Articles

Lugsole was a noisy indie rock band from Birmingham AL with hints of post-punk and emo in their sound. Despite a significant number of releases–both independent and label-issued–they remained a fairly obscure act, whose fans were either music critics or diehard independent music aficionados. Recorded output begins in 1995 and ends in 1998, and in those four short years, they managed to release three cassette demos (two EPs and one full-length), a split 7″ with Dear Ephesus, an EP on compact disc via Daddy-O Records (who also released the first Dear Ephesus recordings), and a 3-way split CD with mainstream acts The Paper Chase and E-Class.… Continued →

Elijah Herrell’s forthcoming EP is titled Casualties, and it’s an appropriate way to describe the population of those faithful to Christ who deal with same-sex attraction. It’s a position of being caught in the middle – too religious and objective for the left; too weak or messy for the right. Many struggle in silence and carry the weight on their own, sometimes their whole lives. Others, of course, deconstruct and renounce their faith. And while there are plenty of albums in the recent years that lean toward this latter approach, Herrell offers a needed and honest perspective.… Continued →

It might seem strange to cover an album that’s already several years old – yet not old enough to warrant any significant anniversary milestone. It might seem even stranger to do so the same week the artist in question is releasing a new song. But I’ve inevitably found myself enraptured in Zane Vickery’s debut album, perhaps even more deeply than when I first discovered it. Sure, songs like “Weighted” and “Scales” stood out to me from the start. But time progresses, we grow older, and the chasm between who we are and were seems to ever widen.… Continued →

One of the larger, more legendary cyphers in Christian hip-hop, L.A. Symphony came to us from where else but Los Angeles. They emerged in the late 90s with a few 12″ singles and a full-length album on member Flynn Adam Atkins’ own independent label Eartube Empire, via which Flynn had also released a full-length solo album earlier. The group’s breakthrough came in the form of 2003’s The End is Now for Gotee Records. I had the privilege of booking/hosting the group for a youth event in Atlanta in the mid-2000s.… Continued →

Okay, Mylon LeFevre is a stretch for inclusion on Indie Vision Music. But hear me out. He wrote a hit song for Elvis Presley in 1964, “Without Him” for the king’s Gospel album How Great Thou Art. He was only 17 when he wrong the song (in 20 minutes according to the songwriter), and was paid $90,000 for it. He walked out with a paper bag full of cash and bought his first car, a Corvette. His connection to Gospel music came earlier, as he performed with his southern gospel singing family The LeFevres.… Continued →

Ukraine’s Holy Blood formed in 1999, originally playing hardcore, before turning to death metal and eventually settling on a folk/black metal fusion. The band has released 6 full-length albums and an EP since 2002, with later releases featuring a strong folk influence. Waves are Dancing is their sophomore release and features a near-perfect fusion of folk metal and extreme metal, with elements of melodic death metal, thrash, and black metal. Most of the bands albums have been released in English versions in addition to recordings in their native Ukrainian tongue.… Continued →

British-born poet/artist/performer Steve Scott has been involved in or connected with Christian alternative music since 1983, having emerged from Croydon (South London) via the Bowery (New York City) before winding up in Sacramento, CA with the Exit Records scene there (Seventy Sevens, Charlie Peacock, etc.) where his debut album Love in the Western World was produced by Steven Soles (of Alpha Band fame). His solo work was a gleefully artistic take on new wave and/or post-punk with literate lyrics that pointed to his art school upbringing.… Continued →

Our feature today comes from two brothers who started making music in their teens, first as a new wave/post-punk band called Morella’s Forest (no, not that one), and then an immensely quirky synth-pop group called Dance House Children, before parting ways and forming two of the most legendary, creative, and prolific Chrindie groups ever–Joy Electric and Starflyer 59. Yes, we are talking about none other and Ronnie and Jason Martin. In the early 1990s an independent label emerged (technically started much earlier but with very limited distribution) called Blonde Vinyl.… Continued →

This band had the glammy looks and the flashy hooks, but their sound was heavier than the stereotypes led us to believe. Riding the line between glam metal and traditional heavy metal/power metal, the band played loud, melodic tunes with lots and lots of riffs. Hailing from Hollywood, California, the band came by their glam tendencies honestly. But listen to the riffs on “The Killer.” You won’t hear anything that heavy from Poison or Def Leppard. The band released a pair of cassette demos in 1988 and their only full-length album World Requiem in 1990 before calling it quits, with drummer Scott Ernest joining the ranks of another famed Christian melodic metal band, Angelica.… Continued →

