News

As promised here is my playlist for February 2020. It was quite a month with new albums from The Classic Crime, Fight the Fade, John Mark McMillin, Second to Safety, Tyson Motsenbocker, and others. I’ve collected a some of my favorite songs here for you check out and hopefully discover something new you might have missed. Enjoy! … Continued →

Along with L.S.U. and the Altar Boys, another band that was really influential in getting me into alternative music (as opposed to straight metal and thrash of my teenage years) was Breakfast with Amy. Their debut album had enough punk rock influence to appeal to that side of me that wanted noise and aggression, but there was more to their sound than just loud, fast, and angry. There were also these weird, angular, noisy expressions and interesting metaphors about the faith that I wasn’t hearing anywhere else.… Continued →

The Beautiful Mistake are back in a very big way this year. The band will release their long awaited new Ep produced by Saosin’s Beau Burchell on March 27th through Wire Tap Records. Check out the music video for their new song “East of Eden”, below. Pre-save the Ep right here.… Continued →

East Coast natives known as Element 101, have returned and will be releasing a brand new album in 2020! Yeah you heard that right. The band have entered the studio and you can see some clips of that session below. Check out their official new facebook page right here. Who here is excited about album #4? You can also follow on instagram @element_101… Continued →

How do you like that headline? Was it over the top? Well when you have a powerful band with a heavy presence like this band – MESSENGERS (Texas), you can’t help but feel floored. This band released an EP called “Anthems” 10 years ago on the Facedown Records imprint, Strike First Records and it blew a lot of people away. Part thrash, part metal, part rock n roll, and pure heaviness. The band has emerged from their slumber after releasing their last Ep in 2013, to sort of announce a return?… Continued →

The Classic Crime return with a brand new album, their 6th full length. The album titled “Patterns In The Static” is out now and available wherever you find your digital music. Watch the music video for “The Outside”, below. Comment with your thoughts on the new release and what you think of it vs their past material.… Continued →

Some exciting news from Dave Swanson about this project, The Frozen Ocean. According to a recent post on facebook (as seen below), he has been working on brand new music. Another post as of today shows a graphic image with the words “Not Like I Used To” and a date of 3/27. Not sure if it is a new song, new ep, or a full album. Stand by while we work to figure this out. In the meantime check out the facebook post below and go stream the last few releases on your digital network of choice.… Continued →

World renown singer/songwriter and DC Talk member – Kevin Max, has been putting together a very special tribute to Larry Norman album. You can contribute and be the first to get your hands on it right here (plus watch some videos and get more insight behind this very special album). Here is what Kevin Max says, “Revisiting This Planet will be produced by my friend John Mark Painter of the group Fleming and John. My friend John has been producing my own solo albums for the last 5 years.… Continued →

The first teaser for the “30 Years of Sacrifice” documentary film on the life and enduring legacy of one of the most beloved Christian metal bands of all time, Living Sacrifice, can be seen below. You can see the documentary live and in person on March 28th in Little Rock, AR. by purchasing your tickets right here. There is also some great LS merch up on that page.… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• August Burns Red – Bones
• The Beautiful Mistake – East of Eden
• The Classic Crime – Patterns in the Static
• John Schlitt – Go
• Second to Safety – Esther
• Theody – The In Between
• Tina Boonstra – Out of My Depth
• WeAreGeneration – Safe Place (EP)

Pop & CCM

• Daulton Hopkins – Nowhere Land (EP)
• Jessie Early – Everything Is Right
• Matty Mullins – No Hold on Me
• MercyMe – Almost Home (feat. Jeremy Camp) (Movie Version)
• Miqueas Lopez – More
• NAMO – Listen
• Neon Feather – Do Or Die
• Rachael Nemiroff – God Only Knows
• Ryan Stevenson – Amadeo (EP)
• SVRCINA – Flowers

Electronic

• Jeremy James Whitaker – Next to Me
• Karlizimo – Get Ready for This
• ØM-53 – American Dream

