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The year was 1990. I’d heard lots of buzz about this new “goth rock” band Dead Artist Syndrome. Even Roger Martinez from Vengeance Rising had been sporting their t-shirt at gigs. For those who don’t know, DAS was the first goth band to release an album on a Christian label. While being the first is always a good thing, it wasn’t the fact that they were an early representative of the subgenre that made them interesting. It was that they were so darn good at it.… Continued →

Here are my favorite releases of the year by category.

Rock & Metal

• Anberlin – Tear Us Apart
• Ben S Dixon – Psalm 46 Lord of Hosts
• The Chariot – Long Live (10 Year Anniversary)
• Heliocentric – Antithesis
• Living Scars – Hallelujah
• Signum Regis – Flag of Hope (EP)

Pop & CCM

• Adam Lamb – For Me
• Altared – Awakened
• Amng Wlvs – Voice of Hope
• Anae – You Can Find Me
• Cody Johns – Relentless (EP)
• Connor Flanagan – Fire of My Father
• Doobie Powell – Heartbeat
• Edgar Sandoval Jr – last few months
• Haiva Ru – Wildflowers
• Judah & the Lion – Pep Talks Live
• Jon Webster – Selah
• NEEDTOBREATHE – Who Am I (Acoustic)
• Tauren Wells – Famous For (I Believe) – Collection
• UNSECRET – No Sanctuary

Electronic

• Bryson Price – Demons Flee
• Jack Izaak – Still N Listen

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Charlie Peacock – Skin and Wind is a Mind Bend
• Future Divine – Nightmare Into Day
• Jon Foreman – Fear (EP)
• Thomas Toole – Time and Space
• Whale Bones – The Doors Are Locked, the Blinds Are Closed, I Am Not Home

Hip Hop & R&B

• Angie Rose – Not A Monster
• Jesse Francis – Frontier
• JSteph – Phase II: The Remixes (EP)
• King Chai – Godmix 2
• LZ7 – Gettin Wild
• Tru-Serva – Blessings on the Way (Remix)
• Tobe Nwigwe – CINCORIGINALS

Worship & Gospel

• Ashton Barber – Inheritance
• Ben&blake – Faith Alone
• Calvary Worship Live – Never Gonna Let Me Down
• Celtic Worship, Praise Gathering – It Is Well
• Chris Beland – Morning and Evening Hymns
• Curt Vernon – One I Thought You Couldn’t Change
• Emmanuel Worship – Songs of Quarantine
• Fount + Flame – Pull Me In
• Grace City – Holy Ghost (We Say Yes)
• Harvest City Church – Greatest Miracle (Live)
• Hillsong UNITED – (in the meantime) [Vol.

… Continued →

These are my 25 Best Christian Rock Albums of 1995. This was a monumental year for Christian Music and really the beginning of what was to come over the course of the next 2 decades. Check out my list below along with a playlist featuring some of the songs.… Continued →

We (actually Fusse) have fixed the commenting feature on Indie Vision Music website and it works once again. It has been down for over a week with tons of comments going nowhere. Please return today and leave your comments below the posts that interest you. More content coming in the days ahead including a special look back at “The Top 25 Christian Rock Albums of 1995” that I’ve been slowing working on for a few months now. Thanks everyone!… Continued →

There are so many different types of Living Sacrifice fans. People who started listening from the beginning, and those who joined somewhere along the way. Fans who praise their experimental phase, those who prefer the -core era, and those who swear by the traditional metal era. Heck, I even know one guy who claims they only released one album (he’s a thrash fan), and all the others were recorded by imposters! The band has certainly seen a number of different phases, most easily broken down into two main categories (metal and -core) with a few other splinters.… Continued →

Scales of Motion’s latest release was eerily-prophetic. It’s a song strewn with gnomic phrases like “This whole year has been one long November”. Stylistically, it feels like a classic emo song, reminiscent of Mineral or early Cool Hand Luke. Check it out below. Hard Rains by Scales of Motion Lyrics: Take me down to the edge of the river To watch the banks be reshaped as it flows. When I was young, all of life was a blanket. Now I sleep shivering in the cold. There will come hard rains, And they may wash away The things you thought you’d always know.… Continued →

