Reviews Archives

More Yom - Ripe

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: More Yom Album: Ripe Label: None (released independently) Release Date: 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Beautiful 2. Demon Donkey 3. Set Sail 4. Peace of Mind 5. The Laugher 6. So Bold 7. Our Savior’s Eyes 8. Elements 9. Show Me the Door Bonus Tracks: 10. Tonic 11. Demon Donkey (the original 1:00 am version) It’s weird. I thought that all the reggae rock bands that were playing today had started their careers sometime before 1999. Red Hot Chili Peppers, 311, and Sublime all played a style similar to More Yom over five (nearly ten) years ago, and there have been no newcomers to the fad since then.… Continued →

Oh, Sleeper - When I Am God

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Oh, Sleeper Album: When I Am God Label: Solid State Records Release Date: October 23, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Vices like Vipers 2. I Will Welcome the Reaping 3. We Are the Archers 4. Charlatan’s Host 5. The Siren’s Song 6. The Color Theft 7. To Flagship 8. His Name Was Bishop 9. Building the Nations 10. Revelations in the Calm 11. The End of a Dark Campaign Finally. A word that can be used in many ways to describe the release of this album.… Continued →

Olivia the Band "Where We Come From It Never Snows"

By Brandon J. in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Olivia the Band Album: Where Come From It Never Snows Label: Up At Nite/Syntax Records Crap, am I impressed or what? I know that’s a real zinger of a line to throw out in the first sentence but wow, oh wow, is this good! Every song is a radio single and eager for your listen. Every beat is addictive and every strum of the guitar is like heaven. This album transcends all genres and rises above the melodic punk rock background they rise from. This album beats back all preconceived notions you may have and tosses them out the window.… Continued →

Demon Hunter - Storm the Gates of Hell

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Demon Hunter Album: Storm the Gates of Hell Label: Solid State Records Release Date: November 6, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Storm the Gates of Hell 2. Lead Us Home 3. Sixteen 4. Fading Away 5. Carry Me Down 6. A Thread of Light 7. I Am You 8. Incision 9. Thorns 10. Follow the Wolves 11. Fiction Kingdom 12. The Wrath of God Exploding onto the Christian metal scene in 2002 with dark imagery and a shroud of mystery was a band by the name of Demon Hunter.… Continued →

Our City Sleeps- Wake Up!

By Cory in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: Our City Sleeps Album: “Wake Up!” Label: Unsigned Released: Fall/Winter 2007 Reviewed by: Cory Myspace Our City Sleeps combines pop with indie rock to make a brand of catchy rock ’n’ roll all their own. Their sound is somewhere in between the artsy styling of Cool Hand Luke and the pop/rock hooks of Forever Changed. The recording is pretty decent on this album, but I feel like it fails to capture the energy these guys have when they play live. And to be fair capturing that energy is a hard thing to accomplish.… Continued →

Tree by Leaf - There Is a Vine

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Tree by Leaf Album: There Is a Vine Label: Long Ago Light Release Date: 2006 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Over and Under 2. Chicago at Night 3. His Banner over Us Is Love 4. Fraud 5. Come on, Babe 6. Little Lost and Lonely 7. I Know Naught of Thee 8. Prince or Pauper 9. Believe It 10. You Have Always Met Me 11. God Is Good 12. Doxology Once in a while (or extremely often, depending where you get your music), one will find a band that scores very low on the originality scale.… Continued →

Far-Less - A Toast to Bad Taste

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Far-Less Album: A Toast to Bad Taste Label: Tooth & Nail Records Release Date: October 23, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Intro 2. Toast to Bad Taste 3. I Hope that We Swim (Oceans) 4. Thin Line 5. Segue to Devil without a Clue 6. Devil without a Clue 7. It’s Not Me, It’s You 8. Segue to Gentlemen (Go to Sleep) 9. Gentlemen (Got to Sleep) 10. Keep Keep 11. Segue to So Glad 12. So Glad 13. Surprise Funeral (For the Charmed) 14.… Continued →

David Crowder Band - Remedy

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: David Crowder Band Album: Remedy Label: Sparrow Records Release Date: September 25, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. The Glory of It All 2. Can You Feel It? 3. Everything Glorious 4. …neverending… 5. Never Let Go 6. O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing 7. Rain Down 8. We Won’t Be Quiet 9. Remedy 10. Surely We Can Change David Crowder has always stood out in the Christian market. If you hate worship music, you have probably made the exception for David Crowder, despite the fact that most of the worship music world loves him too.… Continued →

