Articles Archives

Staff Blog (Brandon Jones): A Remembrance

By Brandon J. in Articles | Comments closed

I wrote this piece for my Grandfather’s funeral that took place on Friday. In case you didn’t know, my grandfather went into the hospital about 3 weeks ago because of a collapsed lung from a biopsy procedure the week before. They went in to remove the cancerous tumor a few days later and discovered that the cancer had already spread throughout his body. The family decided to let him come home with hospice care and live out his final days. His health deteriorated quite quick and he passed away on August 15th at his home.… Continued →

Analyzing Iron Sharpens Iron - "Justice"

By Lee Brown in Articles | Comments closed

A while back I had the opportunity to connect with Iron Sharpens Iron and be one of the first to review their Beware the Wolves EP. For a recap, the band had a moving and powerful testimony that helped to feed even more passion into an album that was dominantly leaning towards power metal. With their recent release of the song “Justice,” see lyric video below, the band begins to expand their range into the metalcore genre. As Brandon noted, rather than a RIYL that would stray towards Blessed by a Broken Heart, now the band is going head to head with the likes of Phinehas and August Burns Red.… Continued →

August Burns Red Week - Day 4

By Lee Brown in Articles | Comments closed

In honor of their new album Rescue and Restore, out everywhere now, IVM has teamed up with Solid State Records to give you August Burns Red Week. Each day this week drummer Matt Greiner will answer one “easy” and one “tough” question about the band, life, music, and more. What Christmas songs are left for ABR to cover? We still have yet to cover many great Christmas songs, notably ‘It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.” 20-30 years from now, what do you hope future generations look back on ABR and remember?… Continued →

August Burns Red Week - Day 3

By Lee Brown in Articles | Comments closed

August Burns Red Week continues with a question asked in Andrew Schwab's honor.

August Burns Red Week - Day 2

By Lee Brown in Articles | Comments closed

In honor of "Rescue and Restore, out in stores today, IVM brings you our exclusive August Burns Red Week.

August Burns Red Week - Day 1

By Lee Brown in Articles | Comments closed

August Burns Red Week kicks off as Matt Greiner shares those who have been most influential in his life.

Rethinking "Wait For the Siren"

By Lee Brown in Articles | Comments closed

As a reviewer I admit that I’ve likely given too many “4’s.” A month or two after writing up a review, I’ll look at the score with a little perspective and think “that was really more a 3” (and even an occasional 3 that should have been a 2). Though this is certainly not common, it does happen. However, I have come to pride myself that I save the big one (a perfect 5) for only the best of the best albums around. To date, I have given two perfect scores.… Continued →

The Meaning Behind "Against Such Things"

By Brody B in Articles | Comments closed

Josh Booth goes track by track though Take the Name's newest release, "Against Such Things"

Staff Blog: Happy 10th, Dismissed

By Brandon J. in Articles | Comments closed

Happy 10 year anniversary to the Dismissed “Taking the Good With the Bad Album”, released in March of 2003 on Indie Vision Music. Not too many people know who this band was but they held a special place in my heart. I once saw them open up for Fall Out Boy to a venue of maybe 100 people max in 2003. It’s funny when you think of where one band went and the direction of the other band. I’ve learned a lot in 10 years but I still look back with fondness on those Dismissed guys and their music.… Continued →

Metaphysical Monthday: Martians Matter

By Seth Hecox in Articles | Comments closed

Sometimes, as Stephen King said, the most mind-boggling thing is size. Size conquers all. The sheer size of the known universe, for example, crushes the mind when you just consider it. As I think about the mysteries and wonders in creation, usually my mind turns to the insanely vast reaches of space. Recently, scientists discovered a galaxy that is much, much larger than any galaxy was expected to be capable of. The physical limits on the size of a galaxy that scientists previously held were horribly outdone by this newly discovered galaxy.… Continued →

Where Have All the Teachers Gone?

By Eric Pettersson in Articles | Comments closed

A few weeks ago I was browsing through the used section of my local record store and was thrilled to see a whole bunch of old school Christian “punk” CDs. For $3 or $4 each, I got albums by The Insyderz, Twothirtyeight, Value-Pac, Ill Harmonics, and Pedro the Lion. Listening to each of these compelled me to pull out other records that I’ve had for years: Five Iron Frenzy, The OC Supertones, MxPx, Brave Saint Saturn, and more. Even though this music was once the only stuff I ever listened to, it had been a while since I’ve really dug into it, and one thing shocked me as I started jamming out to them again today.… Continued →

Metaphysical Monthday: Month 1

By Seth Hecox in Articles | Comments closed

You may have noticed a subtle change in the title of this column. You may have also noticed I haven’t posted a Metaphysical Monday for several weeks. Both of these situations exist because I’m working hard at turning Kafka’s Metamorphosis into a reality. It’s taking longer than it did in the book, but so far, I am successful: my body is slowly turning into a bug. A beetle, actually. Sadly, not a Beatle. Anywho, the point of all this is that I’m planning to write Metaphysical Monthday once every month.… Continued →