Imagine a pop punk solo artist. There have been a few over the years, but Sam seems to have entered the scene with an air that he has been doing this for years. TBH, I found out about him through this site & Jesus Freak Hideout. I jumped on the bandwagon so check out his whole LP Out of Isolation as it’s way nifty! … Continued →

Here’s a funk pop punk band that I have enjoyed a few tunes from over the years. They released 1 LP & an EP that I know of. They hailed from Kentucky & were produced by none other than Dale Thompson of Bride fame!    … Continued →

Let me get my opinion out of the way right off the bat–there is not enough good, quality Christian doom metal. The list gets even shorter when it’s as unique and well-executed as this track is. Memorium is the braindchild of Duane Keith, label-owner and -founder at Vision of God Records and its subsidiary, Christian Metal Underground. The band is just a two-piece: Duane on drums and vocals and Mike Shinn on bass and guitar. Sadly the band is currently on hiatus. “A New Dawn” comes from a 3-way split with The Arbiter (from Hungary), and Lucifer’s Doom (from Brazil).… Continued →

This band was one of my faves back in the 90s. Had a few of their cassettes. Hailing from a church youth group in Washington state, many would know Jeremy Enigk from emo Sunny Day Real Estate who moved on from a pre band name change. Scott Hunter’s vocals set the band apart from many of the 90s alternative rock bands. Anyways, enjoy one from their early career to their last (that I know of).    … Continued →

This song goes out to all those like myself who have thought life is hopeless sometimes. I think we all feel that way sometimes. Remember to lift your head & talk to the God who created us. He is just a prayer away.  I totally want that dude’s dreads also! Also, check out prior drummer Patrick Madsen’s solo stuff. Goes by his creative last name reversed Nesdam! He’s also married to Zahna who is awesome live. I know the truth, It’s not hard to deny, But somewhere, My heart got lost in the lies, My faith, Is dying to see like you see, I’m on a one-way ticket, To the dark side of me.… Continued →

This pop punk band also went by The Adventures of Johnny Respect. They hailed from Michigan & early 90s punk aficionado’s like myself found them on a lot of comp cds at Christian Bookstores before they went extinct. This song is a Social Distortion cover. Hope y’all like it. Also, happy Labor Day!   … Continued →

Modern rock band CoI has its roots in Myrtle Beach, SC where I used to hang out a lot back in the day. They have released a slew of singles over the past few years & I keep anticipating a full-length, but have yet to seen one arise. From what I gather the band history branched from 2 different artists: Hands of Elohim which released the awesome song Never Alone & Voices at Midnight (you can read my review of their song Open Wounds on this site also).… Continued →

Independent Christian music lost another legend recently. Jimmy Hotz (inventor/producer/solo artist/band member/producer/engineer/electronic music pioneer/author/multi-instrumentalist–and we’re not even exaggerating) died in June. Hotz first recorded in CCM in the 1970s with the group Dove, and then a handful of other mostly CCM artists before recording his solo album–and many would say his magnum opus–Beyond the Crystal Sea, released in 1980 on Oklahoma City-based Vision Records. Fortunately for fans, Born Twice (a division of Retroactive/Boone’s Overstock) re-issued the album in 2010. Hotz wasn’t content to release one of the greatest Christian rock albums of all time (this claim is verifiable too, repeatedly making appearances in all-time lists from reputable sources like HM, CCM, and various others).… Continued →

This band released one devastatingly heavy album in 1999 for indie upstart Takehold Records, and then like so many other metalcore bands, disappeared after only one album and one split (with fellow-Floridians Set Apart) never to be heard from again. A few members turned up elsewhere–some in the mysterious metal band Yeti, while drummer Nathan Warshowsky served as a studio drum tech for artists as diverse as Forever Changed, Underoath, Day of Fire, and even Paramore. Deathmask Grin came out just as metalcore as a genre was really taking off, and it was a significant contribution to the genre musically, despite it being heard by so few people.… Continued →

My Refuge is a heavy worship metalcore act out of Adelaide, Australia. FFO: xNo Kingx, This Surrender, and heavy music.