Half Life 2 The Orange Box

By Cory in Reviews | Comments closed

Game: The Orange Box Developer: Valve Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: First Person Shooter Rating: “M” for Mature- Blood and Gore, Violence, and Some Language Website This is our first video game review here at IVM and what better way to kick it off than to review the best video game deal in history. The Orange Box is actually five complete games put into one compilation. It contains Half Life 2 and its sequels Episode One and Episode Two; it also contains a first person puzzle game called Portal which ties into the Half Life universe; and finally the multiplayer slug-fest Team Fortress 2.… Continued →

Gorilla Warfare - The Battlefields

By The Headless Horseman in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Gorilla Warfare Album: The Battlefields Label: Wounded Records Buy: Gorilla Warfare’s Myspace 1. Awaken 2. Another Day 3. Crusade 4. The Great Depression 5. Working Class 6. Pack of Wolves 7. No Way Out 8. Our War 9. The Truth 10. Two Faces 11. Line of Respect 12. When The Good Times Are Over (Bonus Track) While perusing Gorilla Warfare’s MySpace, pursuant to the writing of this review, I saw that they tend to post reviews in their blog. I rather hope they don’t post this one there.… Continued →

The Myriad - Prelude to Arrows

By Julio_D_Anta in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: The Myriad Title: Prelude to Arrows Label: Kock Records Review By: Julio D. Anta Tracklisting: 01. Forget What You Came For 02. A Thousand Winters Melting 03. The Holiest Of Thieves 04. “Don’t Let Them See You!” 05. We Will Be Disappointed Together (arrow version) 06. BONUS: Sneak Peak at With Arrows, With Poise Members/Duties: Jeremy Edwardson: Vocals, Guitar, Programming John Schofield: Bass Steven Tracy: Guitar, Keys, Programming Jonathan Young: Guitar, Cello Bow Randy Miller: Drums Currently being spun on MTV2 via “Dew Circuit Breakout” promos every other commercial break (or at least every time I give that piece of crap channel a chance at pleasing my eyes), Seattle natives The Myriad are on the verge of releasing their highly anticipated sophomore effort With Arrows, With Poise.… Continued →

The Devil Wears Prada "Plagues"

By JoshIVM in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: The Devil Wears Prada Title: Plagues Label: Rise Records Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. Goats On A Boat 02. Number Three, Never Forget 03. HTML Rulez Dood 04. Hey John, What’s Your Name Again? 05. Don’t Oink And Dance 06. You Can’t Spell Crap Without “C” 07. This Song Is Called 08. Reptar, King Of The Ozone 09. The Scorpion Deathlock 10. Nickels Is Money Too Members/Duties: Mike Hranica: Vocals Chris Rubey: Guitar Jeremy DePoyster: Guitar/Vocals James Baney: Keys Daniel Williams: Drums Andy Trick: Bass The Devil Wears Prada showed up on the metalcore scene with their debut “Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord” in 2006.… Continued →

Facedown Records - Something Worth Fighting For

By JoshIVM in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: Various Title: Something Worth Fighting For (CD/DVD) Label: Facedown Records Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: CD: 01. Means “These Are The Words” 02. War Of Ages “Absence Of Fear” 03. xDeathstarx “Burn Everything” 04. Bloodlined Calligraphy “Frienemies” 05. Comeback Kid “Step Ahead” 06. Seventh Star “Now At Hand” 07. Inked In Blood “Lest I Sleep The Sleep Of Death” 08. Sleeping Giant “The Power Of Prayer” 09. No Innocent Victim “Set Apart” 10. xLooking Forwardx “All Aces” 11. Nodes Of Ranvier “Dolores” 12. Symphony In Peril “Stiletto” 13.… Continued →

Nodes Of Ranvier "Defined By Struggle"

By JoshIVM in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: Nodes Of Ranvier Title: Defined By Struggle Label: Victory Review By: JoshIVM Tracklisting: 01. Sermon 02. Valjean 03. Endless Faith 04. Purpose In Pain 05. Wrathbearer 06. Defined By Struggle 07. Archegos 08. Sergeant Sorrow 09. Nagheenanajar 10. Confront 11. Infidelity Members/Duties: Kyle Benecke: Vocals Jake Stefek: Guitar Josh Ferrie: Drums Jon Parker: Guitar Brady Murphy: Bass I shouldn’t have been surprised when I heard the first single off of “Defined By Struggle”. The band has pretty much changed on every album since their debut, so I should be used to it by now right?… Continued →

Canterbury Effect - We Are All Dogs

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Canterbury Effect Album: We Are All Dogs Label: Crossroads of America Records Release Date: September 25, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Sasquatch Wristwatch 2. The Water’s Warm and It’s Getting Warmer 3. Everybody Says They’re a Little Bit Irish 4. They Don’t Run These Things on Hopes and Dreams 5. They’re My Friends and I Like Them 6. Gin Breath 7. Little Brown Bottles 8. Best Man 9. Crown Vic 10. Oh My God, I Totally Hate This Place 11. Southern Indiana Yacht Club 12.… Continued →

