Articles

Every year at Christmastime I try to choose a selection for the Song of the Day that is both seasonally appropriate and also relevant to our scene. Sure, it’s the day after Christmas, but since Christmas historically is a 12-day feast, we’re still in Christmas! August Burns Red has been making engaging and sometimes complicated metalcore since 2003. They are known as one of the more progressive and technical bands in the genre, regardless of faith affiliation. They are also known more for being “Christians in a band” than being a “Christian band.”… Continued →

I would label this genre modern thrash. Oil released 1 EP, 1 LP & a live album from 1997-2004 before calling it quits based on my recollection. The most recent project by the band members is a little known band called Blankenstein. Their vocalist Ron Rinehart was in mainstream thrash band Dark Angel back in the late 80s, early 90s. Their 2000 release Refine was a mainstay in my CD collection that year. Kalubone Records released several hard to find bands that I have music from all of them of course.… Continued →

Oh my gosh, why is it that sometimes the best bands have the shortest-lived careers?!? Pink Daffodils released one 3-song EP and then a follow-up single (literally a one-song CD) and then disappeared. Their style of female-fronted semi-melodic yet intensely screamy hardcore scratched my brain in very particular way. To this day, their Listless EP is one of my favorite and most unique hardcore releases ever. There was one more Pink Daffodils track, offered on the Trampled compilation from Boot to Head Records. Hailing from Philadelphia, the band shared some members with punk mainstays One-21, but with a very different sound.… Continued →

Sorry about the long time between song of the day’s y’all. And Happy Christmas Eve 2025!!! So The Wednesdays started out as a pop punk/rockabilly band in 1999 releasing an LP on Jackson Rubio records which also released music from Blaster the Rocketman (boy), Havalina, amongst several others that most long term fans of this site would probably readily recognize. Today’s song of the day is the first one I heard from them and hearkens to their Alabama roots. Just a fun rockabilly song. Unsure of the “Christian” influence on this band, but Jackson Rubio was pretty prevalent in the Christian indie punk./rock… Continued →

Comprised of twin brothers Noel and Robbie Arthurton, the Bronx-born but California-raised Dynamic Twins were part of the first wave of legitimate Gospel rap coming out in the early 90s. Like so many others of that era (including S.F.C and Freedom of Soul), they had early connections to J.C. and the Boyz, and even wrote a song for Crystal Lewis (who returned the favor by singing on one of their tracks). Dynamic Twins had that southern California, West Coast rap style, but wanted to proclaim the Gospel clearly through their craft.… Continued →

Midwest emo act Kerith Ravine formed around Akron, OH in 1997 and were active until 2001. In that short time they recorded 2 self-released CD EPs, released a split 7″ with fellow Ohioans Cpt. Nemo, and also released a full-length album through Bulletproof Music (Dear Ephesus, Aleixa, etc.) The band played a fun subset of Midwest emo which had them incorporating strings on one track and screaming on another, all the while holding subtle melodies close. After Kerith Ravine (name for the brook where OT prophet Elijah took refuge while hiding from Ahab) finished, some of the members then formed Lovedrug, which also contained former members of Eso-Charis.… Continued →

I hear a lot of talk on social media these days about “2008 metalcore.” That’s what we have here in this track from Bringing Down Broadway. This was the era of metallic hardcore before clean singing and ‘ambient’ keyboards took over the scene. Sure, they dabble in clean singing for a handful of lines in this track from 2007, but its use wasn’t excessive by any means. And there’s a certain rawness to this recording that tells us that over-production wasn’t an issue (I mean that in a good way).… Continued →

Venezuelan thrash band Mashiaj formed in Caracas in 2009. They released an initial demo in 2010, entitled Loser, and then a string of EPs: Mashiaj (2014), Vomitivo (2015–reissued stateside in 2017 by Christian Metal Underground), and Perdedor (2016). Websites list the band as being still active, but we haven’t had any new recordings since 2016. The band members write and perform in their native Spanish language, but the style is clearly late 80s Bay Area thrash, and a decent representation of it! “Liberacion” (freedom or liberation in Spanish) is taken from their most widely-distributed release Vomitivo, featuring a gnarly album cover reflective of the type of thrash they play.… Continued →

• This song here hits me hard.  All of us struggle with sin and it can be a daily struggle to fight and it all seems like a losing battle.
• But Jesus says in Luke 9:23  “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
• So let us keep on trying and live like Hebrews 12:1-2 advises: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

