Articles

June 30, 2023

Song of the Day: Lieutenant Stitchie - Shopping

Famed Jamaican reggae artist Lieutenant Stitchie already had a lengthy career as a dancehall reggae artist beginning in the late 1970s. His first album hit in 1987, and he released 7 full-length albums and nearly 50 singles (yes, 50!) all before becoming a Christian. As the story goes, he was on his way to perform in Montego Bay, but was injured in a car crash. Against the advice of doctors, he proceeded to perform anyway. After the show he was given a Gideon’s Bible and as a result of reading the Bible in his hotel room, he gave his life to the Lord.… Continued →

June 29, 2023

Song of the Day: Secular End - Junkie

Here is a rare band that came out on this comp. They seemed to have done some stuff under Boot To Head records also before disbanding, but didn’t seem to find the Christian niche market that other bands on the comp did. Took me circa 25 years to track this one down so enjoy!  And my son Tyler will be flying down to see me in a few hours EST! Continued →

June 28, 2023

June 16, 2023

Song of the Day: Ambient Theology - Humanity

Ambient Theology was an (wait for it . . . ) ambient side-project from the people behind Virus and The Bubblebaby Experience. It wasn’t ambient in the Brian Eno elevator music sense–having a much more rhythmic feel to it–but it was ambient electronica nonetheless, perhaps more akin to the “ambient techno” genre. This project only released one self-titled album in 1995, although there were at least 5 other full-length albums released via the various other projects. Ambient Theology was an interesting concept. Since electronica is more often than not dominated by instrumental music (sans vocals), the ‘theology’ portion came in the form of well-written, deeply thought out devotionals.… Continued →

June 14, 2023

June 12, 2023

Song of the Day: DJ Jireh - Among Us

Trance master DJJireh aka DJ Jireh aka HeavenlyTrance aka Mauritz has quite a catalog under his moniker. Find his stuff on Beatport site under Deepsink Digital Records. Originally hailing from London, he now resides in South Africa. Most, if not all, his music is composed on dance music to phrases from the Bible. This one appears to contain portions of both John 1 & Ephesians 1.   Continued →

June 10, 2023

Song of the Day: Above Only - Listen Friend;

This Christian modern rock band has been heard around the country with songs such as Evil Never Sleeps & Change. This catchy SOTD was released back in 2021 so here’s to hoping to hear more. As far as the lyrics go, they hit hard: Can I show you my monsters Can I show you my pain And the addictions that strangle the life from my veins Can I tell you my secrets and confess every sin I don’t need another hero I just really need a friend You don’t need all of the reasons You don’t need the right words to say Sometimes the hardest part of reaching out is when your hand gets pushed away But I’m begging you to hear me now while there’s still a little time If you care enough to listen friend You might just save my life   Continued →

Everything Is Gonna Be Alright, Be Strong, Believe: 20 Hits From 20 Years Ago

*This is an update to an article that originally appeared on Indie Vision Music back in 2018 for the 15th Anniversaries of the albums below. Some wording and arrangements may have been altered. I hope you enjoy this article as much as I enjoy these albums. Happy 20th to all these and many more that may have been accidentally left off the list (my memory is fuzzy). 15 20 years ago, a collection of what can now be determined as “Classic Hits” were unleashed on a crowd that had an insatiable appetite for what was new and considered “ROCK” music.… Continued →

June 9, 2023

Song of the Day: Saint Spirit - Volt

This thrash metal band hailed from Brazil in the region of Belford Roxo, just outside of Rio de Janeiro. They were active in the mid-90s, playing a form of thrash that was occasionally influenced by related styles like death metal, groove metal, and metalcore. They broke up in the late 90s and then re-formed in 2001, and have been active on and off. This video was posted in 2017, but I’m not aware of an accompanying album to go with it. Nonetheless, the band has had at least one full-length and one EP, both on the Brazilian indie label Força Eterna Records.… Continued →

June 7, 2023

June 5, 2023

Song of the Day: Upstanding Youth - Better Than You or Me

Hailing from Hawaii, this fun 6 piece ska band has all the elements that drove probably most of us to love ska. Crowd vocals, music to skank to & mean guitars melding w/ horns. They released 2 LPs, an EP & a few songs on the IVM Ska Lives comps. Here is my fave. & btw, check out current ska band Must Build Jacuzzi from Peoria, Illinois whom I have seen I believe thrice live now.      … Continued →

June 3, 2023

June 2, 2023

Song of the Day: Lovelorn - Feather

This was one of those ‘one and done’ bands, meaning they only released one album as Lovelorn. However, they were connected directly and indirectly to a number of other projects. Vocalist Jayson Holmes had been in metalcore band Eso-Charis, and later formed The Handshake Murders (who mostly recorded on secular labels). Corey Putman (Eso-Charis, Norma Jean) and Arthur Green (Eso-Charis, Living Sacrifice) also made appearances on the album. The album is a wonderfully strange concoction of emo-core, hardcore, indie rock and math rock–almost like Roadside Monument meets Coalesce, but with bits of Karate thrown in just because.… Continued →