Surrogate - Love Is for the Rich

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Surrogate Album: Love Is for the Rich Label: Tooth & Nail Records Release Date: August 28, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Shift the Blame 2. 15 3. Talk of the Weather 4. Photographic Memory 5. Death Penalty 6. Problem Solving 7. Easy 8. Papertrail 9. Fix Another 10. Stay out of the Sun 11. Upside Down Pictures 12. The Fence “Indie.” A term used to describe musical styles as diverse as the full spectrum of the animal kingdom. From the amoeba to the deer to the pterodactyl (RIP), “indie” is a great blanket genre to cover them all.… Continued →

Thousand Foot Krutch - The Flame in All of Us

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Thousand Foot Krutch Album: The Flame in All of Us Label: Tooth & Nail Records Release Date: September 18, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. The Flame in All of Us 2. Falls Apart 3. New Drug 4. What Do We Know? 5. Favorite Disease 6. My Home 7. My Own Enemy 8. Learn to Breathe 9. Inhuman 10. Broken Wings 11. The Safest Place 12. Wish You Well Having followed TFK since Set It Off, their 2001 debut on DJ Dove Entertainment, their musical change across this career has been on one hand expected, and on the other, ridiculous.… Continued →

Mainstay - Become Who You Are

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Mainstay Album: Become Who You Are Label: BEC Recordings Release Date: September 25, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Become Who You Are 2. Stars Are Singing 3. Away from You 4. Where Your Heart Belongs 5. Am I Keeping You? 6. Believe 7. Only One 8. Island 9. When You Come Down 10. Roads 11. Story 12. Don’t I Look the Same 13. Hang On BEC Recordings has come a long way since The Adventures of the O.C. Supertones. Over the years, the label has switched its focus from being the home of the best-selling T&N bands to home of the more openly Christian artists that sign to the Nail’s empire.… Continued →

Oceans Above - Oceans Above

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Oceans Above Album: Oceans Above Label: Sparrow Records Release Date: April 24, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettesson Tracklist: 1. Beautiful One 2. O Praise Him (All This for a King) 3. Gazing 4. Rain Down 5. Filled with Your Glory 6. Blessed Be Your Name 7. God of Wonders 8. In Christ Alone 9. Love Break Me 10. Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful 11. Everything about You 12. Forever 13. We Fall Down 14. You and I 15. Jesus’ Blood “Holy faith! Why didn’t I hear about this thing before?”… Continued →

Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II (Fire and Water)

By Wilhelm in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Thrice Album: The Alchemy Index: Vols I & II (Fire and Water) Label: Vagrant Records Release Date: October 16, 2007 Review By: Wilhelm Tracklist: Fire EP 1. Firebreather 2. The Messenger 3. Backdraft 4. The Arsonist 5. Burn the Fleet 6. The Flame Deluge Water EP 1. Digital Sea 2. Open Water 3. Lost Continent 4. Night Diving 5. The Whaler 6. Kings Upon the Main The newest release from Thrice, The Alchemy Index Vols. 1&2: Fire and Water, is a beautiful work of musicianship and artistic flare that most any music enthusiast could appreciate. … Continued →

Mahteo - The NuWave Republic

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Mahteo Album: The NuWave Republic Label: Scotoma Artist Co-op Release Date: August 14, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Lucky 2. Montreal 3. To Manifest like Breath 4. Ahi Te Encontrare 5. New Love The fact that the 80s are still trying to live on is, in my opinion, a rather confusing thing. At times it can be entirely thrilling, and at others it can be downright horrifying. Take the example of 80s cartoon shows being turned into modern movies. You’ve got TMNT, Transformers, The Incredible Hulk, and so forth.… Continued →

The Glorious Unseen- "Tonight the Stars Speak"

By Cory in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: The Glorious Unseen Album: Tonight the Stars Speak Record Label: Tooth and Nail Records/ BEC Recordings Release Date: October 23, 2007 Reviewed by: Cory Track List 1. Hear Our Prayers 2. Forever Holy 3. Meet Us Here 4. Tonight the Stars Speak 5. Wrapped Up in You 6. Oh Praise Him 7. Where Your Glory Dwells 8. Embracing the Call 9. Burn in Me 10. Close to Your Heart I’ve probably waited for this album release for a good year and a half now. Ever since The Glorious Unseen was first introduced to us at IVM, I’ve been stoked for an album to come out.… Continued →

Long Live Logos - Mundus Vulti Decipi...

