Articles

There was a lot of anticipation about this band before they ever released one song. Founder/vocalist Brett Detar had been in Zao, playing on one of their most popular albums, Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest, as well as the unique and creative–and tragically underrated/unheard–emo-core band Pensive before that. With The Juliana Theory, Detar, along with bandmates Neil Hebrank (drums), Chad Alan (bass), Joshua Fiedler (guitars), and Joshua Kisker (guitars) took emo in a more accessible direction. The band released four full-length albums between 1999 and 2006, along with a few live recordings, EPs, and the seminal split release with Dawson High.… Continued →

There has been an ongoing silence on the latest happenings in the Christian music realm and it’s not by accident, it’s pure engineering. So much so that we’ve decided (well me actually) to amp up the fun by diving head first into the world of “Reels” and short streaming clips as evidenced by some recent posts on Instagram and Facebook. While not as cutting edge and China-centric as say TikTok or as private as a Snap (not that kind of private and also, do people still use this app?),… Continued →

This is raw industrial music. The 3 core members of the band were from Iowa & I am pretty sure the Quad Cities area where my family is originally from. They were likened to mainstream’s Skinny Puppy. Check em out & this article that goes in depth about the band. https://opus.ing/reviews/life-equals-death-globalwavesystem-1993-intense-records And be sure to check out my website www.castingsuchathinshadow.com and my pre-recorded radio show on Ripper Radio aired on Sundays 5-6 pm EST. … Continued →

Brazilian black/death metal band Zurisadai came from the coastal city of São Luís in the northern State of Maranhão. The band formed in 2001 and released their debut album Symphony of the Souls the following year via Extreme Records, one of the more prolific Christian metal labels for Latin America. After a lengthy silence they released the follow-up The Coming of the Annihilation in 2014, also initially on Extreme Records. However, the album was impactful enough that it was re-issued no less than four times (!)… Continued →

I used to have this one on cassette tape back in the day. Red Sea was a hard rock/bluesy band that included Die Happy’s vocalist & Fear Not’s guitarist. It was released on Rugged Records which also featured artists such as Reflescent Tide & Disciple. I remember 3 singles from this one & this SOTD was the first. Roxx remastered & released the LP in 2021. And be sure to check out my website www.castingsuchathinshadow.com and my pre-recorded radio show on Ripper Radio aired on Sundays 5-6 pm EST.… Continued →

Rivulets and Violets was a short-lived project spearheaded by Masaki Liu. Liu is a producer and engineer whose name appears in literally dozens (actually over a hundred!) of albums from Christian alternative and metal bands, especially in the 90s. He also owns his own studio, and has been a member of post-punks The Lonely Now and roots rockers Dimestore Prophets. But R&V was a unique project. Their first album was released in 1993, and featured mostly instrumental songs. While there were no lyrics, there were occasional vocal parts, mostly in the form of la’s and other non-verbal vocal sounds.… Continued →

Jonathan Emanuel Gremyr aka Jonathan Vrålstad under the moniker Coretex is an early Christian EDM trance artist from Sweden. This SOTD was featured on a couple compilations from N Soul & 3 Cell. He released a lot more music just like many EDM artists so check him out. And be sure to check out my website www.castingsuchathinshadow.com and my pre-recorded radio show on Ripper Radio aired on Sundays 5-6 pm EST. … Continued →

I’ve been a big fan of Eric Tuffendsam’s Sower project since connecting inadvertently last year over Instagram. Our initial conversations were around around the theological distress of the so-called Christian music industry and the need for greater clarity Gospel; in retrospect, I shouldn’t be surprised that all of these conversations were building toward Sower’s most complete work to date. Before we get into the details of the music, I feel it necessary to explain this truly is a one-man show. Tuffendsam not only played all instruments and did all vocals (apart from a few noted guests, including the likes of No Treaty), but he also did all production, mixing, AND mastering.… Continued →

This is an early nu metal/metalcore/screamo band that released one full length on Rescue records and some other songs on compilations. Unfortunately, I don’t have much insight on the band itself or where they were from. And be sure to check out my website www.castingsuchathinshadow.com and my pre-recorded radio show on Ripper Radio aired on Sundays 5-6 pm EST. … Continued →

True Liberty is a true-school punk rock band from Richmond, VA. The band was active for roughly 10 years, from the mid-2000s through the mid-2010s. In that period, they released an impressive collection of four full-length albums, all in the old school punk rock style. “Lost” is the opening track from their sophomore album Brotherhood, released in 2008 via Raging Storm Records. The band also released albums through Wounded Records and Thumper Punk Records. They also contributed tracks to several different Christian punk compilations via labels like Indie Vision Music, Rottweiler Records, Caustic Fallout, SkyBurnsBlack Records, in addition to the aforementioned Thumper Punk.… Continued →