I was listening to my old Live at the Strand CD recently. It’s a compilation of artists who played at the legendary Strand Theater in downtown Marietta, GA, just outside of Atlanta. It had been years since I heard the CD and only remembered a few of the tracks on there, and then this absolute banger came on! I looked through all of their albums to see which one it came from, so I could find the studio version to feature here, but I couldn’t find it.… Continued →

Alternative folk-pop trio Lies Damned Lies formed in Glasgow in the late 1980s. Alternately flirting with Scottish modern rock sounds (a la fellow Scots Simple Minds) or with literate folk stylings, the band had a lengthy career through the 1990s and into the 2000s, though they were fairly unknown this side of the pond. They were regulars at the UK’s Greenbelt Festival, and while their lyrics pointed to their Christian faith, several of their releases were on mainstream pop-rock record labels. “The Divine Image” comes to us from their 1993 full-length The Human Dress.… Continued →

So Lecrae is a decent gospel rapper that has done pretty well in the industry. I saw him live & talked to him in Chicago a few years back where he autographed a book I bought that was about his story. I like tons of rap genres & artists, but all of them have come from the Christian industry. That’s just my choice & I think it’s a good thing for Christians to be crossover artists as many people can relate & an artist’s dream is then a ministry.… Continued →

Today’s song is from none other than Too Bad Eugene. The Santa Cruz, CA. based pop-punk band was known as the offshoot of Craig’s Brother when Adam Nigh and Andy Snyder quit the band shortly after the release of “Homecoming” and went on to start a band of their own with a unique sound. This song “Everybody’s Gone” appears on the band’s debut in 2000, “At Any Rate”, and is an emotional one for me. It’s the ultimate song of nostalgic yearning and a look back at youth.… Continued →

This old-school punk rock band The Combat Junkies, hailed from North Carolina, and featured a classic hardcore punk sound mixed with hints of oi/streetpunk and new school punk. To be honest, I’m not sure why this band didn’t make it bigger than they did. Their raw yet appropriately produced sound would have appealed to fans of 7-10 Split, Squad Five-0, One-21 and the like, and yet they seemed to fly underneath the radar of most fans. The Combat Junkies released two full-length albums. The War Within came out in 2002 on Clumsy Records, and Fight or Die .… Continued →

NoiseArt Collective is essentially David Schmidt, an Australia-based experimental artist who creates “industrial-tinged synth rock with goth undertones.” From that base, he branches out, dabbling in various forms of experimental, electronic based rock music from extreme metal (synth-based) to noisy hip-hop to weirdo/freakout pop music. The project is incredibly prolific, releasing multiple albums per year. In fact, since the project’s genesis in 2017, they’ve released over 30 recordings, including one recording of Schmidt reading his own poetry. When a band has this much material, it’s hard to choose an appropriate introduction point for the new listener.… Continued →

Everyone has their gateway. That first band or artist that got them into a particular style of music. I got into Christian rock in 1988, first hearing and enjoying artists like Petra and Russ Taff, and then quickly moving on to Jerusalem and Whitecross. But this band right here–Sacred Warrior–was my gateway to true Heavy Metal with a capital HM. They had no pop songs, no sleazy hooks or glammed-out looks, but their debut album Rebellion was full of heavy riffs, melodic (but not glam) vocals, and super-heavy and dark chord progressions.… Continued →

This dumpster fire of a box set is sure to break the wallets of Five Iron fans across the world but also allow existing Five Iron vinyl owners to customize their order options and buy what they really need, food! Enough with that inflation, what we need is good old crappy third wave ska punk in vinyl format! The most exciting part for myself is the addition of “The End is Near” on vinyl for the first time plus “Proof That The Youth Are Revolting” and a really cool B-Sides record chock full of songs no one cares about.… Continued →

Warning: this is a perfect pop song. If you haven’t ever heard one, brace yourself. The simplicity of pop, yet the nuance of alternative music. Lyrics that long for something deeper, more meaningful in life, reflected in the writer’s interaction with art . . . Words that form a sentence Words that form a phrase In a poem, or a letter Could not convey the meaning Of what this man has done In a painting, on a canvas Bear in mind these guys wrote most of their debut album when they were still in high school.… Continued →

Destroy Nate Allen is a fun, energetic band that mixes the simplicity and energy of punk rock with the acoustic sounds of folk, making for an interesting take on folk-punk. Quirky but sincere lyrics and vocal styles combine with straight-forward messages–usually on subjects other artists don’t want to touch–make for both a challenging and entertaining listen. Take “Boobie Bar” for instance. On the one hand it’s a crude song whose title I had to censor, just so it doesn’t get picked up by filters. On the other hand, the intent behind the song is just about as pure as it gets: Don’t go down to the boobie bar If you want a real relationship, you won’t get far Don’t go to that boogie bar The song comes from their 2012 album, With Our Powers Combined.… Continued →

Finally saw this band live last year around this time. But, by then they are called The Huntingtons. The wannabee Ramones band played some very catchy punk music that seemed to influence so many bands. This one is dedicated to my dad Peter Cuoco whom I love very much.   … Continued →