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Logically, it makes no sense to fuse ambient music and industrial music. One is the softest, most minimalist form of electronic music; the other is the loudest and harshest. Yet the marriage of the two can create satisfying and interesting results. Swedish artists seem particularly good at it. We’ve featured Azure Skies in the past (which also featured members of Mental Destruction and Sanctum). Parca Pace is also known in the fusion style, and of course, our featured artist Haus Am Rand. It should be no surprise then that Jan Carleklev is involved in all three of these projects, not to mention EBM act November Commandment, gothic-industrial hybrid Sanctum, and a handful of other acts.… Continued →

This pop rock/hip hop artist has been making a lot of waves lately with his personal stance on this years (2025) Dove Awards. I personally like some of his music and this song is one that I’ve heard many people love. Almost everyone who listens to contemporary Christian music that I have met over the past few years really dig his stuff so much that it’s no wonder he’s so popular. I have even seen memes where people liken him to standing with Christian metal bands that won’t go to the Dove Awards.… Continued →

Russian Orthodox gothic/black metal? While that description might sound unusual to most American listeners, that is exactly what we have here. Gospod hail from the Russian Federation, and have released one album for Michigan-based Vision of God Records. I don’t have a ton of details about the band, but we do know that it’s a one-man project written and performed by Tumanov Roman Mikhailovich. Musically, however, there is much that can be said. Their sole album, Исход Израиля (or, Israel’s Exodus) features a really intriguing mix of gothic metal and black metal.… Continued →

Garage punk trio Upside Down Room first popped up on most fans’ radars with the release of their 1995 self-titled EP for Tooth & Nail Records. However, they’d already released 3 cassette demos prior to that, going back as early as 1991. The band hailed from southern California, and for the most part played a raw, gritty form of punk rock and roll. Jason Martin (Starflyer 59, et. al.) was recruited to produce their T&N debut and also contributed some guitars to the record. While UDR was definitely committed to punk rock, Martin’s signature layered approach added a quality to the garage rock previously unheard.… Continued →

Today’s band hearkens back to what many consider the fun days of what got them into metalcore.  Collective Dust is a crabcore revival band which references the metalcore subgenre known for incorporating electronic elements and “crab-like” chugging guitar riffs, often with syncopated rhythms. This is a ministry band rooted in Christian beliefs as seen in their mission statement. “The band’s mission first and foremost is to be servants of Jesus Christ and stewards of the gospel, reaching and ministering to as many as will listen,” Wilson says eagerly.… Continued →

Liverpool-based The Free Zone duo met in a Christian Union at Liverpool University in 1982, bonding over post-punk and especially Londoners, The Clash. Initially called Cross Purposes, The Free Zone wanted to take the energy, urgency, and excitement of punk rock without the music sounding too primitive. The Free Zone was officially born in 1984. The band comprised drummer/sequencer Peter Scarlett and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Tim Thwaites, and played mostly secular venues around their home city, even opening for NW England stalwarts The La’s. They also played a handful of gigs with fellow Liverpudlians, neo-folksters Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus.… Continued →

This writer has been listening to Christian music since the early 80s. Steve Camp has been a part of this almost 50 year experience with great songs like Run to the Battle, Guard the Trust, etc… One fact I find very interesting is that just like Martin Luther wrote the Ninety-five Theses, Steve wrote his own 107 theses on Reformation Day (October 31), 1998, calling for a reformation in contemporary Christian music: calling Christian musicians to make direct, uncompromising music that confronts the world with the message of the scriptures.… Continued →

I’ll just come out and say it, “Deathbed” is quite possibly the best “Christian” song that has been written in the past 15 years. That is quite a statement to make and I’ll tell you why. First of all, bands who can create an 11 minute “epic” song with constant peaks and valleys all the while captivating the listener with a heavy dose of heart tugging melodrama, you know they are doing it right. I don’t know what it is and maybe that’s just me being a sentimental, sappy fool, but when I give this track a listen, I am left with a tear(s) streaming down my cheek.… Continued →

[Original Post from 2021, Reposted for your enjoyment!]. Check out these 20 Indie Albums You Almost Forgot Existed and maybe discover something old that is now new again? Let us know what are some of your favorites from independent Christian artists that you almost forgot existed?… Continued →

This band formed in Florida in the early to mid-80s, and had recorded a 5-song demo by 1985. Two of those songs ended up on the Regency Records compilation East Coast Metal, released in 1988. The compilation featured 6 other bands, all of whom achieved some level of regional and/or national success. Arsenal played in the traditional heavy metal style, but featured a female vocalist, an uncommon trait in heavy metal bands, which gave them a distinct edge in their sound. Based on the strength of the ’85 demo, a second demo of 3 songs released in 1988, and of course fan reaction to the tracks included on East Coast Metal, the band signed to Regency Records (home of Rage of Angels, Mastedon, and a host of other metal compilations), and released their one and only full-length, 1989’s Armored Choir.… Continued →