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Callie Burnett – Waking Up
• Cindy Morgan – Operation Song: Friday Sessions (EP)
• Derek Gust & Tayler Gust – Smaller (EP)
• Jacob Goins – Song of the City (EP)
• John Michael Howell – Sky’s Not the Limit (EP)
• Jon Guerra – Citizens
• Lowland Hum – Be My Baby
• Mat Ogden – Orange Glow
• Sef Idle – A Place to Call Home

Hip Hop & Urban

• Aklesso – Wodie
• Anthony Mareo – Lifetime
• Aasha Marie – Midnight Blues
• Blaque Nubon – Umndeni
• Chris Elijah – Go Go
• CJ King – Midnight Hour
• Da Rich 1 – Sold Out
• Dee-1 – Writer’s Block
• Elijah Jaron – Ante Up
• F.O.E

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Project 86 have announced the unveiling of The Final Chapter, scheduled for March 23. Additional details have yet to be provided. In the meantime, the band shared a teaser video on social media that can be viewed below.… Continued →

Have you heard of Herd? 80's style Christian Thrash out of Brazil. FFO: Ultimatum. Mortification, Deliverence, Tourniquet, Sacrament, and Betrayer

I’ve known Adam Rosenfeld for several years since his days running Men of Israel Records, the home of Man Alive in their early years. He has been making music under a number of different names for the past 2 decades and now has unveiled his latest project, Har Adonai. He takes indie rock and folk, combines it in one explosive push of the mix button on the blender and creates a sonic masterpiece only he could make. I can’t even describe what it sounds like other than to say it sounds like HAR ADONAI.… Continued →

Rap & Metal hybrid act XL & DBD that has been making music since the early 90’s, return with a new album titled “The Beginning of Closure”. Check out the lead single “Vacillate” below this post. The album releases on April 14th through Roxx Records.… Continued →

Aussie melodic punk rock band – Seraphs Coal, returned in a huge way this past month for a couple sold out shows in their native country. Drummer and vocalist – Dan Jones, just gave an interview right here where he discusses a lot about the band’s impressive history, where they are at currently and where they are heading. There is mention of a new album featuring re-recordings of their earliest songs. If you like what you hear, you can buy some merch off the band’s website here.… Continued →

I missed posting about this last week due to illness but I’m back and just had to tell you all about this amazing new track solo acoustic-punk songwriter, Sef Idle. Sharing a lot in common with songwriters like Chuck Ragan, Joey Cape, Tony Sly, Billie Joe Armstrong, Ted Bond, and Trever Keith but incorporating his own original flavor and style. The song “A Place To Call Home” is pure poetry in motion and a song with a story to share. Sef wears his punk badge proudly, straying not far from his roots in a scene that he spent years working through.… Continued →

Well friends, I am turning a corner (finally) and beginning to heal from a bad illness. I got hit hard with really bad pneumonia, and a sinus infection. I’ve been pretty much confined to my home for 8 days now because I was too ill to do much else. I hate being sick. Anyway, I found this song version of “Amazing Grace” by the much loved indie act – Sleeping At Last, to be a beautiful rendition that deserves much praise and adoration. I know this song has been covered a gazillion times but this classic got a simple, yet carefully composed arrangement centered around a soothing voice and his piano.… Continued →

Though a fantastic classic/doom metal band, Chicago’s Trouble were always slightly confusing. They often used Christian imagery, biblically-themed lyrics, and somewhat uncharacteristically for doom metal–a positive outlook. Take this ballad from their 1990 self-titled album: Please, take His hand The time has come to learn Please, take my hand Let me take you to learn And yet, the band played almost exclusively secular venues with other secular artists, and depending on which band members you talked to, they seemed to distance themselves from the “Christian” tag.… Continued →

Hey Everyone! I pray all is well! I wanted to inform everyone of a new Spotify playlist I put together. I've been listening to a lot of foreign Christian artists lately. Portuguese is the second most foreign language of artists in my collection, so I thought people need to hear and know about this.