This North Carolina band formed in 1999 & released a couple albums before going dormant. They ended up releasing more music in 2021. One of the original band members Joe Musten has been in a few bands including drumming for The Almost, and was the vocalist for Torn & The Advent which I saw live a few years back. They play what is called post hardcore. Check out this catchy song out. And be sure to check out my website www.castingsuchathinshadow.com and my pre-recorded radio show on Ripper Radio aired on Sundays 5-6 pm EST.… Continued →

Denison Witmer is a guitarist and vocalist. A classic singer-songwriter in the indie folk style. Witmer grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania attending Lancaster Mennonite School, representing the faith tradition in which he was raised. At some point during his youth, Witmer began taking guitar lessons from Don Peris (The Innocence Mission), and recorded his first album while he was in high school. The project was not marketed to the public, so his true debut came a few years later in 1998, in the form of Safe Away.… Continued →

Here is a catchy southern rock song that is currently running through Christian radio. Emerson had her first stint on Christian radio when she sung on Micah Tyler’s People Like Me. Her background is a lacrosse player and a degree in Homeland Security per the New Release Today bio on her. She reminds me of a singer whom I worked her mech booth a year ago now called Anne Wilson. And be sure to check out my website www.castingsuchathinshadow.com and my pre-recorded radio show on Ripper Radio aired on Sundays 5-6 pm EST.… Continued →

The music community lost a great one this week. Sadly for us, Mike Peters of The Alarm has passed from this life and into the next. The Welsh singer/guitarist was 66. Peters had first been diagnosed with cancer in 1995, and fought throughout the better part of 10 years before being diagnosed with yet another form of cancer in 2005. All throughout this time, Peters continued to perform, sometimes with The Alarm, sometimes solo, and at other times collaborating with others. He briefly fronted a version of Big Country, and also collaborated with Billy Duffy of The Cult in a project called Colorsound.… Continued →

I do not know much about this artist, but saw the song on a “Christian” publication of some sort online a few years back. My research has found it came out in 2013 and was a solo artist whose name was Maxwell Lee who also played shows with Blues Traveler. I added it to Youtube as the only version I could find was a live version. There are Bible verses listed on the artists’ Facebook page as well. And no, the Jessika spelling is deliberate as I have seen it listed as with the k and the c.… Continued →

I totally think this pop punk artist is one of the best artists of the past 10 years. His music is so catchy and he plays all the instruments. Every video showcases his musical talent and his lyrics are as real as they get. Be sure to check out his latest EP Exit 9B which released yesterday. And be sure to check out my website www.castingsuchathinshadow.com and my pre-recorded radio show on Ripper Radio aired on Sundays 5-6 pm EST. … Continued →

Fat and Frantic was a delightfully quirky indie band from England, active from the mid-80s and into the early 90s. While the band was made up of Christians (at least one of whom later entered full-time ministry in the Church of England, and another who has a decorated career as a choir director), they managed to stay out of the ‘Christian ghetto’ and had lots of mainstream exposure, at least in their home country. When I lived in England, I would come across people who had no connection to the church but had fond memories of seeing Fat and Frantic live.… Continued →

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. -Matthew 28:6

John Gold, one half of the progressive indie duo, Gr8frt, has emerged with a new solo album after almost a decade of focusing on other projects. Gold begins the album with clear intent for this project: each song was recorded in an hour, keeping in plenty of rough edges and imperfections which contrast his typical nature of overthinking the tracks. The end result is an album of folk-infused indie rock without ornament. Gold’s lyrics are pensive as usual, diving into topics of marital strife and endurance, addiction and recovery, fatherhood and feeling like an orphan, and plenty of other thoughtful contrasts.… Continued →

While there are many bands that might qualify as “Biblical indie rock”, none have been quite so bold to use it regularly – and truly embrace it as their central emphasis for songwriting. Sower, the emo/alternative/post-hardcore project of multi-instrumentalist and evangelist Eric Tuffendsam, first broke into the mainstream last year with TWO EPs and a handful of singles, all encapsulating rich and convicting truths found within the pages of Scripture. This year has likewise seen the release of several singles and collaborations. Tuffendsam’s work ethic has not dulled in the slightest.… Continued →

It’s Holy Week, the most important season in the church calendar, so it’s important to celebrate everything Jesus did for us, displaying his love through the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. When it comes to music, it seems that the metal bands give us the most material when to comes to focusing on the passion events. Sacrament was a super-heavy thrash metal band from Pennsylvania. They formed in 1989, and played a style of thrash that was at times much closer to death metal. One could almost argue they were the first Christian band playing in the death metal style, and they wouldn’t be too far off.… Continued →

