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It’s a little slow with music news the past few days so I am going to talk about Star Wars: The Last Jedi. That’s right friends, one of my favorite franchise series of films has dropped the brand new trailer to the 8th film in the Skywalker saga for “The Last Jedi”. Watch the trailer below and comment with your love (or disgust) of all things Star Wars. Personally I absolutely can’t wait till this is released on December 15th. In fact, I just bought tickets last night for IMAX 3D once the Fandango site was back up and we are officially going December 15th at 4pm!!… Continued →

Yep, the list you’ve all been waiting for (not really) is finally here. Feel free to offer up some laughs and critical remarks for the music I listened to the most 20 years ago. You’ll notice a heavy T&N presence and I just couldn’t help myself. There were a lot of albums and releases I found myself spinning back then and still getting plays today. I think that’s where this list falls in place, it’s the albums that had the longest lasting impact with me and had a catchy sound that I just couldn’t get enough of.… Continued →

Do you like heavy hitting metalcore? Well take a listen to O, House of Jacob, self proclaimed metalcore for Christ. The band released their debut EP, after forming in June 2016. The EP is titled A Parable Discourse and it also features Ryan Kirby of Fit For A King. If you like Wage War, Attack Attack!, In the Midst of Lions, For Today, The Devil Wears Prada, Beartooth or As I Lay Dying, then you’ll love this band. … Continued →

RIYL: Emery, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Microwave, Kids in the Way, The Classic Crime In 2001, before anyone in the Tooth & Nail community and crowd realized, one of the most under appreciated bands formed for an 8 year existence. Far-Less put out a total of 2 EPs, 2 full lengths, and one final EP that was never released. Bands that ended too soon, Far-Less, it’s your turn. When Far-Less was signed, they were actually signed to Solid State Records. That’s a testament of how heavy they once were.… Continued →

You'd be surprised how many bands go unnoticed.

In this new segment, we'll take a look at a classic band and a modern band with a similar style.

Though the article was first published in late February of 2016, Rapzilla linked to it yesterday on Facebook, asking followers the same question. The response from both staff and followers has been pretty diverse and fun to read, and so, I thought it would be apt to continue the conversation here. Share the 10 Christian Hip-Hop albums that have had an impact on you in the comments below.… Continued →

Glasslands is a band formed by former members of Beartooth, Icon For Hire, and Before Their Eyes. They have a hard rock sound with vocals reminiscent of bands like Spoken and Memphis May Fire. Their debut album, “Pariah” was released in September of 2016 and was met with a very positive response by critics and fans alike and features a track with a guest spot by Fit For A King’s Ryan Kirby. They currently have a song as well as a video at the #1 spot on RadioU and are at #22 on the Christian Billboard charts.… Continued →

2007 was definitely a strong year for music. As much as I enjoyed some of the more popular releases of the year, the lesser known albums certainly held a place in my heart. The albums listed below are a mix of independent, underground, and mostly over looked releases from the year 2007. Feel free to dissect and discuss below in the comments. Oh and I left off 2 important 2007 honorary IVM releases because that would be self-promotion am I right? Quick and the Dead “Going Home“, and “Hearts Bleed Passion Vol.… Continued →

Hey friends it’s that time again, time for another “list”. Feel free to offer up your big Laugh-Out-Louds and smirks for some “hits” I found appealing 10 years ago. A lot of stuff from that year was enjoyed by me, some I am rediscovering, and others were missed opportunities. Check out my “list” below and feel free to listen to the playlist I created on Spotify for this list found in the article. Remember kids, “some” of these releases may not have the best language so if you get queasy at the thought of dirty words from general market (do we still use the word ‘secular’?)… Continued →

It has been years since A Hope for Home served us an album. I remember when “In Abstraction” dropped my freshman year of college. I got the email my preorder had shipped and it was the highlight of the week. Of course, that’s quickly approaching six years ago now. I’ve had plenty of time to listen to their discography and have actually found it to be their weakest album; on the same token, “Realis” is quite possibly one of my favorite albums ever and “The Everlasting Man”, despite its stylistic consistency, is also a pretty great album.… Continued →

The show this past Saturday night was an incredible experience. It was bittersweet in the fact that they put on a fantastic, entertaining, and emotional show while at the same time effectively ending their more than two decade career as a band. So many memories are rolled up into this band for me and I’ll be forever thankful for the music & ministry of this mighty Ska band. I wrote a deeply personal account of my experience and love for this band on the IVM Instagram page.… Continued →

I feel the needs to start a new feature here on IVM that spotlights different organizations that I feel are worthy of attention. I will try and make a post weekly but it may turn into a biweekly feature. Please click here to read the story behind YoungLives and our experience dealing with this deeply personal issue.

After months of bated silence, the indie super-group Lo Tom have released a debut song and launched album pre-orders. The self-titled record will be released July 14th, and it can be pre-ordered through Undertow Music. The first single, “Overboard”, is the only title that has been released from the 8-song track list. Lo Tom is comprised of longtime collaborators Jason Martin (Starflyer 59, White Lighter), David Bazan (Pedro the Lion, Headphones, Overseas), Trey Many (Starflyer 59, White Lighter, Velour 100), and TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, The Soft Drugs).… Continued →

Well it’s been awhile since I’ve wrote one of these. So I hope you all enjoy and I hope you check these amazing bands out! Go headbang! 10. Every Knee Shall Bow Every Knee Shall Bow is a death metal band that started in 2002, with brothers Drew and DJ Wibblesman, but didn’t get going until 2008, when their two younger brothers came of age: Cole and Shane. Two years later, the band hired their friend Chris Hull and recorded an EP titled Weary Warriors.… Continued →

