Articles

Ever heard of Deitiphobia? Massivivid is what became of Wally Shaw’s (founder of Deitiphobia) musical endeavours. Likened to Nine Inch Nails, the music is more guitar driven than his previous. I remember hearing Wally’s music back in the mid 90s & loved the song Red Society when industrial was at its peak in the mainstream.… Continued →

So this review is partially due to a music review veteran Kevin Crothers’ latest top 10 video for Mortification on his YouTube channel in lieu of his White Throne Metal Radio show.  I myself, have been a die-hard Morty fan since probably circa 1996 when a friend of mine in high school gave me ripped copies of Circle of Dust S/T, Mortification-Best of 5 Years & Sixpence’s This Beautiful Mess.… Continued →

I dig most “core” music genres, & there are tons of them (metalcore, screamo, nintendocore, etc…). One of my faves is electronicore which fuses unclean (growled or screamed vocals) with clean & double bass pedals & a lone keyboardist (which this song has the perfect mix of imho. Formed in Rock Hill, SC, at a pentecostal church, WOE i one of my friends son’s band.… Continued →

Angie Turner is the given name for soloist Miss Angie who has been releasing music since 1997. She was married to Oran from Johnny Q Public (whom I saw back in probably circa in their hometown of Springfield, MO). 2 LPs were released in the 90s that went to the Christian market.… Continued →

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Music Lyrics: … Continued →

Jaded Thorns were a grunge band that hailed from New York . Releasing 2 LPs & disbanding, this was a band that I wished for more of.  It is hard to find much on them as their record label did not last long. Both Epiphany & Things My Father Taught Me were on Word of Mouth (The Roosevelts, Sides of the North, Mending Point, Poor Man’s Riches).… Continued →

Creating a list of my top 100 albums and EPs has been fun and all, but it’s really these last 25 that are my personal favorites of 2020. They’re the ones that I’ve listened to the most and the ones I think I will keep coming back to in 2021. So here it is, my top 25 albums and EPs of 2020: … Continued →

Starting this new year off right with some fun ska music from B.U.C.K. (building Up Christ’s Kingdom) aka Buck Enterprises. This Detroit, MI six piece band released a few albums before disbanding. I remember writing a college paper on ska & B.U.C.K would be classified as 3rd wave ska. Their 1998 self-titled release featured more horns than the second & featured a cartoon character which appeared to be skanking in a raincoat while holding up a checkered black & white ball which are the normal colors for ska music.… Continued →

Something I realized once I started breaking my top 100 albums and EPs of 2020 list down into four posts is that each post became a micro-list of its own. For example, I wasn’t really thinking too hard about what album I was going to rank 26th when there were 100 albums.… Continued →

Despite all the despair, hopelessness, fear, anxiety, death, destruction, and uncertainty that 2020 has thrown at us, we have all taken solace in our music and found hope through it. We are carried through the pain with messages of inspiration, songs of motivation, and songs that just plain electrified our souls.… Continued →

Some would say that putting together a year-end list of your top 100 albums and EPs is insane. And I agree. It’s one of the most ambitious things I’ve attempted since I started writing for IVM. So how did I do it exactly? Well I started out by putting together a list of all the albums and EPs I listened to during 2020—a feat in its own right.… Continued →

I was going to write a little intro to this list of mine, but in the end I figured I’d just let it speak for itself. Alot of great music dropped despite all the year brought us and these are my top 20. Let me know what you think!     20.… Continued →

I wasn’t really sure how I was going to do my “best of” list this year. I was considering breaking it down into genres similar to what Casey did. Or splitting my albums and EPs into two lists. Or just doing my top 10 list like I normally do. In the end though I decided to take a page out of Josh Balogh’s playbook and go big.… Continued →

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Music Lyrics: … Continued →

My last review of 2020 & yet another band from the archives! This band was extremely hard to track down. Heard this song Daybreak on an indie Christian website/station back while stationed in the military. My guess is that this song was released during the old mp3.com download days. It took me probably 15 years before I tracked down a hard copy.… Continued →

