News

Not for the Crowd was one of the few Christian ska bands who didn’t go the third wave/ska-core/ska-punk fusion route, instead focusing on more traditional and/or two-tone style ska sounds. In this they shared some similarities with The Israelites, except NFTC featured faster tempos. Sadly, I don’t know anything about this band–where they were from, who the members were, or anything of the sort. I first heard of them through a few ska compilations in the late 90s, and IVM’s own “Ska Lives” series. I only recently discovered that the band had released an 8-song album in 1997 called Morningstar Radio Hour for indie label Morningstar Records.… Continued →

Avery Pkwy has returned. He (Joel Piper) has just released a new 2 song single of which you can listen to below. I have also posted the music video for “Tear Down These Idols”. What are your thoughts on the songs and are you excited for more Avery Pkwy? This new stuff is a perfect continuation to the music found on that last Lifelong album. –Website Link–… Continued →

I’m going to try and post some news we’ve missed reporting on the past few weeks/months. First up, the band Haste The Day have announced their reunion and are already scheduling some comeback shows. They will be playing Furnace Fest this year and also have 4 shows scheduled in Indianapolis, IN. at the Hi-Fi in October but unfortunately for some of you, this has already sold out. In other good news, the band Trenches which started as a side project of Jimmy Ryan who was the first vocalist of HTD until he left, are back as well.… Continued →

I’m going to try something new here for a bit. We love discussing music and trying to stay (somewhat) updated on the latest happenings in our realm of independent Christian music but, so many of us also share a common thread of partaking in other forms of entertainment such as films, comics, arts, etc. so what better way to start it off than a discussion about the latest season of The Mandalorian. This was written before I made it to this last final episode of Season 3 so bare with me.… Continued →

The most legendary holy hip-hop cipher of them all? Perhaps. Tunnel Rats’ debut Experience (1996) was truly mind-blowing. It’s one of those rare albums where the line between art and artist was completely blurred, if it even existed in the first place. The lyrics (as well as the passion behind them) reflected absolute love of hip-hop music and culture, and absolute love of God and his Gospel. Very few artists, very few albums or artistic endeavors reach that climax of full integration where neither the message nor the artistic medium was compromised in any way whatsoever.… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• CHPTRS – Chapter Seven
• The Ongoing Concept – Again

Pop & CCM

• Grace Graber – Conversations EP
• Hannah Jewel – 1:02 EP

Hip Hop & R&B

• E.i. the King – The Incarceration Part 3: The Wait EP
• E.MeraThe_Shadow – Metal Virus
• Jalen Ace – SAL3M
• Linga TheBoss – ONE OF THE FEW EP
• Mystro Productions – Symphony
• Stevie Rizo, BigBreeze – Grace At The Garden EP
• Tyrone Crawford – Never Going Back

Worship & Gospel

• Branch Music – Hymns, Pt. 1 EP

… Continued →

I’ve been sitting on this draft since January thinking eventually I’d get around to writing some short blurbs about each of my picks. But here we are in April and I still haven’t done it so I figure I might well go ahead and publish it as-is (especially now that Brandon has shared his list!). So here is, my best of 2022:… Continued →

Nu metal band Relent has released their newest offering, “World War Me” on Rockfest Records. While this release brings the groove heavy riffs fans have come to know and love, the ep also heads into some newer territory, relying more on beats and melodic vocals. In all, this ep brings something to the table for fans of the old while it’s also certain to appeal to new fans as well.… Continued →

The first time I heard this band, I was completely blown away. The year was 1988. I was about 14 years old, and I had just started getting into Christian metal via bands like Jerusalem, Whitecross, and Barren Cross. Sacred Warrior was probably the heaviest I’d heard at the time. Then one night I was listening to KOKF 91FM out of Oklahoma City, a Christian radio station that had a late night metal show. I heard the most intense, loud, gnarly thing I’d ever heard in my life.… Continued →

[April Fool’s Joke 2023] We are proud to present a one time Indie Vision Music “Until Hell Freezes Over Tour” featuring 6 heavy hitters sure to bring about the apocalypse. As we have done tours so well in the past, this one time only Tour will be just that. These bands were never expected to Tour together so indeed, Hell is about to be frozen over. Tickets are on sale now at indievisionmusic.com (*tickets will sell out fast and will only be up for sale today only!).… Continued →