Punk Never Dies, no really it doesn’t. We are led to believe that the flavor of the month is heavy metalcore/djent/hardcore/etc. and we know every little “Christian” label is pushing that stuff. I do love a lot of those bands but my passion has always been on the punk rock side of things. I never understand why the punk purists were so slow to embrace the poppier side and how come no independent (or major) labels have signed bands like this in the past decade.… Continued →

I am always on the lookout for new bands to listen to. Sometimes it feels like an eternity passes between finding one new band and the next, but then again, that could also be because I can be a little picky about my music. In those rare instances when I DO manage to find a new band, I’m just happy or excited I found something new to add to my music library. Still, there are those even rarer instances yet, where I’m every bit as eager and excited to let others know about these bands as well because I think they’ve really got something special and I’m eager to see how God uses them in the future.… Continued →

A really great article on the current explosion of the digital streaming marketplace and it’s subsequent takeover of standard music purchases can be read here (Billboard Article). It is interesting how much things have changed in the past decade and half. I remember the times of the pirates like Napster, Morpheus, Kazaa, etc. and how they threatened to undermine popular music. Then digital stores started popping up like iTunes, Rhapsody, eMusic, Amazon, Google Play, and many more. With each new incarnation of digital distribution there have been the critics who have tried to signal “the end is near” for popular music and yet time and time again they’ve been proven wrong.… Continued →

It’s that time of the week – Throwback Thursday! Today’s band showed a lot of promise but personal differences, growing up, and moving apart ultimately was the band’s demise. Well-Wisher stands as a great nod to what could have been. History Counselor was a melodic hardcore band with pop-punk and indie elements based out of Muskegon, MI. that released music during 2012 and 2013. A few singles preceded Well-Wisher and a fully EP followed. However, the latter suffers from incredibly poor production and mixing that sadly ruins the listening experience.… Continued →

New Jersey isn’t one of the biggest states in the country, in fact it’s one of the smaller ones. Despite that, it’s still large enough, in it’s own right, to inspire surprise that there aren’t more Christian musicians here who are willing and able to take their gifting beyond the four walls of the church. However, inasmuch as NJ may lack Christian bands and artists in quantity, it’s something we certainly make up for in quality. In the southern part of our state, in a town called Vineland, there is a band called Silent Culture.… Continued →

Terminal 1998-2006 RIYL – old school Anberlin, Dead Poetic, Jimmy Eat World, Number One Gun In this new series, we will be bringing to light many bands that showed us a brief but bright gem of music before disbanding. This entry is about the Tooth & Nail band – Terminal. Don’t let the years above confuse you, though the band was active for 8 years, they only had 1 full length release. Terminal was a band that erupted quickly and died the same. In 2005, their debut and only album titled How The Lonely Keep released on Tooth & Nail Records.… Continued →

Idealist was a North Carolina post-hardcore band that mixed elements of Norma Jean and Defeater, along with guest contributions from Attalus.

Welcome back to our throwback series. This week’s feature is more recent than our previous throwbacks, but after going on an indefinite hiatus, this band never got much exposure. History My Mantle might be considered a forerunner of the strange blend of indie and post-hardcore we find from bands like My Epic, Wolves & Machines, and sosaveme. While the genre certainly has gained prevalence, it was certainly still on the rise in 2011, when they debuted their first EP, Giants. It’s a strong release that definite deserves its own proper listen, featuring powerful lyrics, moving instrumentals, and, well, it falls in line with the aforementioned bands so that should give you an idea of what to expect.… Continued →

Welcome to our third edition of throwback reviews. I know it has been a couple weeks since the last one, so I hope you’re ready for a good one. Today’s feature is The Dawn Retreat, who have recently reunited with a new single. While the new single shows a progression in sound and lyrical maturity, I invite you to follow me back to 2011 to the release of their first album. Royalty is 11 tracks (well, 12 if you have the CD with the acoustic bonus track) of late-teen, mid-to-late 2000s angst.… Continued →

One IVM author burns the midnight oil while listening to what he feels may be the best heavy album of all time.

It’s been ten years since Anberlin released their third record, Cities, on February 20th, 2007 through Tooth & Nail Records. Cities is widely regarded as the Florida band’s finest release and for good reason. Their first two records offered a strong start for the group and showcased an increasing realization of their potential. Cities is simply where it all seemed to come together. The album highlights are almost too numerous to list. The record contains high energy rockers such as “Godspeed” and “Adelaide”, quiet, heartfelt numbers in “The Unwinding Cable Car” and “Inevitable”, mid-tempo songs like “Alexithymia” and “Dismantle.… Continued →

Hey everyone. In case you missed last week’s introductory review (about Good Luck Varsity, which you should definitely read), I’m doing a throwback review series – mostly pertaining to bands who new made it into the spotlight before breaking up but who I think deserve a listen. If you have any examples who fit the mold, let me know! This week’s feature is the excessively-titled EP (or LP? I’m not really sure) (New Breath + New Heartbeat) = Change by This Armistice. History This Armistice was a short-lived ambient and post-hardcore band whose discography was a paltry two releases.… Continued →

Back in 2014 we told you about 10 bands YOU needed to listen to as a fan of heavy music. Just over two years later, here are ten more.

Every once in awhile, an album falls through the cracks; IVM’s hiatus, bands breaking up, or even just the simple discovery of “old gold” years later results in plenty of great music that hasn’t gotten much coverage but certainly deserves to be revisited. So, this is the first of what I hope will become a growing list of throwback reviews. Feel free to send me some ideas and I’ll do my best to make sure they’re covered. For a variety of reasons, I’ve chosen to not make these traditional reviews with ratings but instead want to highlight the artist and encourage readers to check out bands.… Continued →

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