Michael Bridges, a long time member of our Christian Music and Rock Scene has embarked on a journey to release a special docuseries all about his involvement in the scene, where its gone, and and what is has meant to him. Sure to be shocking, compelling, and altogether interesting. Check out the trailer below and view the special gofundme to help get this project off the ground, right here. This really reminds me of an Anthony Bourdain (RIP) style series in the most honest way and it definitely has my interest.… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• Andrew Stanton – Entrance Music
• Boiling Point – Come All You Weary
• Diamonds to Dust – Decisions (EP)
• Fallstar – King Lazer
• Fight The Fade – In Love. in Hope. in Peace. (Deluxe)
• Neal Morse – Jesus Christ the Exorcist (Live at Morsefest 2018)
• Phil Keaggy – Keaggy, Blazier & Lunn (An American Garage Band)
• They Came Running – Movement 1: Dawn – They Came Running (EP)
• Two Dimensional – Superman // Between You & Me
• Winona Avenue – December Night

Pop & CCM

• Drew Poole – I Love You I Love You
• Emily Brimlow – Nickel
• Freedom Heart – Lost and Broken
• Grace Graber – Heart For Me
• The Gray Havens – See You Again / / Autumn Sessions
• Heart + Soul, Vito Vasquez – Made In Heaven
• I AM THEY – I AM They Song Session
• joan – partly cloudy (EP)
• Joe Bae, Philip Shibata – Unravel
• Joseph – NYE (Violents Remix)
• Kios – Stay With Me (EP)
• More Than Rubies – Forgiveness
• Mountaintops – Wherever I Go (Ambient Version)
• Paul Cardall, Thompson Square – My Heart Beats for You
• Pyramid Park, Andy Lowe – Day and Night (Andy Lowe Remix)
• Timothy Li – Leaving

Electronic

• Chris Howland – Dive In
• Jack Izaak – I Have A Dream
• LEVV – I Am (Loving Awareness Mix)

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Cory Breth – Tangerine Sunsets
• The Dailys – Fill This Cup
• Jon Foreman – Love (EP)
• The Pharaoh Sisters – In Distress
• Praytell – Come Whatever
• Ray Nugent – Take a Drink
• Whale Bones – Sow Your Heart in Me

Hip Hop & R&B

• Aklesso – My Life is a Beautiful Mess
• Andy Mineo – Happy Thoughts (EP)
• Antoine Bradford – Seasons Change
• Cellus Hamilton, BlessThePen, Trubl3 – The Row Men
• Dillon Chase – Every Piece Matters
• Flame – Oh Yeah (Original Radio Edit)
• Guvna B, Madison Ryann Ward – Watching over Us
• I-Von – Hands to the Plow
• Jon Keith – Rose
• Jude.

… Continued →

No Lost Cause just dropped a new version of “Hope For The Hopeless” featuring smooth, warm, and well placed horn parts throughout. This is the best that No Lost Cause has ever sounded. The song will appear on the upcoming album, “Take 2” which will release on Thumper Punk Records next year. You can download this song, just click the description on the YouTube video. For Fans of The O.C. Supertones, Five Iron Frenzy Suburban Legends, The Insyderz, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, etc.… Continued →

Don’t you hate it when an amazing band releases one stellar album and then disappears off the map leaving virtually no trace whatsoever? That’s more or less what happened to Minnesota’s The Swoon. This intelligent, artsy, literate (one of the band’s song titles is a Dante reference) band made up one third of Christian jangle-pop’s ‘holy trinity’ (also including The Throes and The Walk). Their debut album was released on Narrowpath Records, in conjunction with Refuge (the obscure indie label also released such classics as debuts by Breakfast with Amy and The Crucified), and was made up of two earlier cassette-only demos, ben son, ben son Beatrice and Neverland, the latter of which was produced by Charlie Peacock.… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• Anberlin – We Are the Lost Ones
• Brotality – Prisoners of The Abyss
• Heliocentric – Never Again
• Killdevil Theory – Die Another Day
• The Midnight Wedding – Enforcers
• Talkie – anna

Pop & CCM

• Alyssa Jordan – I’m With You
• Beach Chapel – Jerusalem
• The Brilliance – Tell Me I’m Dreaming
• Chasing Daylight – Heartbreak
• Common Courier – Let Go
• I AM THEY – Scars (Acoustic)
• I AM THEY – Tremble Acoustic
• J.Prosper – Never Let Go
• JJ Heller – I Have Enough
• John Gabriel Arends – God Is Moving Like a River
• Josh Sellers – All in My Head
• Shana|Lana – Goodbye Babylon
• Tom Read – Stabal Session (Live)