"O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation." -Psalm 95:1

Merry Christmas friends and readers. We made it! Can you believe that after all the chaos, death and destruction, and utter disappointment that 2020 is now classified as, that somehow we made it to a beautiful day like Christmas? We are reminded of our Savior’s Birth and the promise of redemption that would come through his death and resurrection.… Continued →

Today’s perfect “Christmas” song is none other than MxPx “Christmas Day” from that cherished 1999 compilation album, “Happy Christmas Vol. 2”. This compilation was released on BEC Recordings / T&N which brought some classics from artists like MxPx, Sixpence None The Richer, All Star United, Plankeye, Hangnail, Flight 180, Starflyer 59, Fanmail, Element 101, Deluxetone Rockets, and so many more.… Continued →

Another Song of The Day from the great Happy Christmas series of the late 90’s. The first 3 Volumes still remain some of my favorite “Christmas” collections of songs, by far. My song of the day, which is the 2nd today, Christmas Eve. Fanmail came out swinging with a punk rock classic done with their (now) classic sound.… Continued →

When Happy Christmas Vol. 1 hit my ears, I was pleasantly and delightfully impressed. It had some of my favorite bands at the time doing their best versions of Christmas classics. One of those songs was “You Gotta Get Up” by Five Iron Frenzy which was originally composed by Rich Mullins (RIP).… Continued →

Here’s another obscure band from the archives. First heard them on an indie Christian rock station/website & they seemed to have an Americana/grunge flair. They appear to have a full length called Flicker that was released in 1999, but I have not heard that one (but, totally just ordered)! I picked up 2 of their EPs (Self-titled & The Lazy I Sessions” for a high price back several years ago.… Continued →

How many of y’all like covers? Well, ABR has done several & have made them into their own metalcore sound. Covering songs from Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Saves the Day & The Legend of Zelda, Nofx, tons of Christmas ones & now System of a Down, they are always welcome to my ears.… Continued →

Here’s another obscure band for ya! Broken released one LP on Mercy Street Records which had a small yet diverse array of artists: Real (Nu metal), Popcorn (rap), one of Seventh Day Slumber’s early releases & Salt (Southern rock). Broken has a hard hitting heavy rapcore/nu-metal sound. They released 3 songs to indie Christian rock/loud radio: Beautiful, Stand & Cage.… Continued →

Indie rock/Post hardcore act Yours For Mine release new song! FFO: Meadows, Eaves, and Idle Threat.

Rhonda Gunn is a singer/songwriter that has been around since 1995. I admit I did not hear her music til more recently (around 2 years ago) when a station/website called Crossroads started playing her music. Since then I have heard music from 2 other albums Forgiveness & I Wonder. My musical tastes are very eclectic & so I started searching & found she is even on the Frontline Records site & is an outstanding songwriter who has has penned songs for Dallas Holm & Heirloom.… Continued →

If you’ve seen my Christmas posts on IVM the past few years then you probably think I’m big fan of Christmas music. And might just be right. It seems like the genre has been growing on me more each year. But it hasn’t always been that way for me. There was defiantly a time during my teens and college years where I found Christmas music annoying at best.… Continued →

Krig is a Brazilian band with obvious death metal tendencies. They have been around since 2007 & have released a few albums including now 2 cover LPs . The production is stellar for death metal projects imho. I happened to stumble upon this today & am digging their take on classics from Bloodgood, Megadeth, Messiah Prophet, Trouble & one of my fave bands of all time (lyrically & musically), Tourniquet.… Continued →

I try & find obscure bands for these reviews so others can enjoy a lost song/band like I do. Animal Couch is one of those. I first heard their music through my endless digging for Christian music through a long ago website/station called Freerock1). Their goth look seems to be both like Wedding Party or Virgin Black, but sound more akin to modern rock.… Continued →

How many of y’all remember a hackey sack (the little ball you kicked with your foot & held it on the side of your shoe & sent it up on your head or flipped it to another player in style). Man, in my high school days that was the in-thing! Well, Australia’s Beanbag is named for that little entertainment ball.… Continued →

I should probably be working my Best of 2020 list right now, but as I set out to make my annual Christmas playlist I kept stumbling across great new albums and EPs. So while my top albums of 2020 list sits on the backburner for a few more weeks, enjoy this list of my top 10 new Christmas albums and EPs that were released this year.… Continued →