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: Part 11 - When I Learn To Sing

By Josh Silbernagel in Articles | Comments closed

When I Learn to Sing The process of finding a front man for a rap-rock band is no simple task. There are many stringent qualifications that must be met. You need someone who can hype up a crowd, rhyme words at a fifth grade level, look good in parachute pants and a backwards hat… and maybe even sing. Matters became complicated to an even further extent in the case of Christian rap-rock bands circa the year 2000. In addition to the previous check list of “skillz”, the mythical creature known as the “front man of a Christian rap-rock band” was in this era expected to be one part adolescent rebel and another part pastoral guide and counselor.… Continued →

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: Part 10 - Rock the Party

By Josh Silbernagel in Articles | Comments closed

Rock The Party Around the turn of the century a new genre of music would see a meteoric rise in popularity. Teenage boys were stoked. Music critics were not. This genre would come to be known as “rap-rock”. Rap-rock was exactly what it claimed to be, a mixture of hip-hop and alternative rock or metal, usually played with down-tuned guitars and loads of testosterone fueled angst. Although pre-internet North Dakota was always a couple of years behind the rest of the world, rap-rock made a fairly timely breakthrough thanks to MTV and massive radio hits by groups like Rage Against the Machine, Linkin Park, Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, and 311.… Continued →

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: Part 9 - We're A Band

By Josh Silbernagel in Articles | Comments closed

We’re A Band I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I’ve known way too many people who have said, “This is the year! I’m going to do P90X!” Most of them get up at 6:00 AM the next day, struggle through the first routine, go to work and exuberantly tell people “I’m doing P90X! It’s so hard! I’m so awesome!”, go to bed that night tired out but with a sense of accomplishment… and then wake up at 6:00 AM feeling like they got run over by a convoy of 18 wheelers.… Continued →

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: Part 8 - Fever (A Defense of The Big Three)

By Josh Silbernagel in Articles | Comments closed

Fever (A Defense of The Big Three) I need to take a brief pause at this point in my story to address something that I believe to be very important. To my knowledge it is something that has never been properly articulated publicly by any music critic from within the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) community. I will take the heat for my opinions and get straight to the point. Those from the outside world often form their perception of all Christian music based on the single experience of having accidentally stumbled onto a mainstream CCM station (designed to explicitly cater to “the church”) while scanning the dial in their car.… Continued →

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: Part 7 - Let It Begin

By Josh Silbernagel in Articles | Comments closed

Let It Begin I’ve always been one of those guys who shakes his presents. I’ve also been known to ask clever, probing questions in an attempt to sucker a gift giver into accidentally letting an all important hint slip out about what I might be receiving. To be completely honest, I probably find just as much (if not more) satisfaction in figuring out what a gift is before opening it as I do in the actual gift itself. It’s rare that I don’t have at least some notion of what is hidden beneath the wrapping paper.… Continued →

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: Part 6 - Best Kept Secret

By Josh Silbernagel in Articles | Comments closed

Best Kept Secret It’s hard to keep anything hidden for long in a town with a population of less than 2,000 people. You know who’s at the post office by looking at the cars parked out front. If you are walking down the street and see someone working in their yard, chances are you’ll know each other by name. If a kid gets a speeding ticket (or God forbid a minor) it seems like the lady at the grocery store will somehow manage to find out before their parents do.… Continued →

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: Part 5 - Every New Day

By Josh Silbernagel in Articles | Comments closed

EVERY NEW DAY

The life of the average teenage boy is full of overwhelming contradictions. You want to fit in with everyone else, but you want to “be yourself”. You want to be treated like an adult, but you don’t want to take out the garbage or clean your room. You want to attract a girlfriend but you don’t want to use deodorant or change your socks. These are just a few of the complicated issues you have to wade through on a daily basis during those tumultuous teenage years.… Continued →

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: Part 4 - All The Way Live

By Josh Silbernagel in Articles | Comments closed

ALL THE WAY LIVE 1999 would prove to be a pivotal year in my young life for many reasons. I had just started the ever-tumultuous 8^th grade, I got my first job washing dishes at a local greasy spoon, I finally managed to score my first kiss, and most importantly… I started my first Christian rock band. This may never have come to be though, had not an equally significant event taken place before hand. That significant event was The Supernatural Tour. I still have the ticket stub from the concert.… Continued →

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: Part 3 - Set It Off

By Josh Silbernagel in Articles | Comments closed

SET IT OFF I’m going to be honest with you. I am not a Calvinist. I like to believe that God’s sovereignty is shown through the fact that humankind gets to make its own choices even though God could pull every string and direct every action. However (get ready for the hyperbole), it is hard for me to look past the idea of divine appointment, née even the possibility of total pre-destination in some extreme instances. Such an instance was about to occur. It wouldn’t seem like much at the time… I will never forget the day that I received “The Tape”.… Continued →