Seattle-based hip-hop label Illect Recordings are at the top of their game after more than a decade of releasing quality hip-hop and alternative rap. They’ve just released three new projects which can be streamed, or even downloaded for free! The first is an instrumental album from Sivion called “Group Therapy: Beats” and it features a number of underground hip-hop producers on different tracks. Choose your platform here: https://snd.click/group-therapy-beats The second is a “Sugary” single from French beat-maker Terem. Check it out here: https://snd.click/terem-sugary Lastly, we have another single (complete with an instrumental version) from Sareem Poems & Newselph, called “Freedom.”… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• Almost Always – prodromal
• CHPTRS – Reset, Vol. 01 (EP)
• The Classic Crime – The Outside
• Dens – They
• Fang Fang – The Little Bulldog
• Judah & the Lion – Never Give Up On You
• Kevin Max – Cryptic Bouffant
• Klae – Consume Me
• Out of Black – Programmed Mind
• Pontus J Back – The Secular
• Random Hero – Tension: Acoustic EP
• Reclaimers – Misnomer
• Spoken – The Way Back Home
• The Timbre of Cedar – 40/45
• WeAreGeneration – Distorted
• Whitsett – Please, Would Someone Turn on the AC

Pop & CCM

• Cade Thompson – Provider
• Cody Johns – Heaven
• Eversmith x Esther Melody – Praise Quake
• Ian Yates – Forgiven
• John Michael Howell x Jude.

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Second to Safety's second album presents an intricate narrative in the form of nine genre-defying tracks.

DENS’ latest track, “They,” is accompanied by a music video. The song is taken from their forthcoming album, Taming Tongues, which will be available March 6 on Facedown Records. “They” is the result of reflecting on an ongoing pattern we have seen in our relationships and in the conversations that encircle us. Namely, there is often a fundamental breakdown in communication due to a lack of precision in language, a cloud of emotion that colors our reactions, and an unwillingness to empathize with other people.… Continued →

A couple of days ago, southern California Christian pop punk act "A Bright Sky" stated on their Facebook page "Exciting news coming soon... Stay tuned!"

Zao had already made a name for themselves, working up from the underground, with a 7″, cassette demo(s) and 2 full-lengths. They were quickly becoming known for taking hardcore in a new direction. I remember a friend telling me that although he loved the riffs on their sophomore effort Splinter Shards the Birth of Separation, he also found them really hard to dance to. With the third album, they would push the metallic limits of hardcore even further. From those opening riffs you knew this was going to be something special.… Continued →

We now approach the 20th anniversary of this now classic punk rock split release between 1 huge fan favorite band – Dogwood, and 1 lesser known, extremely underrated melodic “new school punk” band, Incomplete. I’m left feeling sentimental just looking at the simple artwork and being reminded of two extremely important bands of my youth. I first discovered Incomplete while in High School. I don’t remember who passed a demo to me but I held on to it tightly and followed the band right into “I’m Your Biggest Fan Vol.… Continued →

Outside the Camp is a Christian screamo/post-hardcore band from Dallas, TX. FFO: Tracings, Thrice

Just who is this mysterious new punk/hardcore band called “Luther’s Hammer“? The new band just dropped some pics/videos of them doing gang vocals on a new song which you can watch below via a facebook embed. From that band logo alone, I’m expecting something in your face, bold, and really heavy. Go follow the new band on FB/Instagram now.… Continued →

Las Vegas, NV. based metalcore band – TAKE, are back with a brand new song for 2020 titled “Void”. The band describes it as the “heaviest” song they’ve ever released. You can watch the lyric video below and make sure to download/stream at all your favorite digital network sites.… Continued →

A really great new band has surfaced on the streets of our music scene. The band is called Red Weather and they just dropped a new song titled “Weight of the World” which you can take a listen to below this message. The band plays a blend of emotional rock and post-hardcore, all exploding in one brilliant piece of music. I hear sounds of Ivoryline, Saosin, My Epic, I Am Empire, Circa Survive, and The Receiving End of Sirens but I’m curious of what you all hear when listening to this new band.… Continued →