May 31, 2023

May 29, 2023

Song of the Day: Broken Flesh - Yeshua

Warning-Do NOT listen to this SOTD at full volume if you don’t like heavy worship music. I’ve know musician Kevin Tubby for a few years now since seeing him at several Audiofeed’s. I have also listen to his bands Obliteration & Death List before Broken Flesh. BF just released a live album which cleans up their live sound. I wanted to show the live video to show how fast their drummer is. Check em out if you already haven’t. & these lyrics too. Yeshua without you there is no life, father messiah into your hands i put my life, lion of the tribe of judah.… Continued →

May 27, 2023

May 26, 2023

Song of the Day: Titanic - Dead Men's Bones

Titanic’s founder Bill Menchen has been active in the Christian metal scene since the 1980s, first with his band Redeemer, and later with a number of other metal-themed bands including Seventh Power, Menchen, Rev Seven, and perhaps his most well-known, Titanic. Although they formed in the 1990s, they still played traditional heavy metal without any hint of alternative, grunge, or punk, which were so prevalent in that decade. The only 90s influence in Titanic’s music was the updated sonics and production techniques, which added a lot more crunch to the guitar tones than what 80s metal was known for.… Continued →

May 24, 2023

May 22, 2023

May 20, 2023

Song of the Day: Hospital - Pages

This nu metal band released some decent music in their 2001 release Stare. They fell off the music radar after they released a couple songs on some compilations. Then, The Charon Collective filled in the blanks when they released the band’s follow up If, Then a month or so ago. It contains those comp tracks Fault & Pages along with 3 more.   Continued →

May 19, 2023

Song of the Day: globalWAVEsystem - Deathstroke to Youth

It’s been a while since I’ve featured any industrial music, so this seems like a good time to remedy that. globalWAVEsystem has been around since the early 90s, playing a harsh form of electronic industrial or EBM. At times the music is danceable, but it had a much harsher, darker edge than Deitiphobia or November Commandment. Yet the songs were more structured than Mental Destruction or Blackhouse and there were never any guitars present. In fact, their niche take on the genre is probably what kept them from getting broader exposure and more fans than their counterparts in Mortal, Circle of Dust, and the aforementioned artists.… Continued →

May 17, 2023

Song of the Day: Siloam - Apathy

I first heard this song probably circa 1995 & was immediately intrigued. This Canadian band takes their name from John 9:7 where it talks about the pool of Siloam. Their drummer has a story of where he came to Jesus after almost dying of a drug overdose. This SOTD contains the following lyrics that still make sense to this day: Let’s blame the world’s demise on God’s design, Apathy.   Continued →

May 15, 2023

May 13, 2023

May 12, 2023

Song of the Day: Twothirtyeight - Songs Will Write the Words

Early 2000s emo, you gotta love it! One of the best, and painfully one of the most obscure in the genre was twothirtyeight (or sometimes 238). The band hailed from Pensacola, FL in the state’s panhandle. Florida seemed to be a haven for emo and hardcore during that era, and many of those bands ended up on Birmingham, AL’s Takehold Records, and then eventually on Tooth & Nail when they bought Takehold’s roster and much of its back-catalogue. Twothirtyeight played a style of emo that minimized the hardcore influence and instead delved into a deeply emotional form of indie rock, like secular counterparts in Braid, Cursive, or Christie Front Drive.… Continued →

May 10, 2023

Song of the Day: Olivia the Band - 39

This pop punk band made waves back in the mid 2000s. This SOTD has always been my fave per its catchy music & lyrics.  Check em out. Every time it came He took the pain, He took away, And in our place He stands, Everyday, all day, He lived to die, He died to pay, And in our place He stands, Forty minus one, Sin caused undone, Black eye and spit, Innocence they hit,   Continued →

May 8, 2023

Song of the Day: (Un)Worthy - Heavy Worship

This metal band has a no holds barred evangelism message & do not waver the Christian label. This tune is like a lyrical theme song to every Christian band’s message. Check out these lyrics & the reason behind the song. What better place than here What better time than now Every tongue will confess And every knee shall Bow We preach a message of love They shake their fists in the air Our light shines in the darkness It’s no wonder they’re scared I can hear them curse His name I feel spit hit my face Religion shoved down their throats They never experienced grace This crowd is our congregation And this stage is our pulpit Others think this is noise We’re praising God with heavy worship Other Christians can’t seem to get it They’ve shut themselves off from the truth They won’t reach out to the least of these But this is what I was called to do Let them feel Your love See Your face Hear Your Word Know Your name Continued →

May 6, 2023

May 3, 2023

May 1, 2023