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: Part 2 - Teenage Politics

By Josh Silbernagel in Articles | Comments closed

TEENAGE POLITICS I suppose it was inevitable that at some point my god-fearing (and also Marilyn Manson-fearing) mother would try to find a substitute that could replace my quickly developing taste for “worldly rock-and-roll”. She made it her task to find me the “Christian” alternative to Metallica. At this point in my life my only exposure to Contemporary Christian Music was the mundane crap that was peddled on the local Christian radio station. There was also a group (which shall remain nameless) of college age, amateur, wanna-be-rockers that would come to our Lutheran church once a year and butcher what I would later found out were actually some fairly descent songs.… Continued →

The Votes Are In.....

By Brandon J. in Articles | Comments closed

The Votes are in, Barack Obama has been re-elected as President of the United States of America. Whether you love him or hate him, let’s put all that behind us and focus on our Faith and Love for one another. I am personally glad to finally have breathing room when watching TV without being force fed all these different political commercials and ads. It’s over and now the next 4 years begin (to go downhill, lol). 2012 has been a tremendous year for music and we can all be thankful that so many great bands have stuck together (or reunited) to bring us one hit record after another.… Continued →

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: Part 1 - Restless Youth

By Josh Silbernagel in Articles | Comments closed

RESTLESS YOUTH In the year 1998 a small, quiet town in rural North Dakota was the place that I called home. I was about to enter the seventh grade and my life revolved around three things; sports, girls, and church… probably in that order. I spent my days in school, and my evenings either at practice for whatever sport was in season or walking around town consuming vast quantities of Dr. Pepper with my friend Henry. My nights were spent listening to music while reading or drawing.… Continued →

7 Incredibly Energetic Metal and Hardcore Albums You Need to Hear Before You Die

By Loren Wade in Articles | Comments closed

Energy is something that is extremely hard to gauge on a music album. Energy is the tone and excitement portrayed by the musicians. It’s the passion you hear in the sound. But how does one contain the energy of The Chariot and put that into an album? If you’ve ever seen them live, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Or Emery. They know energy. Ever notice the first track on any of their albums is one of their heaviest or hardest songs? Mainstream music production tends to suck the energy right out of music.… Continued →

Why "Lower Still" by My Epic Is One of the Greatest Songs of All Time

By Loren Wade in Articles | Comments closed

This is a guest post by Loren Wade from Unlifer, whose blog launched today. Sit down, take a seat, close Facebook, close Twitter, put your phone away, and turn off any other distractions and listen to this song. Let the words sink in.

Performed by Jeremiah Austin (bass), Jesse Stone (drums, background vocals), Aaron Stone (vocals, guitar), and guest vocalist Micah Boyce of So Long Forgotten. Just over two years ago, My Epic released what is, in my opinion, one of the greatest songs of all time.… Continued →

Vote for The O.C. Supertones in the OC Music Awards!

By Ian DeVaney in Articles | Comments closed

The OC Music Awards have just opened up the voting for their People’s Choice Award, and what band could possibly more deserving of the award than Orange County’s finest ska band The O.C. Supertones? Click on this link to submit your vote! It appears that you can vote multiple times, so make sure to vote every day until voting closes on February 15th! The winner will be decided by text votes March 9, 2013 at the main OC Music Awards celebration.… Continued →

Metaphysical Monday: Thomas Merton

By Seth Hecox in Articles | Comments closed

Last weekend, my wife and I visited a Benedictine Priory. We were able to attend the nightly Compline service they had, which is a nightly music service meant for meditation and evening prayers to end the day of work in which the monks have labored. At the priory, my thoughts turned to Thomas Merton, one of my favorite authors. I’ve made no secret of my affection for the writings of C.S. Lewis, and Merton is another in this line of spiritual thinkers that come from a different background than I do. … Continued →

Let's Be Clear..........IVM Is Not a Spawn of the Occult

By Brandon J. in Articles | Comments closed

I need to be clear about something. Neither myself, the graphic artists (Benaiah Clothing), or any staff member at IVM are into Illuminati, Free Masonry, or any other “Occult” type organization. The “new” logo was simply chosen because I thought it looked cool and I dug the colors/design. There is no deep hidden meaning behind the lightning bolt eye other than it representing our “Vision” (Indie VISION Music). I’ve been hearing some complaints and/or confusion relating to our new logo. It is NOT the all seeing eye or anything silly like that.… Continued →

Metaphysical Monday: Transhumanity

By Seth Hecox in Articles | Comments closed

The issue of Transhumanity is of great interest to me and it’s something I’ve given a good amount of thought to over the past few years. The song “Artificial Immortality” is about this issue and my thoughts have changed since then (4 years ago). Transhumanity, shortened to h+, “is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.”… Continued →