It seems every few decades, the sounds of older bands resurface in a new light. The reason that complex – kids who grew up listening to their parents’ favorite classics or even just the artist active during their foundational years finally arrive at a point where they’ve developed enough musical aptitude to put a twist on the styles they loved growing up. They borrow and expand on their inspirations. One listen to James Koan III’s debut album, Time, feels like a time machine, no pun intended.… Continued →

Electronica/EBM artist FHTH is a solo project of Slava Malinin of progressive metal band Angel 7. That, however, will give you little to no context of what to expect here. Where Angel 7 mixes proggy power metal with death metal (sometimes), FHTH is straight up electronica that leans in an EBM direction. There are no guitars or acoustical-based instruments, but there are some occasional harsh sounds woven into the catchy electronic dance music. One thing the two projects do have in common is a high standard of quality.… Continued →

Over a decade after the advent of the first “Spirit-filled hardcore” movement, Sleeping Giant helped kick off a second wave of the movement, sometimes referred to as “preachcore.” There is now actually a third wave of Spirit-filled hardcore happening now, but that is a story for another day. The first wave was spearheaded by bands like Southern California’s Focused, Unashamed, and No Innocent Victim, as well as Florida’s Strongarm, Cleveland’s Six Feet Deep and Arizona’s Overcome. Each of those bands featured different takes on the genre but what they had in common was a deep commitment to sharing Christ through the music.… Continued →

Along with the 80s alternative rock bands like U2, Midnight Oil, The Alarm, and Simple Minds, King’s X were the ultimate “Christians in a band” scenario. Despite numerous Christian labels and festivals trying to get the band on board, they always felt their audience was much wider. And yet, their lyrics always hinted at faith in bountiful ways. Musically, the band often functioned as a ‘band’s band.’ They were praised and recognized by members of Pearl Jam, and tons of others as an influence. They played a strange mix of classic rock, funk, heavy metal, and alternative in a unique concoction of progressive metal that predated genres like grunge, alternative metal and even post metal.… Continued →

Sev Statik (born Joseph Evans) is a hip-hop MC originally from Albany, NY. His credentials and discography run pretty deep. While most average listeners were first introduced to his music through his 2002 release on Uprok Recordings (a short-lived hip-hop label affiliated with Tooth & Nail Records), he had been active with Deepspace5 since 1996. The collective also included Labklik (featuring Listener), Ill Harmonics, and Mars Ill. Are you keeping up? To make matters even more confusing, Sev Statik has also recorded under the alias Stu Dent.… Continued →

The 90s was such an interesting decade for music in general, but for the Christian scene in particular. There was such a diversity of sounds and multiple genres exploding in all different directions from alternative to metal to punk to hardcore to hip-hop and electronica. Then even within each of these there was a multiplicity of subgenres all moving in different trajectories at the same time. It wasn’t uncommon to go to a gig in the 90s and see a ska band opening a show that also included indie rock and hardcore.… Continued →

The late, great Exeter Flud was an alternative rock from the Atlanta area, whose music danced around indie rock, emo, and shoegaze, but never fully committed to any of those. It’s not too surprising that the band had formal connections to other Georgia and Florida bands like Dear Ephesus, My Hotel Year, Vivian, and more. The roots of Exeter Flud were in Remnant, who released one brilliant 7″ single in 1995, “The Cloud/Dirge.” The songs were recorded while they were still in high school, and engineered by the masterful J.C.… Continued →

Let the debate be finished, and let this be the final word: Sister Rosetta Tharpe was the first Christian rock artist ever. Decades before Larry Norman, or even his English predecessors like The Crossbeats or The Pilgrims, Tharpe was writing and performing a new take on Gospel music, utilizing skillful guitar playing and innovating techniques that were used by hundreds of others after her. In fact, it is likely that Tharpe is not only the first Gospel rocker, but the first rock-and-roll artist period, with her early material being created as early as the late 1930s, more than a full decade before Bill Haley and the Comets released “Rock Around the Clock” or Chuck Berry was instructing Johnny on how to B.… Continued →

We continue our series in February of focusing on contributions to the Christian independent music scene from our black brothers and sisters for Black History Month. While heavy metal, and especially this form of ‘glam metal’ was dominated by people whose skin color resembles mine, Seventh Seal stood out from the crowd. They were a commercial metal band from Palmdale, California whose 5 members were all African American. Seventh Seal was truly an anomaly in this regard. While there are other heavy metal bands with black members, I can’t think of any others where the entire band was made up of black members *and* who played in this particular style.… Continued →