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So, it’s New Year’s Day. 2020 is a recently faded memory, but with the obvious enduring repercussions. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Or affirmations, or commitments, or whatever else people are calling them nowadays? My wife (who is an artist) loves the New Year holiday. She sees it as a blank slate. A new chance to start over. Erase all the marks from the chalkboard (remember those?) or the whiteboard, or your Zoom screen and go again, taking all you’ve learned to try and do it better next time.… 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. Everything In Slow Motion – “Influence”. (Rock/Hard Rock) Released 10/16/20 on Facedown Records. Influence was the band’s first release since the 2016 ep, Laid Low. While it didn’t feel like a whole lot of new ground was covered, that is a good thing, especially considering their sound.… 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. So here the first 25 of my top 100 album and EPs of 2020:… 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. There is another band called Gone Hazel, but I do not believe it is the same band. Anyways, finally got a hold of this 2 song demo release on Ebay from a seller whom I am guessing used to be a DJ as was selling rare stuff such as promotional releases from artists. … 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. 2020 may suck royally but at least we all have each other, our families, our love, and God up above. Despite what has happened this year, it has been a teachable moment in time and we are reminded of not only our importance as believers living here on this Earth, but the whole reason for the season (sorry for the cliche reference, it is important).… 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. First 3 Volumes are pure classics! MxPx brought it at a time where the band was exploding with “Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo”.… Continued →

First things first–merry Christmas everyone! It’s been a challenging year, and many of us are ready to see the back of it. I always post my Song of the Day picks on Friday, so I was pleased to the lucky draw for Christmas Day! Of course, it had to be a Christmas song, and there are lots of good ones to choose from, even from our niche scene. For those unfamiliar with Adam Again, they have deep roots in the Christian music scene. They started out in the California scene of the 1980s through Broken Records and later Brainstorm Artists.… 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. Scott Silletta (Ex-Plankeye) was always in his best element by showing a bit of edge behind the guitar and mic. This song is certainly no exception to that rule.… 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). The song is a playful tune with a bouncy rhythm and plenty of holiday cheer, perfect for the Christmas season. Well placed horn section and Reese’s unforgettable voice, I mean that in the most sincere way.… 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. Anyways, this song is catchy & I dig it & hope you do also!… 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. Apparently, they played this one during soundcheck before their shows tons before finally deciding to do a cover. It is also one that they showcase more of their clean vocals than before. The single was released December 15th on Fearless Records which is the label that has brought us music from Starset, The Color Morale, Blessthefall, Wage War, Classic Case, The Almost & my fave band of all time, Underoath.… 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. My fave was the 1st track which had lyrics like “beautiful the blood shed for me”. It’s no disguise that this is a full on “Christian” band.… Continued →

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

The year was 1990. I’d heard lots of buzz about this new “goth rock” band Dead Artist Syndrome. Even Roger Martinez from Vengeance Rising had been sporting their t-shirt at gigs. For those who don’t know, DAS was the first goth band to release an album on a Christian label. While being the first is always a good thing, it wasn’t the fact that they were an early representative of the subgenre that made them interesting. It was that they were so darn good at it.… Continued →

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. Her music sounds adult contemporary with some rock underlinings with her soaring vocals sounding (at least to me) like a cross between Carrie Underwood & dare I say it, Sandi Patty.… 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. So what changed? That’s a question I found myself asking this week and I came up with a few thoughts.… 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. The song Ark of Suffering actually was banned by MTV back in the day. The song features Karl Walfridsson who is Pantrokrator’s vocalist.… 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. They had released 3 cds which were rare, but Spotify currently carries all: Spare Room Demo, Chocolate Covered Pears & Words To Die By.  … 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. Saw this 4 piece at Carowinds in South Carolina back in the day. Pretty sure Hangnail, Denison Marrs & Thousand Foot Krutch were there that day also.… 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. Oh, and stick around for that aforementioned playlist at the bottom of the page.… Continued →

These are my 25 Best Christian Rock Albums of 1995. This was a monumental year for Christian Music and really the beginning of what was to come over the course of the next 2 decades. Check out my list below along with a playlist featuring some of the songs.… Continued →

There are so many different types of Living Sacrifice fans. People who started listening from the beginning, and those who joined somewhere along the way. Fans who praise their experimental phase, those who prefer the -core era, and those who swear by the traditional metal era. Heck, I even know one guy who claims they only released one album (he’s a thrash fan), and all the others were recorded by imposters! The band has certainly seen a number of different phases, most easily broken down into two main categories (metal and -core) with a few other splinters.… Continued →

Raspberry Jam is one of the earliest Christian alternative rock bands when alternative was such a genre. Heard their music through an indie rock station out of Springfield, MO while I was visiting fiends back in the early-mid 90s. This same station is where I discovered other greats such as Cloud2Ground, The Violet Burning & The Prayer Chain (the later 2 who evolved from the same southern California scene as Raspberry).  The band released and EP & 3 LPs before disbanding. Released on Metro One Records in 1993 (the same label who brought us Spoken & Precious Death), the 3rd release Chi-Ro was an alternative rock/funk hybrid with 2 vocalists: Phillip Kim & Angel Short.… 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 →

So this post is my response to one of my fave 90’s bands. TVB is imho a cross between The Smashing Pumpkins, The Prayer Chain & alternative worship music. Michael Pritzl’s voice & lyrics are a stark example of what made worship music exciting & caused at least listeners like me to think of our Savior & want to lift my hands & heart in worship. (Check out my fave song by them The Only One.) TVB is one of a few bands in my collection that I have collected most, if not all, their music.… Continued →

Don’t you hate it when an amazing band releases one stellar album and then disappears off the map leaving virtually no trace whatsoever? That’s more or less what happened to Minnesota’s The Swoon. This intelligent, artsy, literate (one of the band’s song titles is a Dante reference) band made up one third of Christian jangle-pop’s ‘holy trinity’ (also including The Throes and The Walk). Their debut album was released on Narrowpath Records, in conjunction with Refuge (the obscure indie label also released such classics as debuts by Breakfast with Amy and The Crucified), and was made up of two earlier cassette-only demos, ben son, ben son Beatrice and Neverland, the latter of which was produced by Charlie Peacock.… Continued →

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

I know it’s not Christmas yet, but in the spirit of the season, Shawn Browning’s Rottweiler Records released their yearly Christmas compilation back on November 24, 2020. I remember seeing various Facebook posts about the upcoming project & is up on Rottweiler’s Bandcamp page. Consisting of 20 songs, this comp is sure to satisfy most hard subgenre lovers. The lead track For Unto Us is Malaysian band Shamash who actually released their first EP recently. Coming in on track 2 is progressive rockers Mawcore (formerly known as Blushing Well) with vocalist Joshua Redding who is pretty active on social media so it was nice seeing them here.… Continued →