Electronic

• LoudWorship, Swedish Revolution, Retro Mars – You Say (Lauren Daigle Version)
• Trampolines – The Blessing

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• hadassa morais – Love Letters
• Jon Foreman – Doubt (EP)
• Jonathan Gabriel Masters – Park
• Karissa Frampton – Memos
• TJ Harris – Walk Love

Hip Hop & R&B

• Adriel Cruz – Punk (EP)
• Bryann T – Kingdom Muzic Family: The Remnant
• Courtney B – The Evolution of Courtney B
• davecreates – Ascension
• Hyper Fenton – Darkest Hour
• IMRSQD – Fox Glacier (EP)
• Jalen Williams – Thank God, Show Love
• Jekasole, Scootie Wop – N Luv
• JohnLion.,

… Continued →

Underground hip-hop leaders Illect Recordings (home of Sivion, Terem, James Gardin and many others) are running holiday sales currently on physical merch (12″ Vinyl, 7″ Vinyl, CDs, Cassette Tapes & more). A few new items are included in addition to a couple re-stocks. There are also pre-orders, from tomorrow, for the Sivion x DertBeats Vinyl LP. Stock is expected to arrive in a few weeks from Europe. The official release date will be 6-8 weeks later but fans who pre-order the vinyl will be the first to have it.… Continued →

There’s a recurring debate about who the first Christian rocker was. It’s very often touted that Larry Norman was the “godfather of Christian rock.” And if we mean by that that he was the first artist to really capture the essence of the genre with a wide influence, you’d have a pretty decent argument. However, if we’re talking about who was first, it wasn’t him. Not by a long shot. Larry’s first Gospel album dropped in 1969, after an impactful encounter with the Holy Spirit led him away from a substantial career in famed rock group People!… Continued →

This is a big year not only for music, anniversaries, but also Indie Vision Music in general. Yes, my friends, this year is the 20th Anniversary of the website/store/label and everything IVM means to me. I thought of a few different things I could do for the anniversary but due to time constraints and well, this pandemic which has completely changed EVERYTHING about our daily lives, I decided to keep it simple. I have put together this little write up on what I consider to be 20 of my favorite albums of that monumental year in music history.… Continued →

Continuing with the (former) IVM band news is a sweet little drum cover of “Broken Youth” (Homeplate) by Paul Hyde of the band Grandpa Loves Rhinos. Check out the drum cover below this post. Grandpa Loves Rhinos “Searching in the Sarchasm” and Homeplate “Derby City” EP available now from your digital network of choice and on CD.… Continued →

The pop-punk duo known as “Homeplate” are returning after just a few months from the release of their incredible debut EP, “Derby City”, to record MORE NEW MUSIC. That’s right friends, the guys will reconvene in the studio soon to lay down some new tracks for another EP. If you enjoyed “Derby City” as much as I did, you’re in for a real treat. No word yet on whether a label will pick these guys up and release future tunes but stay tuned. For now, pick up Derby City EP on CD from IVM or your favorite digital network.… Continued →

A classic Tooth & Nail pop-punk band, Hangnail, that everyone will claim is an underrated band who definitely should have been “bigger” (whatever that means) in their time is seeing a most triumphant return to the music realm. With hands held high in applause, we welcome these posi-pop-punk gentlemen back and we welcome their brand of uplifting, spiritual punk rock with our arms wide open (cheesy Creed pun, sorry). You can pick up or stream “Christmas Hymns” on your favorite Digital Network, December 4th, through long time label home, Tooth & Nail Records.… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• Awaken – The Veil
• CHPTRS – When You Came Along
• CLOUDLAND – Lights
• Faintheart – Growing Pains (EP)
• Kevin Max – Revisiting This Planet
• The Lasting Hope – Lead Me
• Mike Mains & The Branches – Briggs (Cinematic Version)
• No Lost Cause – Hope For The Hopeless (2020 Version)
• The Reversalist – Falling Embers
• VERIDIA – Crushed Velvet
• Weathered – Everything All at Once

Pop & CCM

• 21:03 – Never Let Me Down
• Bien – Megaphone
• Cristabelle Braden – My Story Now (Lo-Fi Remix)
• Daulton Hopkins – I Melt With You
• DC Talk – Trying to Find A Life
• Feikje Douwina – This Time (EP)
• Gabriel Conte – Belong
• Jacob Hilton – A Voice Shouting (Féz Remix)
• Jessica Love – Stronger
• JJ Weeks Band – JJ Weeks Band
• John Michael Howell, Ashylnn Rose – You Will Love Again
• Jordan St.

