News

Some exciting news has just surfaced. A couple independent filmmakers have moved forward with their plan to document the 2nd big revival that took place 1980-1995 which featured a collection of Christian Artists on a mission to reach the lost and seeking youth who were very much looking for answers and in need of a savior. Click this link here for the GoFundMe campaign that seeks to raise funds to cover some production costs. This follows on the heels of the recent box office success of the “Jesus Revolution” film as well as others like I Still Believe, I Can Only Imagine, and the Jesus Music documentary.… Continued →

Names Without Numbers are releasing another new song and this one is titled “Winter Wars”. Song drops this Friday May 19th on all digital networks and streaming sites. Is there a reason you haven’t listening to NWN yet? Yeah I’m talking to you, the person reading this post right now. Drop what you’re doing and head over to your favorite streaming network or youtube and give these songs by one of our scene’s best kept secrets, a listen right now! “Winter Wars” out this Friday.… Continued →

Shawn Browning of Grave Robber fame has embarked on a solo effort of sorts but in an entirely different direction from the horror punk stuff. It’s a really great sound and draws upon a vast landscape of late 80’s-90’s era alternative rock while keeping it modern and aggressive at points. You can’t help but be feel drawn into Shawn’s songs especially “Let Go, Hold On”. Check out the 3 new songs below (Plus he also released a song on Valentine’s Day). “Burning Bridges” out May 26th!… Continued →

In honor of a special day that serves as a tribute to mothers across the world, I present a little IVM Playlist called “Pop Punk Moms“. Now mind you, not every song is cheery BUT, they are female fronted, angsty, and yet some happiness shines through on quite a few 😉 So head over here on Spotify (for those that use the service) and give it a listen. I have also embedded the playlist below this post if you want to sample it. Any other suggestions in this realm of tunes can do so in the comments below.… Continued →

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 →

Jettee which is the project of Jett Foreman who happens to be the son of Tim Foreman of Switchfoot, just dropped a brand new song titled “Dancing Alone” and it’s quite good. Check out the song below and make sure to stream at your favorite digital network. Oh, and buy a tshirt here.… Continued →

Orion Walsh just dropped a beautiful acoustic version of his classic song “Melt With The Snow” which is one of my favorite songs by him. It’s a haunting track that attaches to your soul and fills you with a multitude of emotions. Check out the song below and stream it on all digital networks now. Purchase his new collection of songs assembled as “Rambling Heart Vol. 2” right here on CD from Steadfast Records.… Continued →

The Blamed just released 3 “rough” songs off their re-recording of their classic album “21” and have posted them over on Bandcamp here. Check out a stream of the “Sorry for the Delay” EP, below. Who is beyond excited for this? Sounds fresh and new. God bless Bryan Gray and all he has been through. He made it through the other side with a story to tell.… Continued →

Since the genre first emerged in the early 1980s, hardcore (originally hardcore punk) has splintered into dozens of sub-sub-subgenres including melodic hardcore, beatdown, old school hardcore, new school/chugga chugga, d-beat, crust punk/crustcore, metalcore, emocore, and so forth. By and large my favorite artists have generally been those who kept closest to the genre’s origins, even if they took those beginnings in new directions. The old slogan (which I’ve often quoted here on this site) “loud, fast rules!” is apropos here. In the late 90s/early 00s a revival of the style emerged, sometimes referred to as “tough guy hardcore.”… Continued →

In honor of the greatness of a Festival that brings much joy to so many, I’m compiling a short longer list of recent band reunions announced for Furnace Fest 2023. This Fest has had a tumultuous past couple of years in light of the horrors and inconveniences Covid has brought to so many and yet they’ve persevered to cobble together an insane experience with an ongoing commitment to quality and fan adoration. While I haven’t been able to attend in either the past or more recently, I’m there in spirit.… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• Disciple – Skeleton Psalms
• Endeavored Urgency – Wasted Earth
• Relent – World War Me EP
• UnWorthy – Where Light Divides EP

Pop & CCM

• Adryelle – A Storm of Colors EP
• Aryn Michelle – Beautiful EP
• Cat Rea –  Aftermath EP
• Colton Dixon – Canvas
• Dj Em D – I Found Some Tapes #1 EP
• Gable Price and Friends – Live At THE END EP
• JSteph – i’m so happy that we broke up EP
• Turtledoves – Secret Weapon EP

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Garden Friend – Pangea EP
• Jeremi Licata – Dear Prodigal
• Mandi Mapes – Levees
• Outside Franklin – Jonah & the Wilderness, Vol.

… Continued →

Names Without Numbers will return with another incredible new song titled “Winter Wars”, on May 19th. Please go check out their last 3 newer songs on your digital network of choice as well as their epic 2019 full length record. Get stoked!… Continued →

A new band I’d like to introduce is called Binder of Light. Its a new band featuring members of Stairwell, Bloodshed, Unashamed, Rainy Days, and more. The band just got picked up by The Charon Collective which is a newer label started by one of of the founders of Pluto Records. Check out the little write up below and make sure to visit them on Instagram @binderoflight and their label – The Charon Collective right here. “The Charon Collective is excited to welcome Binder Of Light to the family!… Continued →

World renown San Diego, CA. based rock band – Switchfoot, will embark on a 20th Anniversary Tour celebrating a much loved, landmark album not just in “alternative rock” but in the realm of Christian music as well called “The Beautiful Letdown”. This fan loved and adored album racked up several hits back in the day that still get radio/satellite plays even now. For dates and locations of this tour click here. How many of you got tickets and who is most excited about this momentous celebration?… Continued →

Gosh, this song . . . this band . . . has a way of evoking memories of a certain period of my life. Lo-fi indie rock with only 2 members. One on guitar and vocals, and the other on drums. They released a very short–only 3 songs–but brilliant self-titled EP on Tooth & Nail in 1997. T&N had a fantastic run of EPs around that time (Pedro the Lion, Warlord, Inner Means, Training for Utopia, etc.) and this was certainly one of them. The songs were lo-fi, but not noisy.… Continued →

Michigan based Ska-Core legends known around the world as The Insyderz, are back in 2023! The band last released “The Sinner’s Songbook” back in 2012. While no news about “new” music has surfaced I am certainly not against hearing a full band sound on a new track with that hard hitting, classic sound. The band recently played a local show last week which is leading up to their big set at Furnace Fest this year. What’s your favorite Insyderz song and what are you most looking forward to hearing at Furnace Fest?… Continued →

I heard about Sam Hauge through Paul at Small Step Records and I must say, I’m impressed. A certain “Classic” 00’s pop-punk sound but mixed in with a modern sensibility in songs off the latest full length record by Sam Hauge that just dropped titled “Out of Isolation”. I guarantee that you’ll find these songs irresistible and instantly likeable. Check out the album below via Spotify (Or your digital network of choice) and in our “Pop Punk Dads” playlist.… Continued →

Stephen Christian (Anberlin) has just finished up LP5 alongside his writing partner and producer – Chad Carouthers, for his Anchor & Braille project. Get excited because I’m sure this is going to sound absolutely stunning. No word yet on a release date but we will let you know when we know. News: @anchorbraille on Instagram.… Continued →

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 →