This Las Vegas metalcore band just released a cover of The City Harmonic’s anthemic worship song. The premiere of the music video is this Thursday October 16, 2025. … Continued →

Forming first as Spud Puddle, this band from southern California changed their name just prior to the release of their second album. Partly due to confusion with punk band Spudgun, but more so due to a change in styles–away from the pop-punk of their debut, and into alternative/indie rock on the self-titled Quaylealbum, the old band name just didn’t fit anymore. With a sound that touched on alternative rock, power pop, and just a hint of emo, Quayle wowed listeners with a sound that was both raw and melodic at the same time.… Continued →

Seminal deathcore band Earth from Above formed in 2005 in Los Angeles and were active through 2011, when they disbanded. Incorporating elements of metallic hardcore, traditional metallic leads, and borrowing vocal styles from both death and black metal (with two vocalists at that), the band brought a fresh style to the newly developing subgenre. The band released an EP independently in 2007, called Partakers, and a full-length in 2009 for Facedown imprint Strike First Records, entitled Numbered with the Transgressors. The band was upfront about their faith, utilizing lyrics that were both evangelistic and worshipful in nature.… Continued →

The Felluz was a third-wave ska band from Michigan. Not a lot is known about the band, but they came to national light via the SkaCraze2 compilation. The second installment of the Christian ska series focused on the “East Coast,” and/or bands that we were not from the dominant West Coast scene. The Felluz offered a distinctly third wave take on ska with a light but upbeat punk-ska feel. They released one 5-song CDr, that was released independently in 1998. Our Song of the Day is the first track on the EP, but you’re in luck.… Continued →

This pop-punk duo comprises brothers Seth and Paul Hyde, who are separated by thousands of miles (North Carolina to Hawaii). Seth spearheads the project, with Paul adding the drums. However, Paul spearheads the independent (and non-profit) record label Small Step Records. While I’ve been aware of GLR from quite some time, I only recently dug into their sound, and incidentally only then discovered that my friend Paul (whom I met at Furnace Fest last year, but had corresponded with before that) was in the band. I had heard them described as pop-punk, which they certainly are, but it’s a different take on the genre.… Continued →

Echocast is just one out of 4 names that I know of for this band. I saw them live under this moniker, but they went from Seven to Redline to Echocast & then to The Ironside Collective. This song is a rarity & thus I uploaded for the world to hear/reminisce. … Continued →

This Texan band hit the scene during the Myspace Days. The band was formed of a couple members of another great rock band Modern Day John, but this time around with a female singer. Today’s song comes from their EP Dreams of Darkening Spain. Check both bands out! … Continued →

In celebration of these incredible what we now term as “Classic” alternative, rock, (or whatever you want to call it) releases, I am reposting this article in celebration of 30 years of wonderful music that originated out of the Christian music scene. Let’s take a look back and maybe find a new favorite that’ll keep you comforted during these current turbulent times we live in. I have updated the article to include 30 Releases (instead of the original 25 from 5 years ago in celebration of 30 years).… Continued →

Joel Piper is the brainchild behind Avery PKWY & has been around for a few years now. His latest released just dropped last month & has 19 songs. If you haven’t heard of him, you might know his old band Confide that had a little mainstream success on the Warper Tour. Check out these lyrics & his latest release Walk With You. I’m done escaping all the pain of the labor It’s time to face what I have labeled as danger Now I’m done Believing all the liеs of the traitor (Ooh-ooh-ooh) Now I know I was made for something so much grеater Than only to survive I’m coming back to life I was breathing, but dead inside I know that I am the one The one You were chasing when You left the 99    … Continued →

For anyone who’s followed Sower for any length of time, you’ll know Eric Tuffendsam is a pretty vocal guy. First, because he is actually singing the songs, but secondly, because the core of his project is around the proper care and deliverance of the Gospel. “Hollywood” and “If You Don’t Love the Church” both show powerful rebukes – one of the world and the other of the worldly – but on his latest EP, Tuffendsam takes shots at the industry and its own worldliness. With the recent scandal of Michael Tait and the ways it’s been covered up to a more broad trend of apostasy over the past few decades, it’s clear that the industry isn’t all claims to be.… Continued →

Everdown was a hardcore band from New Hampshire, active in the mid-90s, but their roots were in earlier versions of the band like Crawlspace (who recently had their material re-issued by The Charon Collective) and Dry Bones. Unlike their counterparts from southern California or New York City, Everdown incorporated other influences into their music like post-hardcore and even sludge. Perhaps it was their New England location, or maybe they were simply influenced by a different scene, but with unusual arrangements (for hardcore), and song lengths at times over 7 minutes, their take on hardcore was certainly unique in the Christian scene.… Continued →