… Continued →

British Christian reggae artist Ben Okafor was born in Nigeria. Experiencing life as a victim of the Nigerian civil war, and even serving temporarily as a child soldier, Okafor was able to relocate to England in the late 70s where he began a career as a reggae artist. His early works were even produced by Bob Lamb (UB40). Musically, Ben’s music has always had an interesting mix of influences from traditional roots reggae (Ben’s clean guitar playing is noted throughout his lengthy discography) to lovers rock (AKA pop-reggae), but also including folk and world elements–all of which are impacted by his diverse cultural and geographical background.… Continued →

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Lyrics:… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• 12 Stones – Smoke and Mirrors Volume 1 (EP)
• Amongst Wolves – Golden (Remix)
• Cory Shane – Pyramid Scheme
• Crushing the Deceiver – At The End Of The Tunnel
• Fallstar – SSRI Feel Better Already
• Fight The Fade – What’s Left (Acoustic)
• The Fold – Young & Free
• Love and Death – Down
• Revelation Attic – Agony
• The Rocket Summer – Bee Sides: Select Rarities 2015-2020
• Talkie – to be alone
• Then It Ends – Despised (Acoustic)

Pop & CCM

• Andrea Hamilton – Time Under Tension (EP)
• Camryn Leigh Smith – Tightrope
• Freddie Fardon – Under Your Wings
• Grace Graber – Real
• Harolddd – Hoodie Weather
• Jessie Early – The Fire Never Dies (EP)
• Jon Webster – Rendezvous
• Judah & the Lion – Spirit
• MacKenzie Phillips – Deeper
• Marie Bashiru – Joyride
• Matthew West – Gobble Gobble
• Neoni – OUTLAW
• Punch Parade – Stay In
• Smalltown Poets – In Real Life (Live)
• Spencer Kane – Smoke
• Terrian – Light It Up
• Whosah – Heaven Here

Electronic 

• God’s Warrior – River Flows In You (God’s Warrior Remix)
• God’s Warrior – Tears

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Alisa Turner – Row
• Allison Clarke – Live Oak (EP)
• Jamie Barnes – Ex-Voto
• Jessie Dipper – Sirens
• More Than Rubies – The Bravest Thing
• Ordinary Time – Hard Times
• Tracy Nitschke – Ghost Town

Hip Hop & R&B

• Aluis – Faith Without Sight 2
• Angie Rose – Meet Me (Heaven On Earth)
• Anthone Ray – FACADE
• Arrow – All That (feat.

… Continued →

A new group coming straight out of the North Pole called The Myrrhderers are here to spread some Christmas cheer and celebrate the holiday like only a punk rock band could. This super special group are releasing their debut Christmas only EP titled “The Myrrhderers Sleigh Christmas” on November 20th. You can download “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” right here via their bandcamp page. The band will follow this up with “The Myrrhderers Sleigh Some More” on December 11th. I have the EP and it absolutely rules.… Continued →

Fallstar are back and with a new song in tow. Check out the track “SSRI Feel Better Already” below this post and give it a solid listen. The song will appear on the new album “Sunbreather”, out February 2021 through Facedown Records. I was an on/off Fallstar fan in the past probably due to my tastes at the time but this new song completely changes my entire outlook on the band and their job as musicians. This is solid and I mean that in the most sincere way.… Continued →

I’m not sure how most IVM readers feel about new wave and synth-driven music. It’s extremely nostalgic for me, having grown up in the 80s. The 1980s also comprised the decade where contemporary Christian music came into its own as a marketable industry. While you could argue the merits of that, or against them, it’s a simple fact. But where there is ‘progress’ or marketability (read: money), there will also always be an undercurrent–an independent protest against the mainstream. Marc Plainguet–and his alter egos Gadget and Crazed Bunnyz–were spearheading lo-fi and experimental synth-driven music in the underground tape-trading scene.… Continued →