By The Headless Horseman in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Long Live Logos Album: Mundus Vulti Decipi… Label: Pacific Records Buy: IVM Store 1. Walk 2. The Darkness When I Close My Eyes (The Light When I Open Them) 3. Come On, Come On 4. Dark World 5. You Never Say What I Want To Hear 6. Hey Jesus 7. Grace 8. The Science of Blushing 9. Enough Said 10. All I Need “The word “logos” in Greek has an extraordinary range of meanings — the heart of which is both “meaning” and “reckoning”. Hence, it may refer to a “word” or a “thought” or a spoken phrase or an idea or that which conveys something which, to the hearer, is meaningful and, thus, can move them.… Continued →

Palaris - The Pros and Cons of Redemption

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Palaris Album: The Pros and Cons of Redemption Label: Blue Duck Records Release Date: August 21, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Long Walk Home 2. Thinking to Listen 3. Sandboxes and Sailboats 4. Iscariot 5. Masquerade 6. Ghost 7. Blindness for Belief 8. Time to Kiss the Ground 9. To Cameron, from Taylor 10. Life as a Game Palaris are, at this stage in their career, one of those bands that I could see as an opening act and absolutely love. It’s happened to all of us with any number of bands, and while I only have this CD to go by, I am convinced that Palaris would be the same, had I seen them live.… Continued →

Falling Up- "Captiva"

By Nate IVM in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: Falling Up Album Title: Captiva Label: Tooth and Nail Records Release Date: 10/02/07 Review by: Nate 1. A Guide To Marine Life 2. Hotel Aquarium 3. Goodnight Gravity 4. Captiva 5. Helicopters 6. Maps 7. How They Made Cameras 8. Good Morning Planetarium 9. Murexa 10. Drago or The Dragons 11. Arc To Archtilles 12. The Dark Side Of Indoor Track Meets Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Summary: Here is a short and sweet review of what I think is one of the catchiest CD of the year.… Continued →

Soul-Junk - 1959

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Soul-Junk Album: 1959 Label: Quiver Society Release Date: April 15, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Psalm 1 2. Psalm 2 …you get the idea… 22. Psalm 22 23. Psalm 23 By a show of hands, who knew that Soul-Junk still existed? Apparently, this project has been around for a long time and is still going strong. Soul-Junk is arguably best known for 1956, which was released on 5 Minute Walk Records (Five Iron Frenzy, The W’s, Philmore). From that album came the song “Ill-m-I,” which Toby Mac covered on his second solo record, Diverse City.… Continued →

Emery- "I'm Only A Man"

By Nate IVM in Reviews | Comments closed

Band: Emery Album Title: I’m Only A Man Label: Tooth and Nail Records Release Date: 10/02/07 Review by: Nate

Rock-N-Rule
The Party Song
World Away
After The Devil Beats His Wife
Can’t Stop The Killer
Story About A Man With A Bad Heart
Don’t Bore Us, Get To The Chorus
What Makes A Man A Man
The Movie Song
You Think You’re Nickel Slick (But I Got Your Penny Change)
From Crib To Coffin

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Summary: A legacy “Tooth and Nail legacy” is what some would call Emery.… Continued →

Spoken - Spoken

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Spoken Album: Spoken Label: Tooth & Nail Records Release Date: September 25, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. History Erased 2. Close Your Eyes 3. Not Soon Forgotten 4. Trading in This Troubled Heart 5. You’re the One 6. Brought to Life 7. Love Live the Dream 8. Start the Revolution 9. The Meaning of… 10. When Hope Is All You Have 11. The Answer Screamo is, for the most part, dead. The fad has moved on, and trendy kids have gone their separate ways to pollute other genres.… Continued →

Pilgrims - The Joy of Sales Resistance

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Pilgrims Album: The Joy of Sales Resistance Label: Quiver Society Release Date: August 1, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Theme Song 2. My Love 3. Martin (Violence Oh Violence, I Don’t See You, You’re Not in My Backyard) 4. It’s Easy to Fear What’s Far Off and Ignore Injustice across the Street 5. We Have Forgotten How to Practice Love When We Don’t Feel It After doing my typical background research for a review, I wished I had been around for (or paid more attention to) the early days of Solid State.… Continued →

Finchley - Walking with Angels EP

By Eric Pettersson in Reviews | Comments closed

Artist: Finchley Album: Walking with Angels EP Label: None Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Walking with Angels 2. Prodigal 3. In the Wind 4. Struggle On Having led the rock band Supervision for a few years, Ian Finch recently decided it was time to go solo. Coming from Liverpool, this is a man in good musical company. His songs are relaxing, even at their climaxes. Acoustic and soft electric guitars are blended together for a radio-ready feel that maintains indie accessibility. Finchley’s voice smoothly brings it together, and the piano laces work well to complete the sound.… Continued →

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