Grave Declaration is (was?) a symphonic/atmospheric black metal project from Norway. While that’s not so unusual, what set the band apart was its distinct emphasis on worship. Self-touted as “worship metal” the band’s lyrical emphasis was on a praiseworthy connection to the Creator. Their sound is firmly within the atmospheric branch of black metal, as opposed to the more raw, primitive sounds often associated with the genre. With ties to stalwarts Antestor, and underground legends Vaakevandring, Grave Declaration had the pedigree and the chops to prove their worthiness.… Continued →

Theocracy came out and announced that they are releasing a new album this year and it’ll be on a new label home for the first time after releasing 4 incredible albums through Ulterium Records. No bad blood and Ulterium will still release other music on a more scaled down level. I’ve embedded the full statement below. No word yet on the album title or even a new song just yet. All will be announced shortly. Stay tuned!… Continued →

Letter Kills have officially announced a reunion show at The Observatory in Santa Ana, California on July 28th with Dead American and 1 more special guest. Check out this link for further info on tickets.… Continued →

Red Weather just relased their brand new track titled “Start Again” and it’s quite simply the best thing to emerge from the independent emo/indie rock scene in 2023. THey have this certain classic 00’s emo sound but it rises far above the mundane with unique, soaring choruses and catchy songwriting. Reminds me a little of Midtown, Name Taken, Bayside, Armor for Sleep, The Classic Crime, Letter Kills, and Taking Back Sunday. Make sure to give it a listen below and get ready to get crazy with Red Weather in 2023.… Continued →

If there was ever a band to perfectly represent the depths to where “Christian Music” can go in regards to talent, songwriting, and even with longevity, that band would be The Choir. The band themselves have been together in one form or another for nearly 4 decades now, and making creatively connecting music for almost the same amount of time. The band is still working on NEW music and just recently put their “Patreon Sessions” collection of recent songs up on all digital networks. There is also a brand new cover of The Psychedelic Furs classic – “Heaven”.… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• August Burns Red – Death Below
• Context – Indwelling EP
• Project 86 – OMNI, Pt. 1
• The Undertaking! – Superstitions EP

Pop & CCM

• Fulton Lee – Sonny Boy
• The Highway Flowers – Maybe We Should Try
• Owl City – Coco Moon
• Wilder Woods – Fever / Sky

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Sarah Sparks – Sleep: Songs for the Anxious EP

Hip Hop & R&B

• Azeekah – Sufficient Grace EP
• C4 Crotona – Hideous
• FOEVA – Friends & FOE
• Hyper Fenton – Deathly Hollow
• Jon Keith – EREMOS
• Kaden Jordan – HYOKRiTES
• Kmo – Purple Cloud Row
• Mr.

… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• Narnia – Ghost Town
• World Gone Cold – World Gone Cold

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Alli Rogers – Homesick

Hip Hop & R&B

• Big Lek – The Crushing
• BigGucciDame – Scars Hidden Within EP
• cconsciencee – BIG KID
• Konata Small, Disciple Theory – Built Different
• KRL – Bear With Me EP
• Larell, Gospel Hydration – When I Was in dark times EP
• The Prophet – Better EP
• Sadface Ethan – Lately, i’ve been on my own
• Sky – No Turning Back
• Young C – This Is For The Wait Too

Worship & Gospel

• Aaron Shust – Heaven + Earth
• Already Not Yet – 119
• Bethel Music – Come Up Here
• Calvary Music – Still Vol.

… Continued →

Thumper Punk Records signs new artist! Can you guess who?!

Elim Hall was ahead of their time in so many ways. It’s a real shame that they are just a blip on the radar screen of indie rock nowadays, as their preeminence is hard to over state. One of the earliest alternative rock bands to be signed to a major label in the CCM market, their only label release was snappy, melodic, memorable, and well-produced (somewhat surprisingly by Gary Chapman, along with veteran Jesus rocker Tim Marsh). This Canadian band wrote incredibly catchy, somewhat complex (for pop music) songs that were primarily in the power pop realm, but infused with touches of new wave and at times a punk-like urgency.… Continued →