Charlotte, NC wordsmith Andy Squyres has released a lyric video for his must-hear track “Dead Horse”. This track is rife with lament and worship all the same and is a great example of why I’ve clung deeply to Squyres’ songs this year. His lyrics avoid clichés on both extremes – this is far from CCM, but it does not wallow in self-pity. Other suggested tracks to check out include “The Pestle and the Mortar”, “Unanswered Prayers”, “Cherry Blossoms”, and “Before You God”.   … Continued →

Unbeknownst to me, apart from a Facebook post, I’ve been writing for IVM for four years now. That’s long enough to get a college degree, or a Master’s. And in some ways, that time feels like a drop in the bucket. In other ways, it has been stressful, tense, uncertain, even insurmountable at times. But in the midst of that, there have been pockets of joy, wonder, and passion. I got to tour with American Arson. I’ve had reviews shared by Facedown Records. I’ve covered bands that got big; elsewhere, I helped put a few artists on the map.… Continued →

Trulah has released an incredibly relevant, captivating song. Pairing jazz and soul with sentiments about the world’s blindness to unfolding spiritual realities, “Sing of the Times” is at once comforting and convicting. The track borrows themes from apocalyptic literature (wars and rumors of wars, the great apostasy), placing the audience in the middle of this uncomfortable reality: many are asleep, and narrow is the path to life. We have a responsibility to keep the faith and plead with the faithless. Of course, it’s an entrancing track in terms of overall sound as well – making this a very unique song, one that demands to be heard for its urgent message.… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• 2 Minute Minor – Stand for Something or Fall for Anything (EP)
• Chaotic Resemblance – Unto the Lamb
• Collision of Innocence – Sorrows End
• Dawnbreaker – Vanquished Horrible Night
• Diamonds to Dust – Corpus Christi
• The Midnight Wedding – Set Me Free
• Northern Flame – Sanctification of the World
• Talkie – look at me
• Weathered – In This World

Pop & CCM

• About A Mile – Godless America
• After Grace – Forever Home
• The Brilliance – Hurricane
• Common Courier – At the Table
• The Complete Fiction – Things Are Looking Up
• Future Of Forestry – We Can’t Breathe
• Gabriel Conte – Los Angeles
• GALLERY – Beacon (Radio Edit)
• The Gray Havens – Forever / / Autumn Sessions
• Greg Attwells – So Crazy
• Jamie Grace – Normal
• JJ Heller – Impossible
• Joel Vaughn – It’s Okay
• Mary Ives – Is There Anybody Out There
• Tom Read – Dead Things to Life (Live)
• Tyler Batts – Falling In
• Xandria Cross – Marionette
• Wake Low – Wake Low

Electronic

• Edu Linares – Is Now
• God’s Warrior – Honor Jesus
• Jeremy James Whitaker – I’m a Mess (Buryme James Whitaker Remix)
• JSteph – I’m Sorry (Sam Bowman Remix)
• Man Cub – In A Dream (Remixes)
• Neon Beach – Countdown
• Roberto Rosso – Freedom (Radio Mix)

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Allie Crummy – Balance
• The Arcadian Wild – Fall: War
• Becca Jordan – Autumn Gold
• Madison Cunningham – Wednesday (EP)
• Thomas Austin – Someday

Hip Hop & R&B

• Aha Gazelle – 180 (Chopped NOT Slopped)
• Ahchwan – Trapped-N-Truth
• Aklesso – Popular
• Alphein – Hold On
• Andrew Puckett – Fight
• Avila – Love Lust
• Beleaf – My Father’s Business
• BigGucciDame – Memories to the Future
• B-Shock – Rise and Shine EP
• B-Shock – Sing Thru It All
• Caleb Gordon – elev8
• Christ Is King – Real Slow
• Christ Jr – One Way
• Chxsen – Highs & Lows
• Collinthekid – Hvnly Glow
• CS LIT – CD-R
• Darrell Dominic – Polarized
• Datin – Who Do You Believe?

… Continued →

for King & Country have just released their Christmas album titled “A Drummer Boy Christmas” featuring a bunch of songs that are classics redone in their style as well as some originals. Click here for their youtube channel to watch a series of lyric videos for the album which serve as a film of sorts. Click below for their tour dates to finish out the year as well as a music video.… Continued →