based hip-hop artist, Die-Rek, has signed with Illect Recordings. He has been a staple in Canada’s underground scene, so be sure to check out his past work on bandcamp. The emcee and producer had the following to say about the signing: There’s a lot of legacy on this label. Tunnel Rats, L.A. Symphony, Scribbling Idiots, Lojique, Phat K.A.T.S. and Deepspace 5. These are household names that will live on in the culture, and that’s the aspiration.  It sets a standard for me and puts a confirmation in my heart that I’m in the right place.… Continued →

Canadian metallurgic alchemists The Beckoning have posted a new song on for streaming. Mixing progressive, gothic and extreme metal sounds to pleasing results, the track clocks in at a lengthy 10:36! Let’s hope this is a sign of a new album soon. The track can be found on their Bandcamp page.… Continued →

Having initially formed in 1992 as simply Outrage, the band released 2 independent releases by 1995 when they sadly broke up. Reuniting as the newly-christened Outrage AD in 2013, the band quickly began work on New Blood. On this debut the Canadian band apportion some classic thrash metal, with touches of crossover and groove metal. The 8-song full-length brings to mind mid-paced thrashers Thresher as well as Overkill, Bloody Cross, Detritus and Ultimatum. Their mostly-shouted vocals (hence the nod to Scott Waters of Ultimatum) occasionally employ a bit of death growls as well.… Continued →

Canadian progressive death metallers The Beckoning have been making noise since 2010.  This release combines two earlier demos—Desolate (2014) and War (2012) into one remastered full-length.  Truly progressive, this 4-song clocks in at over 29 minutes, making it either a very long EP, or a full-length with only 4 songs, depending on one’s perspective. While the formula has been done before—screamed/growled vocals + clean/operatic vocals + heavy riffing + melodic leads—it works well here.  Founder/drummer/vocalist Roy Turple pulls off the screamed and clean sung vocals, and when he chooses the latter approach, resembles Jimmy Brown or Eric Clayton. … Continued →

Check out the new music video from After The Anthems for their song “One By One”, below.… Continued →

Check out the new music video from After The Anthems for their song “Streetlights”, below.… Continued →

Check out this review of Hearts In Stereo’s recent EP, “The 9-5 EP”.

Hearts In Stereo have debuted a new lyric video for their track “Dance Dance”. The track appears on their recent EP , titled The 9-5 EP.… Continued →

Check out my review of Starfield's latest album, "The Kingdom."

Check out To Tell‘s new video for the track “In Your Eyes”. It is taken from their recent EP, Away from Everything.… Continued →

An email interview with Barry MacKichan, singer/bass player of Kiros.