A word document popped up in my Dropbox while I was searching for old files. It showed that the tentative line up for the “I’m Your Biggest Fan 2” compilation that I assembled for Tooth & Nail Records on March 11th 2002, 21 years ago. A couple bands had to be swapped for a couple reasons but the final lineup is pretty close to what I had planned out. I have created a little collage video with a couple song samples from the compilation through YouTube which you can view below.… Continued →

This techno industrial one man band released music in the early 90s. Delvin Cavalier (aka Dalvin on some sites) almost released his LP w/ Michael Knott’s Blonde Vinyl Records before the label folded. The good news is that the knottheads site is still up & running for us music investigators to review. I have spoken w/ Delvin a long time ago on social media, but I don’t believe he is doing anything in music recently. Enjoy this tune that appears to sample the film The War of the Worlds.… Continued →

Greg Minier, the talented guitarist from thrash metal legends – The Crucified, is back with his Applehead project and just dropped his first new song in nearly 3 decades titled “Down”. This is great stuff and brings to mind some classic 90’s hard rock music. Reminds me of Alice In Chains meets Velvet Revolver, Guns n’ Roses, STP, and Soundgarden. Even a little Mammoth WVH. Greg knows what he’s doing and this is definitely not amateurish like a few others out there. They are working on a brand new full length album that’ll be out later this year.… Continued →

Benjamin Daniel just released another NEW song, this one called “Charlize Theron (Death of a Diplomat)”. Check out the song below and let us know what you think. You can catch Benjamin Daniel at AudioFeed Festival 2023 (This summer). *Lyrics can also be found below.… Continued →

Letter Kills which were a emo-indie-pop-punk band from the early 00’s that dropped some independent songs, signed to Island Records, released a huge sounding record called “The Bridge”, played around the country for a few years then just disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Lead Vocalist Matt Shelton went on to record with The Wedding as well some great solo songs and recently formed “Panther City Riots“. As a band they were strong and their delivery was just as good as ANY other band at that time.… Continued →

I didn’t want this news post to slip through the cracks (my news roundup probably did just that). Too Bad Eugene just released their first ever music video and it’s for the song “Non Grata” off their most recent full length “Distance” which is out now! Check out the music video below. You can purchase the album on Vinyl/CD right here and trust me it’s totally WORTH IT!… Continued →

After browsing social media for a very important rock band that our scene has been blessed with, a legacy artist if you will, Stavesacre will return soon with new music (I hope). I think the band posting in studio pics is enough confirmation of new music, right? What is your favorite Stavesacre album/ep? SO MANY GOOD SONGS…28 years later… Continued →

CPR317 have dropped a “Best Of” album that spans the punk band’s 2014-2020 years. The album boasts 17 tracks, 3 are brand new, while the rest are selections from the band’s previous releases, “Turn It Up”, “In the Business”, and “Live At Fuzion”. All tracks have been remastered and the release sounds great! A great album that fans of punk rock across the board will love, you can grab yourself a copy HERE.  … Continued →

Lauren Daigle is back with a brand new song titled “Thank God I Do” and new “Self Titled” album due out May 12th 2023. Check out a lyric video for the new song, below. This sounds oh so good. What do you think?… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• Bennett Hughes – Kick Ton
• Chase Tremaine – Accidental Days
• Sacrificium – Oblivion

Pop & CCM

• Nightbirde – It’s OK
• Zachary Ray – Unafraid

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Benjamin Torrens – I Love You, Light EP
• Ian Zumback – Abeline EP
• Schuyler Kitchin – solstice

Hip Hop & R&B

• adamariz – NEED 2 HOLD ON 2 THE TRUTH EP
• BigGucciDame – A Liars Perspective EP
• Celly Da Kidd – Into The Trenches EP
• Issac Mansfield – From A Boy To A Man, Vol. 1 EP

Worship & Gospel

• Anna Palfreeman – Certain
• Ascent Project – Come And See EP
• Courtney Raley – Union Vol.

… Continued →

Happy March everyone! After a long absence I’m back and ready to throw down, well from my own office that is. I’ll rumble with this keyboard and toss a mouse through your screen. I’m the A.I. of your nightmares. Yes, creepy I know. Let’s get rolling with some great February music news for this new year of 2023. Oh and yes, my “Best of 2022 List” is indeed coming soon or something like that. *This has been assembled sporadically over the past month or two so some items might seem “dated” but that’s ok because more is on the way.… Continued →